When we read about this recipe on Food.com, we knew it was one we had to feature on our Bermuda adventure. I mean how could we not with this “ringing” endorsement, “This dish is one of many in Bermuda that is loved by the locals, but avoided like the plague by the majority of foreigners….”
I have to admit that I had bought the ingredients for this dish weeks ago, but kept conveniently finding other options for those items. Try as I might, I couldn’t keep putting it off. So here it goes, an adapted version of the traditional Bermuda Salt Cod Fish Breakfast. We started by creating a foil pouch for some frozen hash brown potatoes, olive oil and salt. 
Dad took care of grilling those for us alongside the cod fish fillets. In the meantime, we diced some turkey bacon, sliced an onion and chopped up some chorizo sausage. (Can you sense my lack of enthusiasm? LOL.) 
The bacon bites were the first in the skillet and cooked in olive oil for about 7 minutes. 
Next we added the onion, sausage and thyme and cooked for another 5 minutes. 
Finally we added some petit tomatoes and simmered it all for about 20 minutes, while the fish and potatoes grilled. 
Dad finished up the cod fillets, which I might say were grilled to perfection. 😉
Once the potatoes were done, we added them over the top of the cod and spooned over some of the sauce. We garnished it with some sliced bananas. Other traditional options include garnishing the dish with sliced avocado and hard-boiled eggs. 
While we didn’t exactly avoid this dish like the plague, it didn’t come in with rave reviews – except from Dad who thought it tasted just like a greasy breakfast skillet. He loved it and gave it a solid 3 spoons. If it wasn’t for the fact it’s so caloric, he would have given it more. As for the kids and I, well Mr. N gave it 2 spoons. He liked the cod and the chorizo, but didn’t like the tomato. Miss A reluctantly ate a few bites, but mostly finished off everyone’s bananas.
As for me, I did my duty and tried a few bites. It was ok, maybe 1 spoon, but not my cup of tea in the least. So instead of wasting my calories on something I was less than thrilled with, I went for Plan B. I had Dad grill up a version of these while the grill was hot and figured they would make for good lunches this week. Instead I ate half of them for dinner – thank you Linda.
Incidentally, a few weeks ago, Linda over at Savoring Every Bite gave me the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you Linda! I know many of you are familiar with Linda’s deliciousness, but for those of you that aren’t, check out her site. You won’t be sorry. She saved my dinner experience. She just might save yours. (And as an added bonus, she has some rockin’ “grown-up” drink recipes too.)
As for those of you that enjoy a good, hearty breakfast skillet, here’s your recipe: Bermuda Cod Fish Breakfast
Eat, Play, Love 
Aww come on, you added bacon to the dish? You messed it all up! Where’s the traditional avocado and hard boiled egg? Haha! You’re right though, it seems only us Bermudians love the dish. Everyone else avoids it. 🙂
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Mashed beans are featured in a traditional Romanian dish called either Fasole Frecata (meaning ‘rubbed’) or Fasole Batuta (meaning ‘beaten’) and topped or drizzled with a teaspoon or two of onions fried in oil with some paprika added for colour and zing. I don’t know how the cod became part of the dish, though it may have been an adaptation to the menu during Lent when many Catholics give up eating meat.
http://www.macon.com/2008/05/21/357623/romanian-fasole-frecata-mashed.html
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Thank you! I’ve added the link to my favorites for when we pick that region for cooking. 🙂 I think they kids will like this – they love beans. Have a great weekend!
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Just thought back to this recipe and wanted to add that you can cut the carrots and parsnips in large pieces and cook them along with the beans to give the beans flavour and then remove them and discard, if that is an issue with the kids. Some people just don’t like the taste of parsnips. 🙂
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Love cod but don’t think I could eat the dish for breakfast or even supper. That reminds me, I have some salted cod (bacalao) in the freezer waiting to be transformed into a cod and bean pie. 🙂
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I’m with you! Love cod…not so much in this recipe. I think Lisa had a good suggestion for the sausage bacon topping though – it might go well with veggies. 🙂 A cod and bean pie? Hmm…I might be able to get my arms around that one.
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My family is Romanian from the former Yugoslavia and I’ve not been able to find this particular recipe anywhere else on the net.
Basically, it involves soaking the dry salted cod in several changes of fresh cold water. Then cutting the resulting fillets into 3-4″ portions and laying them down in the bottom of a pie plate using enough fillets to cover the base. Over it is placed a fairly dry puree of lightly salted white beans (Great Northern or navy beans) which have been simmered til tender, drained and mashed. A thin layer of caramelized onions are placed over the top of the dish and then the plate is put into the oven and baked at 350 deg F for about 25-30 min being careful that the onion topping doesn’t burn.
It’s delicious and I wish I knew what it was called.
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Wow! The carmelized onions in this dish sound wonderful! We just may have to try this dish at some point. 🙂 I’m going to keep my eyes open for this dish on the net now too. Thanks for sharing this!
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Having checked your recipes and blogroll, it also being 12:30 and no breakfast or lunch, my stomach says you make my food blog blogroll! 🙂
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Thanks so much Harold! Glad you found us and I hope you enjoy the recipes. Have a good night. 🙂
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Hey now, chopping onion and bacon is extremely fun and exciting!! Ha, I agree, not the best task. Never tried fish for breakfast. I don’t think I could eat it around 9 a.m., but maybe 11 a.m. I could do it. 🙂 I do love cod though!
