Portuguese Cod Fish Fritters • Pataniscas de Bacalhau

For the New Years how about a classic Portuguese snack, who doesn’t love pataniscas de bacalhau (portuguese cod fritters), the cousin of pasteis de bacalhau (potato cod fritters), only with less work to make and just like the pastel de bacalhau they’re delicious freshly made or the next day, perfect for parties or picnics!

Portuguese Cod Fish Fritters are a classic of Portuguese cuisine, especially popular in the Lisbon and Ribatejo regions. The recipe probably comes from the use of leftover codfish, creating beautiful golden fried codfish-flavored fritters, perfect to accompany a meal or as a delicious snack.

These are made with cooked cod flakes in a light seasoned batter. The pataniscas are fried until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. For me, the secret to a perfect patanisca lies in taking the salt from the cod properly and creating a very light batter, usually made with flour, eggs and a touch of water or milk to give it the ideal consistency. Some recipes include chopped onion and parsley, which also add flavor and freshness to the dish. Another tip is to fry the pataniscas in very hot oil so that they are dry and golden without absorbing excess fat.

Codfish pataniscas are often served with tomato rice because this is perfect with any kind of fried food, but they can be served on their own or with any other side dish, so let’s get to the recipe!

Portuguese Cod Fish Fritters • Pataniscas de Bacalhau

Servings: 4
Time: 1hr 10mins
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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Delight in the savory goodness of Portuguese Cod Fish Fritters, or Pataniscas de Bacalhau, where tender pieces of salted cod are mixed with a flavorful batter and fried to golden perfection, its one of those snacks that you cant miss in Portugal.

Ingredients

Codfish – 200gr
Flour – 100gr
Eggs – 2
Milk – 50ml
Onion – 1
Garlic – 1 clove
Coriander – To taste
Vegetable Oil – For Frying (I used Sunflower)
Pepper – A pinch
Salt – A pinch

Directions

Combine the flour in a bowl, make a hole in the middle, pour in the eggs and milk and season with pepper and salt. Now mix well until you get a smooth but sticky mixture (it mustn’t be too liquid).
Finely chop the onion and garlic and add to the purée, mix a little.
If you haven’t already done so, remove the skin and bones from the cod and finely chop it and add it to the purée.

Finally, chop some coriander and add it to the cream, season with a little more salt and pepper.

Heat the oil, when it’s hot pour in the batter in spoonfuls, such as a soup ladle, let it fry on one side and then turn each patanisca over to fry the other side so that both sides are golden brown.
Remove each patanisca from the oil onto absorbent kitchen paper, taste the first fry to see if you need to rectify the salt and pepper in the batter and fry the remaining batter until you have no more.
And that’s it, Happy New Year and enjoy! 😀

Notes: It might sound strange but i really like to just make a sandwich with these friters, i know its a bit carbs on carbs but its one of those childhood things i did and so i love it 😀

This recipe for Portuguese Cod Fish Fritters • Pataniscas de Bacalhau was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Pataniscas Fofas de Bacalhau foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.