The salada de bacalhau ($8) is one of the many tapas plates available at Oporto (3833 Richmond, 713-621-1114) after 5 p.m. It consists of dried, salted cod cooked in olive oil with potatoes and hard-boiled egg. Visually, it’s hard to distinguish between the three ingredients, since all are as white as could be, but the taste of salt cod is unmistakable ย salty and slightly sweet at the same time. Salting it is a way of preserving fish, popular across the Mediterranean and in Latin America, that dates back at least 1,500 years.
This article appears in May 24-30, 2007.