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LOL! I’m with you – I much prefer my fruit (and Cheerios) early in the morning.
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Just found your site – love it! I’ve never had fish for breakfast as I have enough trouble eating it for dinner. I think I’d do exactly what Miss A did and finish off everyone’s bananas. I look forward to more!
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Thanks so much Lynne! I’m glad you found us as well. Thanks for commenting. Normally I have no problem eating fish, but I just couldn’t handle it topped with all of the meat. Usually I can stick it out and make the most of it, but this one was too much for me. Like we encourage the kids all of the time though – I did give it a try. 😉
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Good for you having that “no, thank you bite” as we’ve always called it! You’re setting a good example.
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LOL! The kids are teaching me a thing or two. 😉
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Omg, Now that’s a freaking breakfast. I am drooling upon my computer.
—-loooooooooove the name of your blog. Wish I would have thought of that one !! xx
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Thank you Kim. I think it’s one of those meals you either are going to love or not. Hubby and I split down the middle on that one. 🙂 Thanks for visiting and commenting! Glad you found us.
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you are brave. I don’t think I could go for at at breakfast, as I barely eat anything until lunch time. The idea of cod early in the morning makes me a bit uncomfortable… 😉
now, your other option, the eggplant sandwich…. wow! I’d have some right now!
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I’m with you – the idea of fish for breakfast just doesn’t sit well with me. It’s just a bit too much. But then again I wasn’t looking forward to this recipe for dinner either. LOL. The eggplant – much, much better. 🙂
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How much fun to cook and eat! Love the combo of ingredients and this is one i know my hubs would LOVE! Great recipe!
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Thanks Jessica! I’m glad we tried it and Mike is definitely glad we did – he ate my portion as well. 😉
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Brave breakfast, so many contrasting flavours…. I think it could either completely get rid of a hangover or be the end of you. The grilled eggplant alternative looks tasty!
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Now there you go – this would certainly help a hangover. I could have used this back in college. 😉 For now, I’ll just stick with the eggplant sandwich though.
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Congrats on your award, well deserved! I love that you tried this, even if it didn’t work out. I love dad’s reaction.
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Thanks Greg. 🙂 Once we read that quote we knew we had to try it. When in Rome…or Bermuda.
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I have to admit I don’t normally have the stomach for fish in the morning but this looks quite appetizing… The tomato mixture sounds very yummy with the thyme. I always smile reading about Mr. N & Miss A’s reactions – “Miss A reluctantly ate a few bites, but mostly finished off everyone’s bananas.” – too cute!
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LOL. She is too funny. She did the same thing again at dinner tonight. We had some raspberries and she kept wanting more and more. She could eat fruit all day long. I suppose things could be worse. 😉
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I love cod, I’ve been eating more of it lately but never for breakfast. I guess if you live near the ocean then it’s probably no big deal. I eat breakfast foods for dinner, so why not dinner for breakfast. Interesting topping and agree it sounds very caloric. The sausage bacon topping sounds like it would be good as a stuffing, maybe stuffed mushrooms or something? Congrats on the award again and glad you found a better alternative for dinner!
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You know you may have something there. The sausage bacon topping was good – I just didn’t want it over fish. It might go well with mushrooms or even peppers. Hmmm… (I’m glad I found another option for dinner too. LOL)
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What a curious combination! Meat and tomato and fish,… and then banana?? 😀 Definitely sounds worth a try (I’m always up for trying anything at least once), although I’m not entirely sure if it would be my cup of tea – who knows though… That’s not to say I don’t love the individual components. Cod is so good – so expensive here though. One small fillet can cost about €4. It was over-fished for a long time, so even in British fish and chip shops they now offer things like hake and other white fish to try and minimise the usage of cod.
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I know right?! So many flavors (and proteins) in one dish. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but it wasn’t so much the taste as it was just too much for me. Ah…British fish and chips. Now that’s more my speed. 🙂
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Wow I would love to have this for breakfast! It will definitely complete my day.
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My husband shares your opinion. He even finished mine off for me. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a great night!
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I love cod fish. I first discovered this fish 5 years ago and never stopped eating it lol. I’m sorry you didn’t like this but maybe you can tweak the recipe to fit your own style? And congrats on another award. You and your family deserve to be honored 😉
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I usually like cod fish too…just not with more meat on top of it. LOL. Dad sure wasn’t complaining though. 😉
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I’ve never had fish for breakfast, especially paired with bananas. I think this is something my husband would really enjoy for dinner. I had your recipe for french toast open on Saturday morning and I realized we had no bread in our house! I am still planning to try it soon – I can’t wait!
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I run into that problem all of the time. It seems ingredients seem to disappear on me. Ha! If you’re going to make one of the two recipes – totally go with the French toast. 😉 We still haven’t had fish for breakfast…instead we had breakfast for dinner. LOL.
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How interesting! It’s not a combination I’d have ever thought of but I’d certainly love to try it! 🙂
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I don’t think it’s a bad dish – just not my favorite. I want some more of the French toast from our last recipe. 😉 But Mike certainly enjoyed this. Thanks for visiting and commenting!
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