Easy Portuguese Cod Pasta with Creamy Fricassée Sauce

I was left with half a filled of cooked cod, so what to do… what to do? What about a nice farfalle pasta with a fricassée style sauce and, of course, flaked cod? I think it turned out fantastic, and it was no trouble at all to make.

This is a fantastic way to make use of already cooked codfish. Instead of sending those leftovers on a sad one way trip to the back of the fridge, you turn them into a creamy, lemony, comforting plate of pasta in about half an hour. The fricassée-style sauce is a classic French sauce, but this time with a Portuguese spirit hehehe, made with just an egg yolk, a little lemon, some cilantro and a splash of the pasta cooking water, so it’s silky without being too heavy.

And in this case it was cod, but it can be any leftover fish. If you don’t have any, maybe a can of fish like tuna or cod will turn out really good too. Let’s get to the recipe!

Easy Portuguese Cod Pasta with Creamy Fricassée Sauce

Servings: 2
Time: 35mins
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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A really good recipe for using up already cooked cod, with a lovely bow-tie pasta and a fricassée-style sauce.

Ingredients

Farfalle Pasta – 120g
Cod – 1/2 Fillet (Cooked and Flaked)
Onion – 1
Garlic – 2 Cloves
Olive Oil – A Drizzle
Egg Yolk – 1
Lemon Juice – 1 Teaspoon
Cilantro – A Pinch
Pepper – A Pinch
Salt – A Pinch

Directions

Start by cooking the bow-tie pasta in a pot with plenty of hot, salted water, cook until tender, then drain, reserving some of the cooking water for the sauce and set the pasta aside.
While the pasta cooks, sauté the chopped onion and garlic in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil until the onion is well-browned.

Add the shredded cod and cook for another minute.
Whisk the egg yolk and stir in a little of the reserved pasta cooking water, keep stirring to warm the yolk and prevent it from curdling.

Reduce the heat in the pan, add the egg yolk mixture, and stir well. Add the lemon juice, stir again, and finally fold in the cilantro. Mix until everything is creamy, then taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Pour the mixture over the pasta, toss everything together, and it’s ready to serve. Enjoy!

Notes & Tips: If you don’t want to make a fricassée, swap the egg yolk and lemon for a little cream. It’s also really good.

Keep the heat low once the yolk goes in. The sauce should only warm gently, around 160°F (70°C) at most. Any hotter and you’ll end up with scrambled egg instead of cream.

Add the pasta water a spoonful at a time. You can always loosen the sauce a bit more, but it’s hard to thicken it back up.

Taste before adding any salt. Cooked salted cod and pasta water can already bring plenty.

Use the lemon sparingly at first. One teaspoon gives a lovely brightness, and you can add a touch more at the end if you like.

This recipe for Easy Portuguese Cod Pasta with Creamy Fricassée Sauce was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Fricasé Cremoso de Bacalhau foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.