Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá recipe is quite familiar to me. At least twice a year it makes it to my table, and when I visit my family in the Azores yearly, there is always someone who cooks this for us. While it’s served as a casserole, either individual size or family-style in a baking dish, I’ve never actually made or had a version that was not all cooked separately then assembled.
This recipe intrigued me for it’s truly a one-dish preparation (except the onions and the eggs).
I also liked that the olives were pitted and sliced, as these are small olives and the pits can surprise you and not in a good way. I used Galega olives and wondered if my golden potato slices would be tinted but that was not a problem.
What I did find was that the Yukon gold potatoes retained a “bite” even after baking for 60 minutes and even though they were easy to spear with a fork, I would have enjoyed a creamier texture. I also missed parsley throughout the layers instead of just on top.
As for the egg layers, the top layer which was not baked was perfect. The layered egg slices, however, were slightly rubbery. The recipe just calls for hard-boiled eggs, but I forgot that these would be cooked again and fully cooked mine before baking in the casserole. Softer eggs however, would be more difficult to slice and then become mushy inside the layers.
For my next rendition of this recipe (yes, I will definitely make it again!), I would make 5-minute eggs, coarsely mash them, layer eggs and parsley, and use fully cooked egg slices at the end to finish the top. Even though the Yukon gold potatoes retained a bit too much bite, I wouldn’t exchange these because I also liked how the thin slices retained their shape. Next time, I would add another 10 minutes to the baking time.
The potato to cod and onion ratios were perfect. The quantities were also perfect for my 2-quart cast-iron Dutch oven. I also suspect that because I had 6 layers of potatoes in this pan, that would explain my needing a longer cook time.
Nonetheless, I wouldn’t sacrifice the presentation of this beautifully tall, layered cod casserole in my “cocotte” by making it in the usual shallow pan. Looking forward to serving this version with a few tweaks to my family on my next visit! I would “proudly carry the pot to the table,” and the easily recognizable flavors combined with the unexpected thin potato wafers will be sure to wow them!
Served this casserole with a fresh garden salad dressed with a red wine vinaigrette and a goblet of Valpolicella Ripassa for good measure. Sorry, Douro, was fresh out of reds from your region…next time for sure!