Thanks to the holiday, I had a long weekend, perfect to a getaway to my grandparents village. I was crossing fingers to a couple days of nature, birdwatching and relax, but the mountain weather had other plans. My small nature incursions were blessed with light and not so light rain, so instead of a camera full of birds and bushes and landscapes, the relax part is being done here.
I still managed to take some photos, but since it's Easter, and that means family reunions, and food... I'm gonna share my friday lunch with you, a traditional portuguese dish: Bacalhau com Natas!
Bacalhau com natas - Codfish with cream
You'll need codfish - you can soak it yourself, but the ready to made version, take your pick. I used codfish loins. Boil water, put them inside, and turn off the stove - the idea is just to make it easier to put them into small pieces.
I used 6 loins for this quantity.
Chop garlic and onions, add olive oil, and off to the stove again.
Add the codfish to the mix, and let it cook.
When the codfish is well cooked, time to join the chips!
And stir, and stir, until everything is well mixed. Next step: add bechamel sauce. You can also buy it made or make it yourself with butter, flour and milk.
Keep mixing, and you can add extra milk to the desired consistency.
This would also be the time to mix the cream too. Funny fact... we forgot!! Truth is, no one noticed! So the cream is not exactly needed to the taste.
Rectify any seasonings, add grounded nutmeg, more stir... and the end result should look something like this.
You can add breadcrumbs on top as the final step, or skip it... and then, off to the oven!
Relax for half an hour, pop a bottle of red wine... and then enjoy the fruits of your work!
This tray was enough for 8 persons, and there was enough left for another meal for nearly the same amount of people! The quantity of the other ingredients is around the "should be this amount more or less", so... try it, and if you do let me know how you find it!
Happy Easter everyone!