Bacalhau com Natas

"Bacalhau com Natas" is easily my favorite Portuguese dish, not counting desserts, of course. This particular recipe is from a member in the Mem Martins area. It is the easiest recipe I have. You can try this one out first and maybe I'll post some of the others later. In the meantime, I found a website that offers a download of 100 various Bacalhau recipes in Word format that you might like. Be forewarned, however, the recipes are in Portuguese, so you may need to pull out your Portuguese to English dictionary. Anyhow, here is the Bacalhau com Natas recipe.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. Fresh Cod Fish (I know they use the dried, salted stuff, but good luck finding it here)
4-6 potatoes (Cut these potatoes however you prefer)
4 cloves garlic
1 medium sized yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil (you can use more or less to taste)
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups milk

Cooking Instructions:
First you need to cook the fish by thawing it and placing it in a saucepan with 1 tbsp of the olive oil. As it cooks and as you stir, the fish should break down into small pieces, which is what you want. It shouldn't take too long to cook. I suppose you could also boil it, or even place it in a plastic bag in the microwave and steam the fish. It doesn't really matter. Just cook it and set it aside. You also need to fry the potatoes. Do so just as you would were you making homemade french fries, and set them aside.

The second step is to place the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large saucepan along with the onions, garlic, and pepper. Saute the onions and garlic until the onions are clear and soft. Be careful not to let the garlic become too browned or burned. When the onions are ready, mix in the fish that you have already cooked.

So now you have some french fries and that fish mixture just sitting there. Next you need to make the "molho branco," the white sauce. It's the "natas" in Bacalhau com Natas. To do this, melt the butter in a small saucepan. When it is completely melted, add the flour while stirring. Then, slowly add the milk. You may or may not use it all, so just add a little at a time. As you stir in the milk, the mixture will begin to thicken. Add milk until you arrive at a fairly good consistency, like a really thick alfredo sauce.

The final step is to put it all together and to put it in the oven. In a 13'' x 9'' dish, put down the fish first, then layer in the potatoes, then pour the thick white sauce over the top. I also like to dress it up with some olives on top and then some bread crumbs sprinkled over everything. Put that in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Serve it with a salad or something light. And, be prepared that your kitchen and maybe your entire house will smell like cod for about two weeks. Tchau.