Name: A Taberna
Address: Av. Dr. Ramos Pereira 349, Vila Praia de Âncora, 4910-547, PT
Price range: €
Rating: 4

Portugal

Vila Praia de Âncora

A Taberna

Pataniscas de bacalhau are Portuguese salt-cod fritters: flaked, desalted cod folded into a loose batter of flour, egg, chopped onion and parsley, dropped by the spoonful into hot oil and fried into ragged, golden, lacy discs about the size of a palm. They are a Lisbon and Estremadura dish above all, eaten as a petisco with a beer at the counter of a tasca, as a starter, or as a main course over arroz de feijão, the tomatoey bean rice that is their classic partner, and they are one of the standard uses for the leftovers of a boiled cod dinner. They differ from the bolinho de bacalhau, the other Portuguese cod fritter, in having no potato and no shaping: a bolinho is a smooth, mashed, torpedo-shaped croquette, a patanisca is a flat, irregular pancake in which the flakes of fish are visible. The name is also applied to vegetable fritters, pataniscas de legumes, made the same way.

The cod is the dried salted kind, soaked for twenty-four to forty-eight hours in several changes of cold water, then poached briefly and pulled into flakes with the skin and bones removed; a little of the poaching water is kept. The batter is flour, eggs, finely chopped onion and parsley, pepper and sometimes a spoon of the cod water or a splash of beer, mixed to the consistency of a thick pancake batter, and the cod is folded through so that it is held rather than hidden; the proportion of fish to batter should be high, close to equal by volume. Spoonfuls go into oil at around 180°C, a tablespoon or two each, and are fried for two to three minutes a side until deep gold with crisp, uneven edges, then drained on paper. They are eaten hot or at room temperature, with lemon on the side and, if they are the main course, a plate of the bean rice.

Judge a patanisca by picking it up and tearing it: the edges should be thin, crisp and lacy, the centre soft but cooked through, and distinct flakes of cod should be visible and tasted in every bite. The fish should be properly desalted, so that it tastes of cod and sea rather than of salt, and the onion and parsley should be present and fresh. Mark down a fritter that is heavy and doughy, which means too much flour or batter in the mix, one that is greasy because the oil was too cool, a smooth uniform texture with no visible fish, which means the cod was minced or the ratio was mean, cod that is still salty or has gone fibrous, and fritters that have been fried ahead and reheated, which show as a limp edge and a dull surface. A patanisca the size of a dinner plate is a party trick, not a point in its favour.

Pataniscas

Tasty well seasoned, but could be more crispy. Needed a bit more time in the fryer.

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