Grilled Salted Cod (Bacalhau ao forno)

Salted cod is extremely popular in Brazil. It is potent and easy to find. Not so much here in the US. Luckily, with a little preparation, you can substitute with fresh cod! Or use any firm white fish, such as tilapia or Pollock.

Grilled Cod (Bacalhau ao forno)

Servings: 6

Time: 2 1/2 hours

Ingredients:

2 lb. cod fillets

1/2 lb. Potatoes, sliced

1/2 lb. Carrots, sliced

1 T olive oil

1 large onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 tomatoes, diced

1/4 C cilantro, chopped

2 T olives, chopped (optional)

Sauce:

1 T butter

1 C + 2 T milk (divided)

1 T cornstarch

1 egg, beaten

1/2 C heavy cream

1 13.5 oz. can coconut milk

Pinch of nutmeg

Pepper and salt to taste

Directions:

1. Defrost the cod overnight if frozen. Set fresh cod on plate and sprinkle generously with coarse sea salt. Let it sit for one hour.

2. While the fish sits, slice the potatoes and carrots. Boil fifteen minutes. Drain and set aside.

3. Slice the onion. Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the onion over medium-low heat ten minutes or until soft. Set aside.

4. When the hour has passed, drain the fish. Let sit in cold water for one hour, draining the water and refilling every twenty minutes.

5. Make the sauce during this time (see below).

6. Place the fish in a shallow frying pan over medium heat. Drain often, frying until excess moisture pulls out and the fish flakes easily with a fork.

7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

8. In a 9x13 pan, sprinkle half of the onions. Layer on top the cooked potatoes and carrots.

9. Put the fish on top of the potatoes. Add the other half of onions, the garlic, and the bell pepper. Top with the tomatoes, cilantro, and olives, if using.

10. Pour the sauce over the top. Bake for 30 minutes. 

11. Serve with rice.

Sauce:

1. Place the butter and 1 cup milk in a saucepan over medium heat.

2. Whisk the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of milk in a small bowl. Add to saucepan, stirring well. Bring to a boil and let the mixture thicken.

3. Remove from heat.  Beat the egg in a small bowl. Add two tablespoon of the milk mixture to the egg and mix well. Add the cream, can of coconut milk, the nutmeg, salt and pepper to the saucepan. Stir in the egg.

4. Bring to a boil, stirring often, for ten minutes.

5. Set aside until needed.

Peasant Pan-cooked beef (Carne de panela caipira)

This traditional Brazilian dish combines many vegetables with meat in a thick gravy. It can be eaten alone or—of course—with rice. It smells wonderful while it cooks and is one of my husband's favorite meals!

If you can't find yucca root, just sub with another potato or two!

Peasant Pan-cooked beef (Carne de panela caipira)

Time needed: prep: 1 hour cook: 1 hour total: 2 hours
Servings: 8-10
Ingredients:

Marinade:
2 lb. Stew meat or 2 lb. steak, cut into cubes
2 libros de carne cortada em cubos
1/4 t Salt
1/4 colher de chá de sal
1/4 t Black pepper
1/4 colher de chá de pimenta negra
1 t Garlic
1 colher de chá de alho
1 T Apple cider vinegar
1 colher de sopa de vinagre de maçã
2 T fresh Parsley, chopped, or 1 T dried
2 colheres de sopa de cheiro verde
Prepare the marinade. Add the meat and marinate for at least 1 hour.
Junte tudo e deixa pelo menos uma hora.

For the pan:
Na panela:
2 T oil
2 colheres de sopa de óleo
1 onion diced
1 cebola, picada
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 dentes de alho, amassados
3 potatoes, quartered
3 batatas, cortadas em quatro
1 large yucca root or 2 small, peeled and trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 raíz grande de mandioca, cortada em cubos
2 ears of corn, cut in half
2 espigas de milho, cortadas em rodelas
2 C beef broth
2 copos de caldo de carne
1 carrot, quartered
1 cenoura, picada
2 sweet potato, peeled and quartered
2 batatas doce, cortadas em quatro
1 tsp salt
1 colher de chá de sal
Cilantro to garnish
salsinha

Directions:

1. In a large heavy saucepan, heat the oil for two minutes. Add the meat (reserve the marinade liquid) and sear for two minutes.
1. Em uma panela grande, coloque o óleo e aqueça por dois minutos. Acrescente a carne (reserve o líquido da marinada) e doure por dois minutos.
2. Add the onion and garlic and slowly add the marinade liquid.
2. Junte a cebola e alho e pingue o líquido da marinada.

