Pastéis de Bacalhau
Salt cod and potato fritters — Portugal's great street snack, crisp outside, soft within.
A triumph of humble ingredients transformed into a crisp, golden vessel of pure comfort. This is the definitive Portuguese street food.
It provides a compact, flavor-packed snack that sustains the hungry traveler between sightseeing stops.
Where it comes from
Salt cod fritters have been a reliable staple of the Portuguese diet since the cod fishing industry became the backbone of the economy. They were designed as a way to stretch expensive ingredients like cod, pairing them with the ubiquitous potato to create a filling, affordable meal. The specific, oblong shape is a traditional signature of the Lisbon snack trade.
The dish
These salt cod and potato croquettes possess a deep, golden-brown crust that yields to a fluffy, savory interior. They are best eaten hot, where the saltiness of the cod balances perfectly with the earthiness of the potato.
Key ingredients
- 01Salt cod
- 02Potatoes
- 03Eggs
- 04Parsley
- 05Onion
When to eat it
These are ideal for a quick breakfast or a midday snack on the go.
Why you might skip it
Those expecting a delicate or refined appetizer will find this fritter rustic and intensely fishy.
Good to know
Pick them up from local 'pastelarias' that bake them in small, hot batches throughout the morning.
Serve with
Adega de Colares
The cooperative cellar preserving the near-extinct Colares denomination — ungrafted Ramisco vines on the sand dunes above the Sintra coast. Tastings are in a beautiful old Adega and the wines are rare and ageworthy.
Bucelas
A minuscule DOC north of Lisbon producing dry, high-acid whites almost entirely from the Arinto grape — the same grape that gives Champagne-style structure, and which the Duke of Wellington reportedly drank during the Peninsular War.
Eat
Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato
Clams in garlic, coriander and white wine — the simplest, best shellfish of the Lisbon coast.
Bife à Marrare
A steak in a mustard-cream sauce — Lisbon's old café-era classic, rarely found elsewhere.
