Julienne 4 potatoes into thin sticks and leave them to soak in ice-cold water for about 30 minutes.
Portuguese supermarkets carry packets of fried potato straw. If you can find some, you may skip this step, unless you’re like me and enjoy making things from scratch.
In the meantime, cook 2 codfish loins (desalted) in a pot of boiling water, about 10 minutes.
After removing the skin and bones, shred the codfish into pieces and set aside.
Heat a pot filled with vegetable oil until it reaches around 170°C.
Strain the potato sticks and pat them with a tea towel to thoroughly dry them. Deep-fry the potato sticks a handful at a time until golden, then take them out and drain excess oil.
In a wide pan, heat a generous amount of olive oil.
Add in 4 cloves garlic (chopped) and fry them for 1 minute.
Add 2 onions (chopped) and sautée for a few minutes until they become soft and turn a pale gold.
At this point, add the previously shredded codfish and blend with the onions. Sautée for 2-3 minutes, enough for the fish to absorb the onion flavours without letting it become dry.
Turn down the heat, add the deep-fried potato sticks, and blend everything quickly together.
The fried potatoes impart texture to the dish, so don’t cook them for long.
Finally, fold in 5 eggs (whisked). Season with fine sea salt and white pepper (ground) to taste, and mix constantly until creamy.
Do not overcook the eggs.
Remove from heat, sprinkle with parsley (chopped), decorate with black olives, and serve.