00:00Bacalhão is found on almost every menu in Portugal, as well as the buffets of family
00:06get-togethers.
00:07Oddly enough, cod can't even be found in Portuguese waters.
00:12So how did this become virtually Portugal's national dish?
00:15We're looking for the answer to this question in Alhão in the Algarve.
00:19The city has two big market halls, one for vegetables and the other for seafood and meat.
00:26Just across the road is the Chisteria restaurant.
00:29Here too, bacalhão is a main dish.
00:34To me bacalhão is a tradition.
00:36It brings the family together at the table.
00:38You eat it for Christmas and Easter.
00:42So it's a part of my childhood memories and still influences my life as a grown-up and
00:46my work as a chef.
00:50Cristiano demonstrates how bacalhão is often prepared for holidays.
00:55The dish is called chorêng, a coarse cornmeal, onions, garlic and, not to forget, bacalhão.
01:04But for that we have to go to the supermarket, not the market hall, partly because of the
01:08strict hygiene regulations.
01:11So where does Portugal get its cod from?
01:15Cod is caught far out in the North Atlantic.
01:18Until the 1970s, the Portuguese were fishing cod off Newfoundland, until the stocks collapsed.
01:24Today most of it is caught off Norway and Iceland.
01:28Dried and salted, it'll keep for months, making it an ideal provision for sailors.
01:33In the Middle Ages, the church and king prohibited red meat on 150 days a year, which resulted
01:39in a higher fish consumption.
01:42Back in Alhiao, a restaurant employee has brought back the cod from the supermarket.
01:47But in its dried form, the fish can't be used for cooking.
01:54Here we have our dried and salted cod.
02:00First, we have to soak the fish in cold water and change the water once an hour.
02:05That can take up to three days.
02:09We can tell if it's ready for cooking by tasting the water.
02:12As soon as it doesn't taste salty anymore, we can start with the preparation.
02:19First Cristiano prepares an entree, deep-fried bacalhão croquettes, followed by a spicy chorêng.
02:25Let's start with the pataniskas.
02:29For them we need flour, eggs, garlic, onions, bacalhão, peppers and a few spices.
02:35We fry it all up in oil and serve it with our garlic mayonnaise.
02:40The bacalhão is coated in batter and placed in hot oil.
02:46Then we serve it with our garlic mayonnaise.
02:50This is one of the quicker of the more than 1,000 variations on bacalhão.
03:00And we garnish it with fresh coriander.
03:05The main dish, siren, is based on cornmeal and bacalhão.
03:10Cristiano trims it with chorizo, little mussels and glass wort.
03:14We fry the bacalhão in hot olive oil.
03:22Then we brown the onions, garlic and chorizo in oil.
03:29We fry these until they're golden brown and then add them to the cornmeal.
03:33Then gradually add water until the siren has finished cooking.
03:37Now add a little white wine and at the end, more glass wort for saltiness.
03:46Bacalhão cooks rapidly.
03:51We lightly sauté the cornmeal and keep adding the water we cooked the bacalhão in, little
03:55by little, until it's tender all the way through.
04:01When it's done, I can arrange it on the plate.
04:07This is how we arrange the siren.
04:11The dish is on our menu.
04:12Our patrons here are welcome to try it.
04:15Siren of chorizo, mussels and bacalhão.
04:19This is one of the modern variations on a classic of Portuguese cuisine.
04:23The dish shows the siren.
04:28Manet of chorizo, mussels and bacalhão.
04:31And here we are.
04:32Sometimes we can play the same music on the podcast, chimes and bacon.
04:32We may have been making parts of the CiccolaCon.
04:37But as you know, if you know the way through the family,
04:38then you may be comfortable andaney.
04:39And the hot sauce of the tariff's to Aerialceu,
04:42you know that is absolutely unbelievable.
04:43And here we are.
04:45We are.
04:46We are.
04:47We are.
04:48We are.
04:49We are.
04:50We are.
04:50We are.
04:51We are.
04:51We are.
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