Good to know: Why “Bacalhau” when the fish isn’t dried? In Portugal, “Bacalhau” actually refers to traditionally salted and soaked dried cod. In this can, the fish is already cooked and ready to serve in olive oil with chickpeas—a direct but much quicker nod to the eponymous national dish.

Bacalhau com grão, ready to serve: Miss Can brings Portugal’s most famous cod-and-chickpea combination to the can.

Based in Lisbon, Miss Can carries on the family tradition of Alberto Soares Ribeiro, who founded two canning factories there in 1911; his great-grandson Tiago Soares Ribeiro revitalized the brand in 2013 and sold the first cans from a moped in the Castelo district. It is still packaged by hand there, at Largo do Contador Mor. In this can, cod fillet and chickpeas come together in olive oil—the duo behind the Portuguese national dish Bacalhau com grão, ready to open.

The cod remains firm and in large pieces, complemented by the mild, starchy sweetness of the chickpeas and the fruity olive oil that brings them both together. Salt is the only other ingredient—no vinegar, no preservatives. When eaten cold with a spoon, the fish is the main flavor; when slightly warmed, the oil and chickpeas become more pronounced.

Production: Unlike most Miss Can varieties, which come from the Portuguese coast, the cod is purchased, as is customary almost everywhere in Portugal. It is cooked using the same gentle steaming method Miss Can has used since its founding, then filled by hand into cans with chickpeas and olive oil.

Classically served cold as a starter or light lunch, with a hard-boiled egg, red onion, a splash of vinegar, and crusty bread. Pair it with a fresh, mineral white wine from the Alentejo, such as our Alento Branco.

More about the producer: Miss Can—from the canning factory in Setúbal to the yellow scooter