Bacalhau à Bruxa de Valpaços
Ok, I had to try this recipe just based on the name alone! According to local legend, the Witch of Valpaços, Maria de Jesus Mourão, was more well regarded for her cooking skills than her magic. Her style seems to have been to create a casserole, in which you layer potatoes, onion, bacon, and garlic and then let it cook in olive oil and any other fat released by other ingredients (bacon! but, there is also a rabbit version out there). Then, in this case, add your (well soaked and checked for bones) salt cod (I used fresh haddock that I had in the freezer and skipped all the soaking) and continue to stew over slow heat until everything is cooked through. One version of this recipe (the one I used tonight) has you serve it up in a stack on your diners’ plates, and then make a quick hot vinaigrette to ladle over the top. The other has you add the vinegar before simmering the ingredients. What you get at then end are melting potatoes and onion with silky fish and a just tangy enough sauce to cut through all the richness. I will make this again!
Here is an article that gives more information about the Witch of Valpaços (and another version of the recipe!). If you open it in Chrome, you can use the browser translate function to read it (which I needed to do)!
