Join Us For Dinner - Portugal Style

Since both of us, Nora and Magdalena, are probably two of  the worst cooks you will ever meet, we were kind of worried about this blog post. Finding something that we both like and are able to prepare caused us quite a headache. It was during one of our countless discussions about football that we suddenly had a brainwave! In honour of our favourite football player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was going to play an international match for his country Portugal the next Sunday, we decided to cook his favourite dish and then watch the game together.
Rumour has it that Ronaldo's favourite dish Bacalhau à Bras has its origins in Bairro Alto, an old district of Portugal's capital, Lisbon. Bacalhau stands for the type of fish used for the dish, whereas Bras is allegedly the surname of the creator. As for the dessert, we decided to prepare a traditional Portuguese caramelised vanilla pudding.

Quite frankly...in the beginning we were both a little sceptical about the fish meal. However, once we were halfway through the recipe our worried facial expressions quickly faded to a smile. Considering the fact that our cooking skills are quite limited, we still managed to do a pretty good job...but see for yourselves! ;)


Ingredients (2 servings)


Main Course: 

• 250 g salt cod
• 1 onion (150 g)
• 250 g potatoes
• 2 eggs
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• 15 g black olives
• parsley (to taste)

Dessert: 

Caramel

• 20 g sugar
• 3 tablespoons water

Vanilla pudding

• 37 g custard powder (Vanilla)
• 40 g sugar
• 500 ml milk

Preparation

- Bacalhau à Bras

• Place salt cod in water and soak for at least 12 hours. Drain and cover with fresh water every few hours. 

• Cut salt cod into small pieces.

• Grate potatoes into fine matchsticks and cut onions into fine rings.
  
  

• Beat eggs, then add salt and pepper and mix well. 

• Fry potatoes in a pan and set them to one side. 

• Place onion rings in a deep pan and sweat until golden. 

 
• Add potatoes and mashed garlic and stir whilst adding the lightly beaten eggs with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat before eggs solidify!

• Garnish with parsely and black olives and serve with red wine (or mango juice if non-alcoholic drinks are preferred).

- Caramelised Vanilla Pudding

• Mix custard powder, sugar and 6 teaspoons of milk in a small bowl 

• Bring remaining milk to a simmer 

• Add custard mixture and mix well

• For the caramel, warm sugar and water over low heat and stir until it turns caramel-coloured

• Pour caramel over pudding and garnish with chocolate sprinkles 

BOM PROVEITO!

Although it took us quite a while to prepare this special meal - three hours to be exact - and the result was not perfect, it was definitely worth it in the end. After we had finished cooking and had taken all the pictures for our blog post, we sat down in front of the TV, watched Cristiano play with his national team and enjoyed our delicious meal. To our great joy Portugal won the game. The perfect ending to a really fun evening! ;)