Bacalhau à Brás — cod with potato straws, eggs and olives

Use salt-cured cod that has then been desalted, sold ready to cook as bacalhau demolhado. At the start, the fish must be completely thawed if it was frozen, and kept refrigerated according to the label. Run your fingers over the flesh, remove any bones and pat dry. Pull off a small flake, cook it in a little water with no salt for about 2 minutes until opaque, then cool and taste: it should be pleasantly salty. If it is sharply salty, cover the fish with cold water, refrigerate for 30 minutes, drain and repeat the test; repeat the soaking if needed. This is extra time beyond the time given in the recipe. Weigh out 500 g of properly desalted, drained fish and use your fingers to separate it into small flakes about 2–3 cm long. Prepare a deep 28–30 cm frying pan, an 18–20 cm diameter pot for frying, a slotted spoon and a kitchen thermometer.

Cut the peeled potatoes into slices 1.5–2 mm thick, then into equally thin strips about 4–6 cm long. You can use a mandoline with a hand guard and a knife. Rinse the measured 600 g of potato straws in cold water 2–3 times, then leave them in fresh cold water for 15 minutes. Prepare the onion and other ingredients during this time. Before frying, drain the potatoes thoroughly, spread them on clean kitchen towels and dry very carefully, including any water trapped between the strips.

Cut the 250 g of onion into thin half-moons, about 2 mm thick. Finely chop the 10 g of garlic and 12 g of parsley; set aside 4 g of parsley separately for serving. Drain the 60 g of black olives. Beat all 8 eggs with the 0.5 g of pepper in a bowl, just to combine the whites and yolks, without whipping into a foam. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until you assemble the dish. The fish and olives will provide salt, so do not add salt to the eggs or potatoes.

Pour all 700 ml of oil into the pot; it should form a layer about 2–3 cm deep, and the pot must not be more than half full. Heat the oil to 175–180°C. Divide the thoroughly dried potatoes into 4 equal batches, each equivalent to about 150 g of raw potatoes. Fry one batch at a time for about 3–4 minutes, gently separating the strips with a slotted spoon, until light golden and crisp. Do not wait for them to turn dark brown. Lift onto paper towels and spread loosely so steam can escape. Bring the oil back to 175–180°C before the next batch. Use the same pool of oil for all batches; the oil left in the pot is not part of the finished dish.

After frying the potatoes, heat the 50 g of olive oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium-low heat. Add all the onion and cook for about 10–12 minutes, stirring often, until soft, translucent and slightly sweet. Do not brown it heavily; lower the heat if the edges start browning. Add the garlic and stir for about another 30–45 seconds, just until fragrant.

Add the prepared cod flakes to the onion. Cook over medium heat for about 5–6 minutes, gently separating the fish with a spatula and mixing it with the olive oil. The fish should turn opaque and flake easily; the thickest piece should reach at least 63°C. Extend cooking if needed. If watery liquid collects on the bottom, cook it off for an additional 1–2 minutes, stirring. The mixture should remain moist from the onion and olive oil, but not be swimming in water.

Add all the fried, drained potato straws to the pan. Fold gently with a spatula for about 30 seconds to combine them with the fish and onion without crushing the strips. Take the pan off the burner for about 1 minute. Take the eggs out of the refrigerator and stir briefly; the next stage requires gentle heating and constant stirring.

With the pan off the heat, pour in all the beaten eggs, immediately stirring gently and scraping the mixture from the bottom. Return to the lowest heat and warm for about 3–5 minutes, constantly folding with a spatula. If the eggs set too quickly, briefly take the pan off the burner. The eggs should form a soft, moist layer around the fish and potatoes. After mixing, check the temperature in several places without letting the probe touch the bottom: the whole mixture should reach 71°C. There should be no liquid raw egg or dry, firmly clumped scrambled eggs. As soon as the dish reaches this state, take it off the heat immediately; the pan's heat will continue to thicken the eggs.

After taking the pan off the heat, stir in the reserved 8 g of chopped parsley. Immediately divide the dish among 4 plates, forming loose portions without pressing them down firmly. Sprinkle with the remaining 4 g of parsley and distribute all 60 g of olives, one quarter per serving, which is about 5 small olives per person. Serve immediately: the thin potatoes should be visible between the cod flakes, and the eggs still moist and tender.