Cod cheeks preserved in extra virgin olive oil. Sweet and with a unique buttery texture, cod cheeks are a delicacy in Portugal where it is the custom to cook with every part of the fish. The cod is caught in Iceland, sometimes Norway. And it is always caught mindfully, using fishing nets with bigger holes so that only the larger cod are captured, leaving the smaller cod in the ocean to grow and reproduce. The supplier Papa Anzóis works with uses every part of the cod, and this is how the Algarve cannery was able to source the cheeks. The olive oil is from Alentejo, a region north of the Algarve famed for its olive groves and high quality olive oil.
Serving suggestion: serve on thinly sliced potatoes, sauteed in butter. Drizzle with some of the extra virgin olive oil and garnish with chopped parsley.
About the cannery: the artisanal methods, the very small team and the low production runs mean the cannery is the only certified "by hand" cannery in mainland Portugal. The name Papa Anzóis is a whimsical one. It comes from a map given to cannery owners Manuel Mendes and Vincent Jonckheere by a customer. The map shows the locations of sea bed rock formations along the Algarve coast. The rocks are where fish congregate and Papa Anzóis - which translates as the rock that eats fish hooks - is a notoriously tricky one.
