Bolinhos de Bacalhau/Croquettes de Morue

Bolinhos de Bacalhau

I did say that I will be doing Bacalhau soon and I like to keep my word. So last week I bought a nice piece of salted cod (morue in French and bacalhau in Portuguese) and promptly put it into water for more than 24 hours, taking care to change its water at least 3 times. And then last night I made Bolinhos de Bacalhau with them, and am pleased to report that Baby Girl who has decided recently that she doesn't like fish ate the most of those balls.

500g Salted Cod

Pepper

Bay Leaf

Onion

2-3 Potatoes

2 Eggs

Fresh Parsley

A pinch of Nutmeg

Prepare the cod by rinsing it of its salt i.e. putting it in cold water for at least 12 hours and changing the water at least 3 times. If you can, run it under trickling tap for a few hours.

Drain the cod.

In a frying pan, dry grill the cod skin side down with the sliced onions, pepper and bay leaf. Add in 500ml of water (or enough to cover the fish entirely) and bring it to the boil. Lower heat quickly (or the fish will become tough), cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Turn off heat and let it cool.

Boil the potatoes and remove their skins. Mash them with a fork. Let it cool.

Drain the cod, remove the bones and skin and mash it with a fork. It is best mashed finely so that you wouldn't get bits to chew but I like them in pieces so I didn't mash them too much. Add the fish to the mashed potatoes and mix in the beaten eggs, chopped parsley and a pinch of nutmeg. Do not add in any salt, the fish will normally be quite salty still. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.

Heat up the oil to 190ºC. Hold a fork or spoon in one hand and scoop some of the mixture into the other. Shape it into a ball and put it into the hot oil. Fry for 4 minutes. Serve hot, goes well as an appetiser.