But the national dish in Portugal is the revered COD.
One would imagine that with all the fresh fish around, the Portuguese wouldn't yearn for anything dried or preserved - but not so - the consumption of this fish is so high here, that of late, the country has started to import bacalhau from Norway & Sweden just to be able to meet its demand!
Dried salt cod, or "Bacalhau", is exclusively a Portuguese invention. As early as the 16th century, the Portuguese were fishing Newfoundland's banks for cod, where they salted & sun-dried their catch at sea to last the long voyage home. The stiff slabs of cod keep for several months, and are soaked in cool water and rinsed several times before cooking.

We tasted a few versions of the salted cod, but I think of all the preparations, our favourite were the hors d'oeuvre 'bolinhos de bacalhau' which were little codfish cakes. Other famous versions of the cod were: 'cozido de bacalhau' (boiled cod), 'bacalhau à brás' and 'bacalhau assado'