Buñuelos de Bacalao – Salt Cod Fritters
Learn to make delicious Spanish salt cod fritters with this easy recipe from Omar Alibhoy. Crisp, golden and packed with the flavour of bacalao, they're absolutely delicious as part of a tapas spread.
Introduction
Traditional buñuelos used to be sweet and were commonly sold in bakeries around Easter. With time, more developed recipes have arisen to bring us buñuelos made with savoury ingredients, such as cod (bacalao), cheese or even chard.
Ingredients
| 125g (4½oz) | boneless and skinless dried salt cod (bacalao) (you can use just fresh cod if you prefer, but you will lose a lot of the intensity of flavour) |
| 2 (about 650g/1½lb) | potatoes |
| 200g (7oz) | fresh cod |
| 2 tbsp | finely chopped chives |
| 1 | garlic clove, crushed |
| 1 | whole egg |
| 1 tbsp | plain (all-purpose) flour, if needed |
| sunflower oil, for deep-frying | |
| Alioli or Romesco Sauce, to serve |
Method
First, to rehydrate the salt cod, put it in a container and pour in enough cold water to cover. Leave overnight and change the water at least twice to extract as much salt as possible from the cod.
When you are ready to start cooking, peel and cut the potatoes into slices 1cm (½in) thick. Boil in unsalted water over a medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain and allow to dry. Finely chop both the rehydrated salt cod and the fresh cod, removing any bones you find. Mix with the chives and garlic by hand or using a blender or food processor. Add the egg and boiled potatoes and mash together. Set aside for at least 10 minutes while you heat the oil.
Depending on the potato and the size of your egg, the mixture could be a bit loose. If so, add the flour and the consistency should be better. Pour enough oil into a deep pan to cover the base by about 3cm (1¼in). Heat until a cube of day-old bread dropped into the oil turns golden in about 30 seconds. Alternatively, heat a deep fryer to 180°C (360°F).
Drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the hot oil and fry until they float and turn light golden, up to 2 minutes. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels while you finish the fritters. Serve with alioli or romesco sauce.
(The salt cod fritters are pictured at the top of the image alongside cheese fritters at the bottom, which you can find the recipe for in Spanish Made Easy).
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