Chef Juliana
Arroz de Natal com Passas e Nozes
You already know more than you think. Make arroz soltinho, dress it for Christmas, and the holiday plate suddenly looks generous without turning dinner into theater.
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Bacalhau ao Forno
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You don't need a Christmas miracle. You need properly soaked bacalhau, tender potatoes, onion, olive oil, and the patience to layer things instead of panicking.
Main Dishes
Brazilian
Christmas
Holiday
Special Occasion
45 min
Active Time
1 hr 10 min cook•1 hr 55 min total
Yield6 servings
You see bacalhau on the holiday table and hear that little voice: isso não é pra mim. Too expensive, too salty, too much family history staring back from the platter. Good. We heard it. Now we cook anyway, because cozinhar não é dom, é um aprendizado.
This is comida de verdade in its holiday clothes: fish, potato, onion, olive oil, olives, eggs. Nothing powdered, nothing pretending. The only part that asks for time is the soaking, and that time is not fancy technique. It's water doing its work so the salt cod becomes food again, firm and savory instead of punishingly salty.
Bacalhau ao forno sits a little outside the daily pê-efe, but it still speaks the same language. Rice beside it, feijão if your family wants it, something green on the plate, and suddenly the special occasion hasn't floated away from real life. A gente doesn't need a tower of food. We need a plate that feeds people and makes sense.
Anota aí: soak the fish, taste it, layer it with potatoes and onion, and let the oven bring everything together. The olive oil glosses the potatoes, the onion goes soft and sweet, and the fish flakes instead of falling apart. Receitas que funcionam are not magic. They're steps that tell you what to watch for.
Bacalhau came to Brazil through Portuguese foodways, where dried salted cod was prized because it traveled well before refrigeration and became central to Catholic fasting days and Christmas tables. In Brazil, the baked versions with potatoes, onion, olives, eggs, and plenty of olive oil became especially common at holiday meals among families with Portuguese roots. The fish itself is not Brazilian, but the way it entered Brazilian home cooking made it part of the country's celebration table.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
salted cod
Quantity
1 1/2 pounds
soaked 24 to 48 hours with frequent water changes
yellow potatoes
Quantity
2 pounds
peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
onions
Quantity
2 large
thinly sliced
garlic
Quantity
5 cloves
minced
extra-virgin olive oil
Quantity
1/2 cup
divided
pitted black or green olives
Quantity
1/2 cup
hard-boiled eggs
Quantity
3
peeled and quartered
parsley
Quantity
1/4 cup
chopped
bay leaves
Quantity
2
salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon for the potato water, plus more only if needed
black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
cod soaking or cooking water (optional)
Quantity
1/2 cup
only if needed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| salted codsoaked 24 to 48 hours with frequent water changes | 1 1/2 pounds |
| yellow potatoespeeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick | 2 pounds |
| onionsthinly sliced | 2 large |
| garlicminced | 5 cloves |
| extra-virgin olive oildivided | 1/2 cup |
| pitted black or green olives | 1/2 cup |
| hard-boiled eggspeeled and quartered | 3 |
| parsleychopped | 1/4 cup |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| salt | 1 teaspoon for the potato water, plus more only if needed |
| black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| cod soaking or cooking water (optional)only if needed | 1/2 cup |
Equipment Needed
- •Large bowl for soaking the cod
- •4-liter pot
- •Large skillet
- •9 by 13 inch baking dish
- •Slotted spoon
Instructions
- 1
Soak the bacalhau
Rinse the salted cod under cold water, put it in a bowl, cover with plenty of cold water, and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours, changing the water 3 to 4 times a day. Taste a tiny flake after 24 hours. It should be savory, not salty enough to make you blink. This soaking is the recipe's backbone, because salt cod that isn't desalted will bully every potato on the platter.
Thick pieces need closer to 48 hours. Thin pieces may be ready in 24. The clock helps, but your tongue decides. - 2
Poach and flake
Put the soaked cod in a pot, cover with fresh water, add the bay leaves, and bring it just to a gentle simmer. Turn off the heat, cover, and let it sit for 10 minutes, until the fish flakes when pressed with a fork. Lift it out, let it cool enough to handle, then remove skin and bones and break it into large flakes. Don't boil it hard. Boiling makes bacalhau tough and dry, and then everyone blames the fish instead of the pot.
- 3
Cook the potatoes
Put the sliced potatoes in a pot with cold water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the slices are just tender at the edge but still hold their shape, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain carefully. They need a head start because the oven is for bringing the layers together, not for rescuing raw potato.
- 4
Murchar the onions
Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring now and then, until they murchar, soften and turn sweet without browning hard, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic for 1 minute, just until you smell it. This is your refogado, and it gives the whole dish its base. Burn the garlic and that bitterness follows you to Christmas dinner. Ninguém merece.
- 5
Layer the dish
Heat the oven to 190°C or 375°F. Oil a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Layer half the potatoes, half the onion mixture, and half the cod flakes. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, onions, and cod, then tuck in the olives and drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top. The layers matter because each bite should get fish, potato, onion, and oil, not one dry corner and one salty pile.
- 6
Bake until glossy
Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges of the potatoes are lightly golden, the onion looks soft and glossy, and the olive oil is bubbling gently around the sides. If the dish looks dry halfway through, spoon 1/4 to 1/2 cup cod cooking water around the edges. Add moisture around the sides, not over the top, so the potatoes stay intact and the fish doesn't wash into crumbs.
- 7
Finish and rest
Arrange the egg quarters on top, scatter with parsley, and let the dish rest for 10 minutes before serving. Resting is not decoration. It lets the potatoes drink in the olive oil and gives the fish time to settle, so you serve clean spoonfuls instead of a holiday landslide.
Chef Tips
- •Buy real salted cod, bacalhau, with firm pieces and a clean sea smell. If it smells sour or looks slimy, cook something else. A tired fish will not become noble because it's December.
- •The honest shortcut is pre-soaked bacalhau. It costs more and you still need to taste it, because some pieces arrive bland and some arrive salty. Convenient, yes. Magic, no.
- •Don't salt the finished dish until the end, and only after tasting. The cod, olives, and soaking history are already bringing salt to the table.
- •Serve it with arroz soltinho and something green, like couve quickly refogada in garlic. That's how a special dish still lands on a Brazilian plate without losing its manners.
- •Leftovers keep well for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat covered, with a spoonful of water or olive oil around the edge, so the potatoes warm through without drying out.
Advance Preparation
- •Start soaking the bacalhau 24 to 48 hours before cooking, depending on thickness. Keep it refrigerated and change the water several times a day.
- •The eggs can be boiled up to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated, still peeled or unpeeled.
- •The potatoes can be sliced and par-cooked earlier the same day. Keep them covered in the refrigerator and handle them gently so they don't break.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 390g)
Calories
500 calories
Total Fat
23 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
19 g
Cholesterol
165 mg
Sodium
1050 mg
Total Carbohydrates
33 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
40 g
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