Pastéis de Bacalhau (Portuguese Cod Cakes)

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This is a recipe I am really proud of being able to convert to LCHF! I spent my whole life growing up eating these beauties and definitely didn’t want to go without them for the rest of my life. This is based off my avó’s (grandmother’s) recipe. If you haven’t tried these before be sure to give them a go, they’re super addictive! And if you are familiar with them then even more reason to test them out, you’ll be surprised at how much they taste like the carb version!

 

Pastéis de Bacalhau (Portuguese Cod Cakes) – Makes approximately 40

 

1 kg approximately bacalhau (dried and salted cod fish) prepared; the amount of fish you end up with for the recipe will vary depending on how fleshy your fish pieces are and if they have a lot of bone

1 kg cauliflower

1/2 large onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

7-8 sprigs flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped

3 eggs

3 tbsp coconut flour

fat/oil for deep frying (I use Supafry)

 

For preparing bacalhau: have your bacalhau cut into managable pieces and soak in a large bowl of cold water for 2 days. Change the water once or twice daily. Empty the water from the bowl and rinse bacalhau.

Bring a pot of water to the boil. Boil bacalhau for 10 minutes then drain and leave until cool enough to handle. With your hands, peel off skin, remove bones (there are a lot of tiny ones!) and break the fish up as you go. Give it a quick blitz in a food processor.

Boil cauliflower until just tender, drain and then let stand in a colander to continue to drain and cool until no more steam is coming off. It is very important to keep the cauliflower from getting too soggy.

Once cooled blitz cauliflower then add to a bowl along with your bacalhau, garlic, onion and parsley. Mix well and add eggs. Mix well again and then add coconut flour. Mix well.

The coconut flour should soak up any excess moisture there might have been from the cauliflower. If you find yours is still watery you may need to add some more coconut flour. Otherwise they will fall apart when frying.

Heat fat/oil in a wok on high heat. Shape the bacalhau into oval ‘cakes’ using 2 eating spoons, rolling a spoonful between each spoon. Carefully drop into the oil/fat. Give it a minute or so before you handle them so they don’t break apart or lose their shape, then roll the ‘cakes’ around gently in the oil every so often so they cook and colour evenly. Once they are a really nice golden brown, remove them to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.

 

Nutritional Info:

Cals – 37.5

Fat – 0.7g

Protein – 5.8g

Total Carbs – 1.9g

Fibre – 0.7g

Sugars – 0.6g

Net Carbs – 1.1g