Bacalhau com Natas (Baked Salt Cod with Cream)
- Prep
- 20 min
- Total
- 1 h 40 min
- Servings
- 4
Bacalhau com natas is the cod dish that pleases everyone at the table, from children to grandparents: flakes of salt cod and potato in a smooth cream sauce, under a golden crust. It’s a favorite for family dinners and celebrations.
Salt cod has been eaten in Portugal for centuries, but this recipe is more recent. It became popular from the 1930s, and it’s said to come from the French influence of bechamel sauce added to the cod that every Portuguese kitchen had.
Recipe
Bacalhau com Natas
Flaked salt cod with fried potatoes, softened onions and a cream and bechamel sauce, baked until golden on top. A Portuguese oven classic for sharing.
Ingredients
Method
- 1Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F). Cut the potatoes into cubes and fry them in olive oil. Put the cod in a pan with a bay leaf and cover it with water. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then turn the heat down and cook for 5 minutes.
- 2Lift the cod out of the water and let it cool. Remove the skin and bones and flake it. In a pan, heat 100 ml of the olive oil and gently cook the onions, the garlic and a bay leaf. Add the cod, stir and let it cook for a little while.
- 3Add the potatoes and mix well. Then add the bechamel and the cream and season with the salt, pepper, nutmeg and a few drops of lemon juice. Stir well, take off the heat and set aside.
- 4Brush a baking dish with the rest of the olive oil. Spread the cod mixture evenly in the dish and sprinkle with the grated mozzarella. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden.
Tips
The sauce matters most. A carton of cream on its own makes it runny; the base should be bechamel, with the cream added at the end.
The potatoes are traditionally small cubes, fried just until sealed, not crisp. Boiling them makes a lighter version but loses some of the classic texture.
Cook the onions slowly in the olive oil until soft and sweet before the cod goes in, and pick the cod clean of skin and bones so it blends into the sauce.
Purists top it only with breadcrumbs. A little grated mozzarella or emmental gives a good crust.
Making it ahead
It works very well made the day before. Assemble it in the baking dish, cover with cling film and keep it in the fridge. Give it about 10 minutes more in the oven, since it goes in cold.
