Bacalhau com Broa is a traditional Portuguese cod dish made with salt cod loins topped with corn bread and fresh herbs. At its core it’s just like Bacalhau à Lagareiro – baked cod with plenty of olive oil and garlic, and served with smashed potatoes. The main difference is that for Bacalhau com Broa the fish is coated with Portuguese cornbread before roasting. The bread creates a crust that’s slightly sweet and contrasts perfectly with the richness of the salt cod. It’s simply delicious and one of the best bacalhau recipes I’ve tried so far!
Traditional Portuguese Codfish with Cornbread
The star of this dish is broa de milho – a Portuguese corn bread that’s delicious on its own but it’s also used in several recipes. This Portuguese corn bread is on the denser side and has a light sweetness to it that pairs beautifully with the salty cod. Broa de milho it’s perhaps a little tricky to find outside of Portugal and some of its former colonies, but you can adapt and use other types of corn bread available to you. Or you can have a go at making it at home. Let me know if you would like a Portuguese corn bread recipe!
What Type of Codfish Should You Use?
For this recipe you will need salt cod loins (lombos de bacalhau). They are available year-round in Portugal and you will find it in every supermarket or farmer’s market. As always, you will need to soak it before cooking to remove the excessive salt. The loins are usually very thick, so you will need to soak it in the fridge for 2-3 days changing the water regularly before you can use them. If you skip this process you will end up with a bacalhau that’s inedible and will give you a bit of a shock. In fact, I think this is why people have a mixed response to bacalhau its often not soaked for long enough!
Batatas à Murro – Punched Potatoes
As I said earlier, this cod dish is paired with the classic Portuguese punched potatoes. Think cooked baby potatoes that are gently pressed until they flatten just a little, then baked with the fish so they are a little crispier. They will absorb the cod juices and come out delicious and creamy. They are featured in several dishes, one of my favourites is this Lagareiro Style Baked Octopus.
Portuguese Cod Loins with Cornbread Crust Recipe
Start by pre heating the oven to 180ºC. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes with the skin on until they are fork tender (about 10 to 15 minutes).
While the potatoes cook, slice the onion and peel the garlic cloves, place them in a large baking tray.
Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and place them on a chopping board. Gently punch each one of the potatoes to lightly flatten them. You can use a potato masher too.
Transfer them to the tray with the onion and garlic. Drizzle with 50ml of olive oil, and season with black pepper and salt to taste.
Poach your fish in boiling water for approximately 5 minutes. Remove any visible bones (leave some of them to preserve the structure of the fish), then place the loins, skin facing down, on top of the punched potatoes. Bake it in the oven for approximately 10 minutes.
In the meantime, remove the crust of the bread, then crumble it with your hands or add it to a food processor. Mix it with 15ml of olive oil, the sweet paprika, and the fresh thyme. Season with black pepper to taste.
Remove the tray from the oven, flip the potatoes, then add a couple of spoons of the bread mixture on top of each loin, press gently. Place it back in the oven, bake for approximately 20 minutes until the crust is golden. Serve it with the roast potatoes, and onions. Enjoy!
How to Make Authentic Bacalhau com Broa
Bacalhau com Broa – How to Make Portuguese Cod with Cornbread Crust
3
servings20
minutes35
minutes780
kcalBacalhau com Broa is a traditional Portuguese cod dish made with salt cod loins topped with corn bread and fresh herbs.
Ingredients
3 Dride Salt Cod Loins (600g)
1 Large Onion
4 Garlic Cloves
65 ml Olive Oil
500 g Baby Potatoes
2 Thick slices of Portuguese Cornbread
1/4 tsp Sweet Paprika
Fresh Thyme
Black Pepper
Salt
Directions
- To start this recipe, you should have your salt cod ready to be used – that is soaked in water in advance as we instructed above.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
- Boil the baby potatoes until they are fork tender – approx. 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, slice the onion and remove the peel of two garlic cloves, place them in a large baking tray.
- Once the baby potatoes are cooked, drain them, then place them on a chopping board. Gently punch each one of the potatoes to lightly flatten them. Transfer them to the onion and garlic baking tray. Drizzle with 50 ml of olive oil, then season with freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.
- Poach your cod loins in boiling water for approximately 5 minutes. Remove any visible bones (we want to leave some of them to preserve the structure of the fish), then place the loins, skin facing down, on top of the punched potatoes. Bake it in the oven for approximately 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, remove the crust of the bread, discard them. Crumble the bread with your hands or add it to a food processor. Combine it with 15 ml of olive oil, the sweet paprika, fresh thyme and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Remove the baking tray from the oven, flip the potatoes, add a couple of spoons of the cornbread mixture on top of each loin, press gently. Place it back in the oven, bake for approximately 20 minutes, until the cornbread crust is golden.
- Serve the loin with the roast potatoes and onions.
Notes
- You need to soak the salt cod to remove the salt used to preserve it. The process can take up to three days, so plan in advance.
- You usually won’t need to season the fish with salt as there will be some residual salt on it.
- This dish is usually served with sautéed greens or ‘grelos salteados’.
Have you tried this recipe? Let us know in the comments! I would love to hear from you!