Portuguese summer salad!

Hello everyone! It has been a while, I know. I must confess the pandemic has taken its toll on me, and I stayed away from this project for quite some time. But I promise I'll try to keep this updated! As such, while it's still complicated to go back to the old days of travelling, I've decided to share a recipe for you to enjoy this summer - even if you've never been to Portugal, you can have a taste of it!

This salad uses basic ingredients, with the salted cod probably being the hardest for you to find, depending on where you live. Everything else you can find in any supermarket, and this only takes around 30 minutes to prepare with no cooking (except for the bell pepper) involved! Are you ready?

Ingredients (for 3 people):

• 3 loins of salted cod, already soaked in water

• 1 red bell pepper (or any other color, I just like it red for the aesthetics!

• 1 can of chick peas (845gr./ 29 oz.)

• 1 cucumber

• Some fresh peppermint leaves (to taste)

• Olive oil

• Vinegar (any kind you'd like, I like to use balsamic)

• A pinch of pepper (again any kind, I prefer a mix of different ones)

How to prepare:

• Shred the cod loins into bite sized pieces (yes, without cooking!), and put it all in a big bowl.

• Add the chickpeas after rinsing it with water in a colander.

• Put the bell pepper in the stove and keep turning it around so that it roasts its skin evenly. Meanwhile, cut the tips of the cucumber, remove the skin (or only parts of it if you like) and cut it into bits. Keep an eye on the bell pepper in the meantime.

• When the bell pepper is done, put it inside a plastic bag and close it off. After a few minutes, it'll be easier to remove the skin! Watch out because it'll be hot! Let it cool down on a cutting board.

• Add the cucumber to the bowl, cut the bell pepper into strips and add it as well.

• Wash and chop the peppermint leaves (don't leave the stems!); add them to the bowl and mix everything together. Check if the ratio of the ingredients is good for you (for me these quantities are enough, but people have different tastes!)

• Season it with pepper, olive oil and vinegar, mix it again and leave it in the fridge for around 30 minutes. Serve immediately!

NOTE: Some people like to also add minced garlic and onions, but you might have to brush your teeth afterwards (😉). It's totally up to you!

So, what do you think? Will you give it a try? Leave your comments on my social media!