Recipe Idea for Lent: Ensalada de Bacalao (Puerto Rican Codfish Salad)

The Lenten season began yesterday, with Ash Wednesday marking the beginning of a 7-week period of meatless Fridays before the Easter holiday for many households. Growing up in a Latino Catholic household, each year my family honored Cuaresma (Lent) by following the church’s traditions of fasting and abstinence from meat. On Ash Wednesday and every Friday after that through Easter, we would not eat any meat except fish. We would also fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Because of Lent, I learned to eat a lot of fish and seafood, with bacalao (codfish) being a popular fish my mom would cook in a variety of ways. Last year I shared her recipe for bacalao en salsa (codfish fricassee), but another way she prepared codfish was in a salad.

This recipe for ensalada de bacalao, a Puerto Rican codfish salad, is one that I grew up eating often and remember it tasting light and fresh, yet really flavorful due to the combination of vegetables and the bacalao. Ensalada de bacalao definitely brings a unique blend of ingredients together, making for a great Lent recipe to add to your meatless Fridays menu. The ingredients for this Puerto Rican codfish salad should be simple to find as well – most can be found in the fresh produce section of your local Walmart – and the bacalao should be in the seafood area. Ready to learn how to make ensalada de bacalao?

Ensalada de Bacalao (Puerto Rican Codfish Salad) Recipe

Ingredients

• 14 oz, Bacalao (Salted Alaskan Pollock or Codfish)
• 2-3 cups potatoes, peeled, cubed, and rinsed
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup onion, julienned
• 2-3 cups lettuce, shredded
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1-2 tsp oregano
• bay leaf, 2-3 small leaves, crushed
• 1 small avocado, sliced
• 2-3 eggs, hard boiled, quartered
• Salt, to taste

Directions

1. In a large pot, boil bacalao in about 5 cups water for about 30 minutes. This is to remove some of the salt. Drain.
2. Repeat step 1, but this time, add potatoes to pot. They’ll pick up on the flavor of the bacalao as they boil.
3. Boil bacalao and potatoes for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Drain.
4. Hand-shred bacalao and set aside along with potatoes.
5. In small pan, heat olive oil and saute onion on medium heat until slightly translucent.
6. In large bowl or serving dish, mix bacalao, potatoes, onion and olive oil mixture, lettuce, tomatoes, oregano, and bay leaf. Add salt to taste, as you mix.
7. Layer avocado slices and egg quarters on top before serving.

We normally ate our ensalada de bacalao with a side of white rice, but you can easily eat your serving of Puerto Rican codfish salad with some bread or even on its own! I’m sure you can come up with other ways to eat your ensalada de bacalao too – I’d love to hear about it, share how you pair your Puerto Rican codfish salad in the comments!

Will you be adding this Puerto Rican codfish salad to your Lenten meatless Fridays menu?

All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami™