Bacalhau is the Portuguese national dish, and for everyone else, it’s a bit of a hurdle at first: salted, dried cod that must be soaked before you can do anything with it. This recipe bypasses all that. We found it on the outer packaging of Miss Can Patriot, a three-pack of bacalhau in different sauces, and recreated it using a can of Tricana. Even straight from the can, this fish is a revelation: the aroma is robust, the flavor surprisingly delicate, with a subtle saline note and garlic that stays in the background. There’s no need to do much more than shred, chop, and mix.
Portugal · Summer salad or petisco
Bacalhau with chickpeas
Nothing needs to be cooked except an egg. The salad will be on the table in fifteen minutes, and it will be even better the next day. For two as a light meal, for four as a petisco with aperitifs.
Ingredients
For 2–4 people
Preparation
Preparation
1
Hard-boil the egg for 10 minutes, shock it in cold water, peel it, and roughly chop it.
2
Peel and roughly chop the half onion, and roughly chop the parsley. Keep it deliberately coarse: this way, colors, textures, and aromas retain their own distinct character.
3
Drain the chickpeas and give them a quick rinse.
4
Drain the bacalhau and shred it into pieces with your fingers. Set aside a tablespoon or two of the olive oil from the can.
Mixing
5
Gently toss together the fish, chickpeas, egg, onion, and parsley, then pour in the reserved olive oil.
6
Carefully season with Fleur de Sel and pepper. The bacalhau is already quite salty, so taste before adding any salt.
Tip
Letting the salad sit in the refrigerator for a day makes it much better, allowing the flavor of the fish to come through more clearly. Coriander works well instead of parsley, giving the salad an Atlantic twist. And if you want to make it even easier, Miss Can offers bacalhau with chickpeas already in the can, leaving only the egg, onion, and parsley to prepare.
