Pataniscas de bacalhau – crisp cod fritters

Start with cod that is already desalted, completely thawed and drained. Weigh out 400 g raw fish without skin or bones. Cut any thicker pieces so they are at most 2 cm thick. Bring 1 l water to a boil in a small pot without salt, add the cod and, once a very gentle simmer returns, cook for 5–6 minutes, until the fish is cooked and flakes easily. Lift it onto a plate with a slotted spoon. Reserve 100 ml of the cooking water and pour away the rest. Cool the fish and reserved water for about 15–20 minutes, until no warmer than lukewarm.

Use a fork to separate all the cooled fish into small flakes, checking that no bones remain. Remove any bones you find and keep all the edible fish. Chop the onion very finely so it has time to soften in the thin fritters. Finely chop the parsley. Taste a small piece of cooked fish to judge its saltiness before seasoning the batter.

Mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Add the eggs and all 100 ml of cooled fish cooking water, then whisk until smooth. Fold in all the cod, onion, parsley and black pepper. Add salt only if the cooked fish was not very salty, using up to 2 g from the reserve. The batter should be thick but slide easily off a spoon; it should spread slightly when flattened in the pan. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

Pour all the oil into a high-sided frying pan about 24 cm across, making a layer about 1.5 cm deep. Heat over medium heat to about 170–175°C. A small drop of batter should immediately bubble and rise, but it should not darken at once. Set a plate lined with paper towels and a separate serving plate nearby. Do not add a large amount of batter at once, so the oil does not cool down sharply.

Scoop up a full spoonful of batter and carefully slide it into the oil. Flatten each portion gently with the back of the spoon to make an irregular fritter about 7 cm across and at most 1 cm thick. Fry a few at a time with space between them for 2–3 minutes on each side, until golden, with crisp edges and fully set centers. Turn with a wide spatula. If they brown too quickly, lower the heat and give the centers time to cook through.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked fritters to paper towels to drain excess fat briefly, then move them to a plate. Fry the remaining small batches the same way, letting the oil heat back up between batches. Use all the fish batter, scraping it from the bowl. Do not immediately pile the fritters into a tall stack, and do not cover them, so steam does not soften the crisp edges.

Divide all the pataniscas among 4 plates as a snack and serve immediately while still hot and crisp. The oil left in the pan and the paper towels used for draining do not go onto the plates. Keep any unused salt for other cooking.