Bacalhao Espiritual (Soul Cod)

Serves two.

Ingredients:

400g dried salted cod
300g carrots
2 onions
3 garlic cloves
6 slices of bread, the crusts removed
250g cream
250g milk
olive oil
nutmeg
pepper
salt
breadcrumbs

Method:

Leave the fish to soak in water for 24 hours, replacing the water now and again. Carefully remove all bones and skin, and chop the fish into small pieces.

Finely chop the onions and garlic, and sweat over a moderate heat until the onions are translucent (c. 5 minutes).

Add the grated carrots and sweat the vegetables for c. 10 minutes, stirring intermittently.

Now add the fish and stir gently for c. 5 minutes.

Soak the sliced bread in milk, and knead into a thick purée. Add to fish and give everything a really good mix.

Season with a little freshly grated nutmeg and pepper. You may also need a little salt, but go easy as the fish is already quite salty.

Pour the mixture into an oven-proof dish, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes at 200 degrees centigrade. It's ready when the top of the dish is nicely browned.

Enjoy this taste of Portugal!