This is one of the most popular ways to prepare codfish in Portugal. Wine suggestion: a full-bodied red wine. The intensity of the flavors of the dish needs a strong balance. Guadalupe Red is an excellent wine to pair with this dish. 

Ingredients

• 500 g salted codfish 
• 750 g freshly fried potatoes (shoestring cut) 
• 6 eggs 
• 150 ml white wine 
• 3 medium onions 
• 3 tsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 bay leaves 
• 6 garlic cloves 
• 2 tsp chopped parsley 
• Salt 
• Black pepper 
• Nutmeg 
• 12-18 black olives (not chopped) 

Instructions

1. Fry potatoes until golden. Do not brown. Drain. 
2. Bring water to a boil and add the codfish; cook for 7-10 minutes. Usually, when you start smelling the fish, it is time to take it out. Leave to cool. 
3. Flake fish. 
4. Drizzle pan with olive oil. 
5. Add bay leaves and onion. Cook until golden but not caramelized. 
6. Add garlic. 
7. Two minutes later, add fish. 
8. Season with pepper and nutmeg. 
9. Cook for 3 minutes, mixing gently and not allowing it to stick to the bottom of the pan. 
10. Add shoestring fried potatoes. 
11. Add wine. 
12. Add half of the olives and half of the parsley, the whole time mixing gently. 
13. Add eggs over low fire. 
14. Stop cooking while eggs are still slightly wet. 
15. Garnish with remaining olives and parsley. 
16. Serve immediately. 

In the season of Lent, bacalao is the ultimate indulgence. So, when I received a text message from Chingling Tanco saying that she finally had slightly salted bacalao (Atlantic cod premium loins, the type that needs no overnight soaking and behaves more like a meaty, juicy fish steak when left whole and soft and supple when flaked), I was overly excited. More so when I found out how much they were being sold for. 

I asked João Branquinho (who, by being Portuguese, has earned the right to be a bacalao whiz) to share his recipes with us. My personal favorite dish of his is the homey Bacalhau al Bras. João also happens to roast the finest chicken with piri-piri sauce (the thought alone makes my mouth water) and imports excellent yet reasonably priced Portuguese wines of distinct character. 

João says his recipes are good for four, and best eaten with bread, boiled or baked potatoes, or rice. Note: If you are using regular salted bacalao instead of loins for these recipes, soak the fish overnight with several water changes. 

Bacalhau com Ameijoas

Wine suggestions for this excellent dish: Vinho Verde or Alvarinho. 

These are wines with character and aroma—perfect with seafood and hot spices. 

Ingredients

• 500 g codfish loin (about 4) 
• 500 g clams 
• 200 ml Vinho Verde (Casa do Valle is the one I use) 
• 3 medium onions, diced 
• 4 medium tomatoes, peeled and diced 
• 3 tsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 bay leaf 
• 12 garlic cloves, finely chopped 
• ½ bunch each of flat leaf parsley and coriander, chopped 
• Diced red bell pepper 
• Diced bird’s eye labuyo (to taste) 
• 1 tsp butter 
• Salt 
• Black pepper 
• 2 tsp lemon juice 

Instructions

1. In a pot, put 2 tbsp of olive oil; when hot, add 2 sliced onions. Let it cook in low fire for 5 minutes before adding 8 cloves of garlic. Let it cook for 2 minutes. 
2. Add 2 tbsp bell pepper and labuyo to taste. 
3. Add clams and cover the pot. Let it cook for 2 minutes. 
4. Add parsley and coriander. 
5. Add 150 ml of wine and cover. Let the clams open and add butter. Turn off heat. 
6. Season to taste and add lemon. 
7. In another pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil, add bay leaf, onion and diced tomatoes. 
8. Add 50 ml wine, 4 cloves of garlic, black pepper and mix gently. Let it cook in low fire. 
9. Add codfish and slow-cook for 5 minutes; turn the loins carefully and cook another 5 minutes. 
10. Arrange on a serving platter.

Mida Foods is a supplier of  frozen seafood, but now it also supplies fresh salmon, ocean-farmed from Norway. Enrique Valles of Mida sent me a link to a website (salmonfromnorway.com) developed by the brand who supplies their salmon, which I found very interesting.

“While some have expressed concerns that ocean-farmed salmon are dyed to mimic wild salmon,” the website says, “this is inaccurate. The pinkish-red color of wild and ocean-farmed salmon comes from a natural oxycarotenoid called astaxanthin—not from dyes or coloring agents.

“In the wild, fish absorb astaxanthin by eating small crustaceans. Ocean-farmed salmon receive astaxanthin as part of their diet in supplement form, the same way humans take vitamin supplements. Studies have also shown that consuming astaxanthin is beneficial to humans as it can boost immune response and acts as a free radical antioxidant.”

The fish are fed with dried pellets that contain marine raw materials (fish oil and fish meal from wild fish) and vegetable raw material, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

“To better utilize resources, the marine life used in salmon feed comes from sustainable stocks of fish species that are not suitable for human consumption. In addition, vegetable oils have been added to the feed to reduce the strain on limited marine resources. While this has caused the level of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids in fish to fall, the remaining amount of omega 3 found in ocean-raised fish is still several times higher than the internationally recommended amount of 0.5 grams per day.”

Isn’t it good to know that our food has likewise been fed and raised in a manner that’s sustainable and humane?
According to Valles, customers’ orders are received by 3 p.m, Friday. Then the orders are air-freighted to the Philippines and delivered to the Mida plant Wednesday evening the following week, ready for delivery on Thursday.
Customers do not need to order in bulk,  they can order per piece with delivery daily (following our delivery schedule) in case they do not have enough storage.