Cod gratin with mayonnaise (Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo)

How to prepare a cod gratin with mayonnaise .

I’m going to add a fish recipe to one of my favorites, the cod .

Again I have looked at the neighboring country, I have already told you that cod is one of its main dishes, so the variety of preparations is very wide.

This recipe originates from Porto  and is named after its creator, Zé do Pipo , owner of a famous restaurant in that city in the 1960s.

His great achievement was to win a national gastronomic contest with this main dish, which has led many restaurants to include it in their menus, until today.

For centuries, cod has been the most important dish in Portuguese gastronomy, and any cookbook with the most popular recipes testifies to this.

You can taste it in any restaurant or food house from major cities to any of the many towns that make up its geography.

The presentation of the dish can be different according to the imagination of each one, it is a very nutritious, economical dish with a really delicious flavor.

Before cooking. Cod and mayonnaise

1. In this case we have chosen salted cod loins with which we must previously desalinate them. We introduce them in water so that the loins are well covered.
2. Previously we clean the bulk of the salt under the tap, we have desalinated them for 24 hours, changing the water every 8 hours.
3. We keep the fish in the refrigerator at a temperature between 6 and 8º C, to avoid fermentation. Also inside the refrigerator there are no temperature fluctuations that could accelerate or delay desalting.
4. We crack an egg and pour it into the mixer glass. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice and a few grits of salt. Let’s pour the oil.
5. We put the mixer in the glass, start it and keep it still until it thickens. Let’s see how white threads with mayonnaise texture start to come out.
6. We do not make any movement with the mixer until the mixture has taken shape, then we can move up and down until homogeneous. We reserve in the fridge.
7. You can follow all the tips on how to make mayonnaise on the blog or with this video.

Preparation of the cod gratin with mayonnaise

1. The first thing is to lightly cook the cod. For this we put water to boil in a pot and cook it for a couple of minutes.
2. We turn off the fire, remove it to a tray and let it temper.
3. For the final preparation we remove the thorns and chop it into flakes.
4. In another casserole, cook the potatoes with plenty of water and a little salt. Until they are very tender, since we are going to present them in the form of puree.
5. While the potatoes are cooking, chop the onion and leek into brunoise, that is, into small cubes. Fry in a pan with olive oil. Add a little salt.
6. When the potatoes are well tender, we remove them from the heat and prepare the puree.
7. For that we put them in the glass of the mixer. Add a tablespoon of butter, milk and season.
8. We beat everything until it is a homogeneous paste and without lumps. We reserve.
9. Next we add the cod in chips to the sauce and stir everything until the fish is completely mixed with the vegetables. We remove from the fire.

Gratin. Presentation of cod gratin with mayonnaise

1. Once we have the ingredients ready it is time for the presentation, which is very peculiar in this dish. We turn the oven on grill mode so that it heats up.
2. We use mayonnaise , which we have reserved in the fridge, it can be bought or homemade.
3. We have made it at home, you have the way to prepare it at the beginning of the recipe, we have also included the video that we have on youtube. You have no excuse not to make it homemade.
4. In the center of the baking tray that we are going to use we place the scrambled eggs of cod and vegetables leaving space around.
5. Optionally we can open a small hole in the middle and add a little mayonnaise. The next thing is to cover the entire surface of the scramble with the rest of the mayonnaise.
6. The remaining space on the tray is filled with small balls of mashed potatoes, made with the help of a pastry bag.
7. This is the most striking aspect of the presentation of the dish, but if you do not have time or do not feel like it, you can put the puree with the help of a spoon.
8. Finally we spread black olives as a decoration and put it in the oven to gratin.
9. We leave it about 5-10 minutes, depending on the oven, until the mayonnaise turns golden.

Remove from the oven and serve without allowing to cool too much. The leftover mash is presented in a bowl to accompany the tray.

Cheer up with this recipe, I assure you that it will become a fixture in your kitchen.

You can see all the photos of the step by step recipe of cod gratin with mayonnaise in this album. Do not miss any detail and you will get a yummy cod.