Food Stories is a column in which Best of Vegan community members share recipes from their cultures and personal stories connected to those dishes. Today, Kathryn Alexandre of Tasty, Thrifty, Timely shares her recipe for Vegan Bacalhau, a traditional Portuguese cod stew, veganized with hearts of palm.
Here is my recipe for vegan Portuguese Bacalhau (cod stew) using hearts of palm in place of the codfish! This is a veganized version of the recipe made by my mother and grandmothers. I’m Canadian, based in Toronto, but my heritage is Portuguese and my childhood was filled with Portuguese dishes like this one.
Ingredients
- 796 ml hearts of palm - 1 large or 2 smaller cans
- 4 small seaweed snack sheets
- 2 tsp paprika - we use smoked!
- 1 red bell pepper - sliced thin
- 1 large yellow onion - sliced thin
- 1-2 large tomatoes - sliced thin
- 3-5 yellow flesh potatoes - sliced thin
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ -½ cup vegetable broth or water
- 375 ml pitted black olives
- ¼ cup bread crumbs
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- You can make this recipe in a pot on the stovetop or bake it in a casserole dish in the oven. If baking, preheat your oven to 375ºF/180ºC.
- Drain hearts of palm and roughly cut into large chunks. Place in a bowl and carefully toss with ½ -1 tsp paprika and finely chopped or crumbled seaweed paper. Let that sit while you prepare your veggies.
- Peel and slice your onion into rings. Thinly slice your potatoes (there’s no need to peel them if you are using yellow potatoes but if you have russet or a thicker skinned potato, take the time to peel them). The thinner the potato is sliced the quicker it will cook through. Slice your peppers and tomatoes.
- Using either the stovetop or oven method, cover the bottom of your pot or casserole dish with olive oil and put a layer of onion down first to prevent sticking. Then a layer of tomato, then potato, then peppers, then hearts of palm. Sprinkle with garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika. Depending on how much room you have in your pot or dish, repeat the layers as needed.
- When you’re done layering, pour ¼ cup or so of broth over the dish, then drizzle with olive oil.
- If using a pot, cook over medium heat, adding more broth as needed if your veggies don’t release enough liquid, for 25-30 minutes until potatoes are fork-tender. For the oven method, bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees F then add olives and breadcrumbs and raise the oven temp to 425ºF/220ºC for another 10 minutes.
- To serve: garnish with parsley (and olives and breadcrumbs for the stovetop method). Gently scoop into plates and enjoy with fresh bread! Leftovers last 3-4 days in the fridge.
Text, recipe, and photography by Kathryn & Bryan of Tasty, Thrifty, Timely.
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Hi I’m Kathryn! An actress and the recipe creator behind Tasty, Thrifty, Timely. My husband Bryan is behind-the-scenes of our photos and videos. We hope you enjoy our easy recipes that make vegan cooking at home… Tasty, Thrifty, and Timely! Follow Kathryn on Instagram | Visit the Tasty Thrifty Timely Blog.
Hearts of Palm too expensive but this recipe is so delicious, once in awhile, I splurge. Love it! Thank you.
Hi Jan,
We’re glad you’re enjoying the recipe! 🙂