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Pataniscas de bacalhau
Salt cod fritters
Pataniscas de bacalhau: crisp, lacy salt cod fritters with onion and parsley
Where pastéis de bacalhau are neat and smooth, pataniscas are rough and generous: spoonfuls of a loose batter packed with shreds of salt cod, onion and parsley, fried into wide, crisp-edged fritters. Lisbon tascas serve them at lunch with arroz de feijão, a soupy red-bean rice, or tucked into a bread roll as a snack. Soak the cod in the fridge for a day or two first. A common mistake is a batter as thick as pancake mix, which gives doughy fritters; it should drop loosely from the spoon. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 30 minutes so the flour swells and the fritters hold together without needing more.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz dried salt codsoaked 24–48 hours in the fridge, water changed 3–4 times
- 5 ½ oz plain flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 onionvery finely chopped
- 4 tbsp flat-leaf parsleychopped
- 1 clove garliccrushed
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 ¼ cups sunflower oilfor shallow frying
- 1 lemon (optional)in wedges
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Put the soaked 10 ½ oz dried salt cod in a pan of cold water and bring to a gentle simmer for 6–8 minutes, until opaque and flaking. Lift it out and keep 200 ml of the water for the batter.
10 minStep 2: When cool, remove skin and bones and pull the flesh into thin shreds.
Step 3: Whisk 5 ½ oz plain flour, 2 eggs and ¾ cup cod poaching water or cold water into a loose batter, about as thick as double cream. Stir in 1 onion, 4 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, 1 clove garlic and ½ tsp black pepper, then the cod. Rest for 30 minutes.
30 minStep 4: Heat 1 ¼ cups sunflower oil 1 cm deep in a frying pan over a medium-high heat until a drop of batter sizzles at once.
3 minStep 5: Drop in heaped tablespoons of batter, spreading each into a rough 8 cm fritter with ragged edges. Fry 4 at a time for 2 minutes a side, until golden and crisp at the edges and cooked through in the middle.
15 minStep 6: Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven while you fry the rest. Taste one before adding salt; the cod usually seasons them enough.
Step 7: Serve hot with 1 lemon wedges and red-bean rice or a tomato salad.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 350 kcal
- Protein
- 28 g
- Carbs
- 33 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pataniscas de bacalhau take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of eggs?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
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