Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá is a cod casserole made with bacalhau, potatoes, onions, boiled eggs, and black olives. In this Portuguese classic, shredded salt cod is layered with thick slices of boiled potatoes and fried onions, and topped with boiled egg wedges, black olives, plenty of extra virgin olive oil, and fresh parsley. Though simple, this dish doesn’t compromise on flavour, and in 2011 it was shortlisted as one of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Gastronomy! Keep on reading to learn more about Gomes de Sá Cod, and how to make it!
The Story Behind Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá
It’s said there are 365 Portuguese cod dishes, one for each day of the year, some of them are baptised after their inventor, like Bacalhau á Gomes de Sá. José Luís Gomes de Sá was a cod merchant during the 19th century in Porto. Praised by his clientele for making delicious Pastéis de Bacalhau, he set out on a mission to create a different dish with the same ingredients.
Needless to say he succeeded, and ended up selling the recipe to a dear friend named João. He was not only a friend, but a cook at a restaurant in central Porto called Lisbonense, which played an important role in popularising the dish. Gomes de Sá’s instructions were very precise: his bacalhau dish should be served piping hot, and changing the recipe would simply ruin it. The dish itself has evolved a little since its creation, but I hope I honoured Gomes de Sá’s memory with my recipe!
An Authentic Gomes de Sá Cod
The original recipe invented by Gomes de Sá calls for cod loins, potatoes, garlic, onions, boiled eggs, olive oil, parsley, and milk. The cod is cooked, deboned, shredded, and soaked in hot milk. The potatoes are cut into thick slices and boiled until fork tender, and the onions are sliced, placed in a baking tray with the olive oil and the garlic, and baked until lightly golden. The cod and the potatoes are mixed in and everything is finished in the oven. The dish is garnished with olives, sliced boiled eggs and lots of fresh parsley.
The way I like to prepare mine is slightly different, instead of cooking the onions in the oven, I pan fry them with the olive oil, garlic, and bay leaf. I also skip the part where the cod is soaked in milk. I’m assuming that step was meant to bring moisture to the cod and perhaps soak off the excessive salt. But if you correctly desalted the fish before cooking you won’t need to soak it in milk.
A Note on Portuguese Salt Cod
Before we dive into the recipe, before cooking salted bacalhau, it’s necessary to soak it in cold water to remove the curing salt. In recipes that call for cod loins, the process can take up to three days. The easiest way to do it is to rinse the fish, then place it in a container with the skin facing up. You then cover with cold water, and place it in the fridge.The water should be swapped at least twice a day. We want to remove the salt almost fully but not entirely, as you still want that characteristic salty nutty taste of the cod. It can take a couple of times before you get the hang of desalting the different cuts of cod, but for the loins it usually takes from 2 to 3 days.
How to Make Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá
Have you tried this dish? Let me know in the comments!
