Chef Margarida
Açorda de Camarão
The peasant bread soup of Alentejo dressed for company, sweet pink prawns swimming in a broth of garlic, coentros, and golden azeite. Humble origins, elegant result. This is who we are.
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Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá
Created by
Porto's greatest contribution to the bacalhau canon. Layers of tender salt cod, golden potatoes, and sweet onions, crowned with eggs and olives. A merchant's recipe that became a national treasure.
Main Dishes
Portuguese, Porto
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
45 min
Active Time
30 min cook•1 hr 15 min total
Yield6 servings
This dish belongs to Porto. To the granite city on the Douro where merchants once made fortunes trading bacalhau from Newfoundland. José Luís Gomes de Sá was one of them, and somewhere in the 1800s, he created this layered casserole that would outlive his business, his name, his century.
I learned to make Gomes de Sá from a grandmother in Matosinhos, just outside Porto. Her name was Dona Fernanda, and she'd been making this dish every week for sixty years. She watched me layer the potatoes and shook her head. 'Mais grosso,' she said. Thicker. The potatoes need to hold their shape. She watched me flake the cod and nodded slowly. 'Assim mesmo.' Just like that. The pieces should be generous, not shredded.
This is comfort food in its purest form. Nothing complicated. Nothing fussy. Just humble ingredients arranged with intention and bathed in good azeite until they become something greater than their parts. The eggs and olives go on at the end, a crown of black and white that makes the dish beautiful without trying.
At Mesa da Avó, I serve this family-style, the baking dish set right on the table. People lean in with bread to catch the oil pooling at the edges. That's the moment I love most: when strangers become family over a dish from Porto.
José Luís Gomes de Sá was a bacalhau merchant in 19th-century Porto who reportedly created this dish at the Restaurante Lisbonense. The recipe combines the city's two obsessions: salt cod and olive oil. Unlike the scrambled Bacalhau à Brás of Lisbon, this Porto classic uses gentle layering and oven heat, reflecting the northern Portuguese preference for heartier, baked preparations.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried salt cod (bacalhau)
Quantity
600g
soaked 2 days, water changed 3 times
waxy potatoes
Quantity
1 kg
unpeeled
onions
Quantity
2 large
halved and sliced into half-moons
garlic
Quantity
4 cloves
sliced thin
extra virgin olive oil (azeite)
Quantity
1 cup, divided
hard-boiled eggs
Quantity
4
peeled and quartered
black olives
Quantity
1/2 cup
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
for garnish
roughly chopped
bay leaves
Quantity
2
black pepper
Quantity
freshly ground, to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried salt cod (bacalhau)soaked 2 days, water changed 3 times | 600g |
| waxy potatoesunpeeled | 1 kg |
| onionshalved and sliced into half-moons | 2 large |
| garlicsliced thin | 4 cloves |
| extra virgin olive oil (azeite) | 1 cup, divided |
| hard-boiled eggspeeled and quartered | 4 |
| black olives | 1/2 cup |
| flat-leaf parsleyroughly chopped | for garnish |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| black pepper | freshly ground, to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Large baking dish, preferably terracotta or ceramic
- •Wide pan for poaching cod
- •Large pot for potatoes
Instructions
- 1
Cook the potatoes
Place the unpeeled potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook until just tender when pierced with a knife, about 25 minutes depending on size. Drain and let cool just enough to handle. Peel while still warm and slice into rounds about 1 cm thick. Warm potatoes absorb more flavor. This matters.
- 2
Poach the bacalhau
While the potatoes cook, drain the soaked cod and place it in a wide pan. Cover with fresh cold water and add the bay leaves. Bring slowly to just below a simmer. You want to see tiny bubbles at the edges, nothing more. The moment the water threatens to boil, remove from heat. Let the cod rest in the water for 10 minutes. This is how you get tender bacalhau, not the tough, stringy fish that happens when people rush.
Never boil bacalhau. Never. The gentle heat keeps the flesh silky. Boiling turns it to cardboard. Avó Leonor would say: 'A água nem pode sonhar em ferver.' The water can't even dream of boiling. - 3
Flake the cod
Remove the cod from the water and let it cool slightly. Using your hands, flake it into large pieces, removing all skin and bones as you go. Work gently. You want substantial flakes, not shredded fish. Unlike Bacalhau à Brás where the cod is shredded thin, Gomes de Sá calls for generous chunks that hold their shape in the oven.
- 4
Build the refogado
In a large skillet, heat half the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the sliced onions and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until completely soft and golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the garlic in the last two minutes. This is the foundation. Não tenhas pressa. The onion should practically melt before you stop.
I've watched cooks in Porto add a splash of white wine to their refogado. It's not traditional, but it's not wrong either. The dish has room for interpretation. The onion, though? That's non-negotiable. Low and slow. - 5
Layer the casserole
Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F). Drizzle a baking dish with olive oil. Arrange half the potato slices in an overlapping layer. Top with half the flaked cod, then half the onion mixture. Repeat: potatoes, cod, onions. The layering matters. Each bite should have all three elements together. Drizzle the remaining olive oil generously over the top.
- 6
Bake until golden
Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top layer of onions turns golden at the edges and the potatoes begin to crisp where they peek through. The kitchen should smell impossibly good. Rich with olive oil, sweet with onion, salty from the sea.
- 7
Finish and serve
Remove from the oven and arrange the quartered eggs and black olives over the top. Scatter generously with parsley. Finish with one more drizzle of your best azeite. Serve directly from the baking dish with good bread on the side to soak up every drop of oil from the bottom of the dish. That oil, flavored with cod and onion, is liquid gold. Don't waste it.
Chef Tips
- •Use waxy potatoes, not floury ones. You need slices that hold their shape through cooking and baking. Floury potatoes will crumble and turn the layers to mush.
- •The olive oil is not optional and the quantity is not negotiable. This dish needs a full cup. Good azeite. The oil mixes with the cod's natural gelatin and becomes the sauce. Skimp on oil and you've made a dry casserole instead of a proper Gomes de Sá.
- •Some families in Porto add a bay leaf tucked between the layers. Others insist on a pinch of cumin, which sounds strange but works. Make it your own, but keep the foundation: cod, potato, onion, oil.
- •The dish can be assembled hours ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before baking, and add 5 to 10 minutes to the cooking time.
Advance Preparation
- •The bacalhau must soak for 2 days minimum, water changed three times. This is not negotiable. Taste a small piece before cooking; it should taste like mild fish, not the sea.
- •Hard-boiled eggs can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated.
- •The entire dish can be assembled up to 8 hours before baking and refrigerated. This makes it perfect for entertaining. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 420g)
Calories
610 calories
Total Fat
37 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
28 g
Cholesterol
150 mg
Sodium
1200 mg
Total Carbohydrates
35 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
38 g
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