My friend’s father Eloi invited me to their home for dinner. Elio prepared the classic Portuguese dish of bacalhau, making everything from scratch.
The cod was soaked for many hours to wash away the brine. Eloi then boiled the cod with potato and carrots, which he diced on the spot. I was impressed by his deftness in the kitchen!
My friend physically removed me from the sink, where I tried to post up and do my thing to impress her father. I realized that if I was not allowed to do the cleaning, I would have to impress him with my eating. One way or another, I was determined to clean my plate.
I’m very familiar with cod as a delicious white fish and I was not at all worried about eating a lot of it. However, the salt cod was a little heavier than I’d thought. Adding to the heartiness, my friend slowly drizzled extra virgin olive oil over my bone-in primal cut of salt cod – by far the biggest piece on the table.
The flavors of each element shined. The cod is slightly meatier for the brine and tasting of the sea. The olive oil teased out some of the fish’s sweetness. The potatoes and carrots were earthy, satisfying bites. Bg thank you to Eloi (and Nikita!) for having me over for dinner, and cooking an amazing Portuguese classic.
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