The Provençal Cod recipe is referenced for the first time in Lucas Rigaud’s 1780 book Cozinheiro Moderno ou a Nova Arte de Cozinha.
Whenever a dish is referred to as being ‘Provençal’, we can presume it is made with olive oil, garlic, and plenty of herbs, which were numerous in the region of Provence, in the south of France. Although its historic origin is not precise, we believe that this codfish recipe has Mediterranean influence, since Portuguese cuisine – like any other – owes and retrieves creations from close regions or cultures with which it has been in contact.
It is also important to remember that chefs – and cook books – travel: maybe this is the French influence that Lucas Rigaud (cook to Queen Mary I) highlighted in his book Cozinheiro Moderno ou a Nova Arte de Cozinha, in 1780, during the Enlightenment.
Prepare and thickly slice the codfish and place it in a bowl of water; let it soak for 36 hours changing the water every six hours. Then place the codfish in a roaster and let it roast for one hour with the oven at 180ºC (356ºF) until it is brown. In the meantime prepare the sauce: add olive oil or butter, sliced onion, and chopped garlic to another pan until they brown; then add tomato, the peppers, bay leaf, thyme, anise, wine or lemon juice, and salt. Mix all the ingredients together and let it cook in medium heat for 15 minutes; you can also add olives if you wish. Remove the sauce from the heat and sprinkle parsley. Remove the codfish from the oven, garnish with the sauce, and it is ready to serve.
Rigaud. L. (1780). Cozinheiro Moderno ou a Nova Arte de Cozinha. Lisboa : na Offic. Patriarc. de Francisco Luiz Ameno.
Sobral, J. M.; Rodrigues, P. (2013) O “fiel amigo”: o bacalhau e a identidade portuguesa. Etnográfica 17 (3), p.619-649.
http://www.virgiliogomes.com/index.php/cronicas/626-bacalhau
VVAA (2016). As melhores receitas de Bacalhau – Ideias para + de 100 refeições. Impala
Guedes, F. (2001). As 100 maneiras de cozinhar Bacalhau e outros peixes. Publicações Dom Quixote
VVAA (2003) O Grande Livro das Receitas de Bacalhau. Impala
Universidade Federal do Paraná - História da Alimentação
Contextos da Alimentação – Revista de Comportamento, Cultura e Sociedade