Bless this house O Lord We Pray; Make it safe by night and day. – The first prayer we were taught as children…that was a long time ago! So the priest blessed this house…
Bacalhau (Cod Fish) is a dietary staple here, as well as feijãos (similar to baked beans – why am I thinking of Blazing Saddles and grinning?) and although they take a lot of work, my wife makes them so well. So when the priest and the neighbors are coming over, you pull out all the stops. So, of course, I help!
Some of the “help” is easy, pour a glass of Vinho Tinto (red wine) and chop the garlic, onions, carrots, etc. Today, I got promoted to some of the more challenging (aka Yechhy) aspects…de-bone the bacalhau. Well, there is more training involved, more messy hands, and a much more sophisticated appreciation for the anatomy of a cod fish. Yeah, I’m not at the semi-pro level on that bacalhau yet…but I”ll get better, and there is always more vinho!
The way bacalhau is sold here makes it at least less challenging that Filetes do Abrotiea (Battered friend Hake) which tastes fantastic but someone has to gut and clean the fish…I’m not that good yet. The bacalhau here is sold in dried, salted sheets like it has been preserved for hundreds of years. The sheets are so big and so hard that if you’re buying a part of a fish, they use a pneumatic blade to copy it up. Then you soak it for days, changing the water each day, then you boil it forever, then you cool it, pull the bones out, and shred it. For my favorite dish, Bacalhau da Nadish, you then mix it with sliced potatoes, onions, garlic, and bake it for a while. Personally I love it so much we served it at our wedding reception 27 years ago. I’ve loved it ever since.
Of course, then, and up to today, I never had to do the bones and such…but I love it anyway. It’s part of the culture here, it’s part of he cuisine here, and it’s part of our simple, wonderful life here. I’ve found a few dishes that I always appreciate, no matter how or where they are made. Squid, not yet so much, lapish, definitely not on my “faves” list, but bacalhau da Nadish, always a safe order and way to fit in with our neighbors…I just now appreciate it even more because I know how many of them little bones Cod have. I still don’t know where they are, but I’m learning. And of course…there’s always more wine!