How bacalhau went from fishermen's food to royal tables, why one aristocrat created 'spiritual cod fish'- Lisbon Hidden Palaces

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This week we are sailing through the history and glamour of Portugal after a taste of bacalhau! Ahh yes, when you start to chase the stories of foods, life carries you to many interesting spaces and occasions as you may already know! So this week I want to share “bacalhau espiritual,” spiritual cod fish! I ate this creamy heart warming dish in an event, its name immediately charmed me! There should be story behind it and I wasn’t wrong.

As you may know, we have more than 1,000 recipes in Portugal with bacalhau cod fish. I can even claim that almost every household has their own bacalhau recipe, so why not a Countess create her own too!

Codfish was never considered a fancy dish. For centuries it was mostly ignored by the royal kitchens, pushed aside in favor of more noble ingredients. Only around the 19th century did bacalhau slowly begin to appear on aristocratic tables. And by the 20th century, it somehow managed to inspire a countess to create her own recipe. How and why? How and why?

In 1947, Countess of Almeida Araújo wanted to create a noble, sophisticated yet very Portuguese recipe when a restaurant was about to open called “Cozinha Velha” (The Old Kitchen). She encouraged many other dishes, yet bacalhau espiritual came forward and became one of the signature dishes of the restaurant. As usual for that period, the recipe was influenced by French cuisine—a bit of a replica of “brandade chaude de morue.”

As for why it’s called ‘spiritual’ well, the official reason has been lost to time. But one taste of this creamy, cheese-topped casserole and you’ll understand: it’s so good it feels almost divine, like a spiritual experience for your taste buds.

Countess of Almeida Araújo first opened a tea room in this space before expanding it to a restaurant. The magnificence of the space comes from the fact that it’s part of Queluz National Palace, which is sometimes also called the “Portuguese Versailles.” I will come to the recipe and encourage you to cook this, but let’s dive into the history and talk about Queluz National Palace first.

Queluz National Palace

Queluz is between Sintra and Lisbon. The name comes from Arabic words: câ (bottom of a narrow ditch) and llûs (almond tree), which together mean “The Valley of the Almond Tree.”

The palace is built in Rococo architecture, with all the furniture and dining equipment reflecting that era’s richness and elegance. As it maintains the space very well and isn’t overcrowded with visitors, you may immediately feel transported to those times when you’re walking from the bedroom to the dining room or ballroom.

Dom Pedro used this as his summer residence, so it has a magnificent garden with mazes, a small river decorated with Portuguese tiles, small fountains, and more. After the fire in Ajuda Palace in the 19th century, the royal family started using Queluz as their official residence. Eventually, it was turned into a museum.

Okay, end of history lesson! I don’t want to drown you in details and information. However, because of the 1755 earthquake that destroyed so much of Lisbon, it’s usually hard to find remnants of the sumptuous times of Portuguese aristocracy and here I did. There are two dining rooms with full table settings, and of course my heart melted at all those delicate porcelains.

People who are visiting Lisbon always miss Sintra’s palaces or just visit Pena Palace. If you enjoy palaces and time-frozen spaces, you should definitely visit Queluz National Palace. Unfortunately, “Cozinha Velha” these days only serves private events, but who knows maybe it will change in the future and we can enjoy our creamy bacalhau espiritual in the perfect atmosphere the Countess wanted once upon a time.

Queluz National Palace

Sintra Palaces

authentic Lisbon experiences