My sunny twist on the classic Portuguese meia desfeita — saffron-marinated bacalhau, chickpeas, eggs, and slow-cooked onions, lifted with lots of fresh herbs, lemon, and a crunchy cornbread topping. Inspired by the flavours of Portugal and made with beautiful ingredients from Bexeb in Käerjeng.
For the bacalhau:
400g of bacalhau chunks, defrosted
A large pinch of saffron
2 tbsp olive oil
Zest from ½ lemon
2 tbsp dill, chopped
150g broa de milho
1 onion
300g frozen broad beans
400g chickpeas, drained
2 tbsp mint, chopped
2 tbsp coriander, chopped
12 cooked quail eggs, halved
For the dressing:
20ml olive oil
15ml white wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, crushed
Serves 4
Start by marinating the bacalhau: mix the saffron with 40ml of hot water, mix with the olive oil, lemon zest, dill and pepper and rub into the bacalhau. Set aside to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 200C fan. Crumble up the broa de milho and mix with olive oil and some salt and pepper in a baking tray.
Put the bacalhau into a second baking dish and bake next to the crumbs in the oven for 15 minutes, shaking halfway through, until the crumbs are golden and crispy. Leave to cool.
Peel and slice the onion. Fry in some olive oil with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes until meltingly soft. Set aside.
Cook the broad beans in boiling salted water for 8 minutes. Drain and cool under a running tap, then pod them and discard the skins.
Drain the chickpeans and rinse. Put in a bowl and mix with the broad beans, onions and herbs. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, white wine vinegar and garlic with a generous pinch of salt. Pour over the chickpeas and mix.
Put the chickpea salad onto a serving platter, arrange the bacalhau (without its juices) over the salad. Tuck the quail’s eggs in the salad. Grate some more lemon zest over the salad, season with a bit more salt, then scatter over the crispy crumbs and at room temperature.
