Portuguese Christmas Recipes

These will be the traditional dishes I will be cooking this Christmas Eve.

Oven baked Codfish

800gr salted codfish
1 teaspoon mustard
6 soup spoons Olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1kg small potatoes, peeled
500gr onions
1 teaspoon paprika
150ml Port wine
125gr Ham, Bacon or chourizo, sliced
parsley, black pepper

Slice the codfish into small pieces and let it soak for 12 to 24 hours, changing the water 2 or 3 times a day. The fish will swell and loose its saltiness too.
After drying the fish slices, smear each of them with the mustard. In a deep oven proof dish with lid, pour half the olive oil and the sliced garlic. Arrange the fish pieces, and around them put the small potatoes and quartered onions. Sprinkle with the paprika and pepper. Drizzle the rest of the olive oil and half the Port wine. Cover the dish and bake in the oven, at 180ºC for 25 minutes. Uncover the dish, add the bacon and the rest of the Port wine.
Return to the oven for another 10 minutes, testing if the potatoes and fish are cooked through.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Rabanadas (Tipsy slices)

1 French loaf (day old bread is best)
2 eggs
125 ml milk
5ml grated lemon rind
oil for frying

Syrup:
300gr sugar
250ml water
1 stick cinnamon
50ml Port wine

Cut the bread into 2cm thick slices. Beat the eggs and place in a soup plate.
Mix the milk and lemon rind and place in another soup plate-
Dip the bread slices into the milk and then into the beaten egg. Fry in hot oil and drain well.
Put into a shallow serving dish.

To make the syrup, boil the sugar, water and cinnamon stick for 3 minutes. Add the Port wine and bring to the boil again and pour over the slices of fried bread.

Variation:
If you prefer you can omit the syrup and instead sprinkle the fried bread with a mix of sugar and cinnamon. They will be dryer but not as sweet and syrupy.

Tipsy slices - in the front with the sugar and cinnamon, at the back with the syrup

Enjoy!
Hope you like my suggestions.