3. When everything is well-covered in sauce, add the yucca root and the corn, one cup of broth, and the salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for forty minutes.

3. Quando estiver tudo bem refogado, junte um copo de caldo de carne, a mandioca, o milho, e o sal. Feche a panela e deixe ferver por quarenta minutos.

4. Open the lid, add the potatoes and the carrot and the other cup of broth. Add more water if necessary. Close the lid and simmer for ten more minutes.
4. Abra a panela, junte as batatas, a cenoura, e o outro copo de caldo de carne. Acrescente mais água se for necessário. Tampe novamente e deixe por mais dez minutos.

5. Serve with white rice. Garnish with cilantro. Season with salt and pepper as necessary.
5. Sirva com arroz branco e salsinha.

    ,astef,

    ,amaa

Bacon-Potato Stacks

These are a fun bite-sized side dish that tastes like a baked potato. I used cotija cheese, but you could use cheddar or blue cheese.

Ingredients:

4-5 small red potatoes

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp olive oil

4 slices bacon, cooked

2 oz. cotija cheese

1/2 tomato, diced

2 T sour cream

2 T chives

Thinly slice the potatoes, discarding the ends. A mandolin works well for this if you have one. You should end up with about 50 slices.

Spray 18 muffin tins. combine the potato slices, black pepper, and oil in a bowl. Toss well to coat. Crumble the bacon. 

Press one potato slice into each muffin cup. Sprinkle with half the bacon and cheese. Repeat the layering, putting another potato slice on top, followed by the rest of the bacon and cheese. Top with the remaining potato slice.

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. The longer you bake them, the crispier they get, so a lot of this depends on preference. Remove pans from oven and immediately remove stacks to a cooling rack.

Dice the tomatoes. Put a dollop of sour cream on each potato stack, sprinkle on the tomatoes and chives. Serve!

Tastefully,

Tamara

Grilled Salmon with Bacon Salsa and Potatoes

About once a week I try to make a really grand meal, the kind that we'd get at a restaurant, and therefore we can skip going to a restaurant that week. (Only works half the time. Often we end up with a grand meal and a restaurant night anyway.)

So this week I made grilled salmon and potatoes. The grill used to be very daunting for me, and I still feel it takes some work to make it do what I want. So once I have it fired up, I'm going all the way, man. Main dish, side dish, even dessert.

Oh, about dessert. You won't see it pictured here, even though we loved it, because Hubby gave me an idea to make it even better, and I can't wait to try it again. I'm going to make some changes and try it again, and if it turns out amazing, I'll post it here.

On to the main event. We'll start with the potatoes:

Grilled Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 large unpeeled baking potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 t salt

Combine oil, rosemary, garlic, and salt in a bowl.

Add potato slices and turn until well coated. Grill over medium heat or 300 degrees F for about 8 minutes. Turn and grill 10 more minutes. Remove from grill.

Meanwhile, prepare the salmon.

Ingredients:

4 - 6 salmon fillets

fresh thyme

2 slices thick bacon

1/2 C diced onions

1 T minced garlic

10 oz. can rotel (mild)

Season the salmon with salt and pepper and the thyme. Spray with canola oil. Sear on the grill on both sides. Place the salmon fillets in an aluminum tray. Place in an unheated section of the grill. Close the lid and cook for 15-20 more minutes or until done. (turn halfway through.) The meat should be opaque when cooked.

While the salmon cooks, prepare the bacon salsa. Cut the bacon into 1/4 inch slices and cook in a pan. When the fat has rendered, add the onions. Cook until the onions sweat, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and the tomatoes. Heat gently, simmering until most of the moisture evaporates.

Serve the salsa over the fish with the potatoes on the side. 

Tastefully,

Tamara