Serves 8
INGREDIENTS
2 lb (1 kg) brisket
1 lb (500 g) belly of pork
1 pig's ear
7 oz (200 g) streaky bacon
1 boiling fowl about 2 and a half lb (1 and a half kg)
2 heads of galician cabbage
3 small white turnips
5 medium carrots
8 large potatoes
2 chouricos
2 garlic sausages
1 lb (500 g) white rice
salt, black pepper
Place the beef, pork and chicken in a large pan. Cover with plenty of salted water and simmer gently, with the lid on, for about 2 and a half hours. Remove some of the broth after 90 minutes and put in another pan. Wash the cabbage and cut into strips; peel or scrub the turnips, carrots and potatoes, cut into pieces and put together with the cabbage into the broth. After a further 45 minutes, boil the sausages, add them to the vegetables for a further 15 minutes. When the sausages have been added to the vegetables, remove five cups of broth from the meat pan, salt it if necessary and use it to boil the rice until it is done. Take the meat and sausages out of the pans. Cut the meat into pieces and the sausages into slices, and divide the chicken into eight portions. Put the cooked rice into a bowl and decorate with the sausage slices Place the meat on a warmed serving dish. Using a ladle, spoon the vegetables out of the broth and place around the meat; spoon some of the broth on top. A red Ribatejo wine is a suitable accompaniment to this meal.
Tip: The rich meat and vegetable broth is used to make the famous sopa de cozido, Which is often served as a starter.
INGREDIENTS
1 lb10 oz (750 g) dried cod
1 lb (500 g) potatoes
5 Tbs olive oil
3 onions
Blsck pepper
1 1/2 oz (40g) butter
2 Tbs flour
3 cups (600 ml) milk
1 1/2 cups (300 ml) light cram
1 bay leaf
Soak the cod in cold water for 24 hours, changing the water regularly. Drain the fish, skin and bone it and pull the flesh apart into small pieces. Peel the potatoes, cut them into thin slices and fry them in 3 tablespoons of olive oil until they are golden brown; dry them on paper towels. Peel the onions and cut them into rings; fry them in the rest of the olive oil. Add the pieces of fish and season with pepper. Per-heat the oven to 350 f (180 c). Melt the butter, stir in the flour, and add the milk slowly whilst stirring. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and stir in the cream. Place the dried cod and onions into an ovenproof dish and cover with the fried potatoes. Pour the cream sauce over the top and add the bay leaf. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes and serve immediately.
serves 1
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 oz (40 g) butter
1 steak about 7 oz (200 g)
Coarse sea salt, black pepper
1 Tbs potato flour
3 Tbs milk
1 Tbs mustard
A few drops of lemon juice
Heat half the butter in a heavy-based frying pan. Quickly brown the meat on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat. Mix the potato flour and milk and add to the meat with the remaining butter, stir thoroughly and continue to simmer according to preference. Finally,stir the mustard and lemon juice into the sauce. Serve with home-made french fries. A red reserva wine from the Douro goes well with this meal.
Serves 6-8
INGREDIENTS
4 lb (2 kg ) fresh assorted fish
(such as anglerfish, ray, perch, shark)
Coarse sea salt
1 1/2 lb (750 g) cockles
3 large onions
1 lb 10 oz (750 g) potatoes
2 Tbs parsley
1 1/4 cups (250 ml) olive oil
1 or 2 piri-piri (chillies)
1 pinch nutmeg
White pepper
1 cup (200 ml)dry white wine
2 bay leaves
Gut, descale and wash the fish. Cut it into 2 inch (5 cm) pieces and sprinkle with sea salt. Brush and wash the cockles, rejecting open ones. Peel the onions and cut into rings; wash and slice the tomatoes and pepper, chop the garlic cloves, peel and slice the potatoes. Place a layer of onions, tomatoes, peppers, some garlic and parsley, and potatoes into a large pan. Add a layer of fish and cockles, and cover this in turn with another layer of vegetables and potatoes. Mix the olive oil with the crushed piri-piri (remove the seeds to make them less sharp), nutmeg and pepper and stir in the wine. Spread out over the contents of the pan and place the bay leaves on top. Simmer with the lid on for about 35 minutes. Occasionally turn the pan gently to make sure that the broth is evenly spread out. Serve immediately, with white Bairrada.
serves 6
INGREDIENTS
2 lb (1 kg) medium and large-sized sardines
Coarse sea salt
Olive oil
4 green and/or red peppers
1 onion
wine vinegar
Descale the sardines, but do not gut them. Wash in salty water and rub with sea salt. Allow to stand for at least two hours. Rub off some of the salt and brush with olive oil. Wash the pepper, remove the seeds, cut them into strips, and oil and salt them slightly. Broil both sides of the fish and pepper over a charcoal fire. Peel the onions and cut them into rings. Arrange the sardines on warmed plates, and decorate with the onion rings and broiled pepper. Drizzle olive oil over them and, optionally, vinegar. they are served with boiled potatoes and a green salad, accompanied by a fresh, dry Alentejo white wine.
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
2 lb (1 kg) small to medium-sized sardines
Vegetable oil for frying
Marinade
3 onions
1 tomato
5 Tbs olive oil
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup (100 ml) dry white wine
2 Tbs white wine vinegar
Salt, black pepper
1 tsp ground paprika
Descale the sardines, gut and wash them, pat them dry and fry a portion at a time. Allow to cool on paper towels. To make the marinade, peel the onions and cut them into rings, skin the tomatoes, remove the seeds and cut them into pieces; chop the parsley and garlic up finely.Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and brown the onions slowly. Then add the garlic, bay leaves, tomato and parsley, and season with salt. Finally add the white wine and vinegar, cook for five minutes and allow to cool.Put the sardines into a bowl, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle the paprika over them. Pour on the marinade and place in the fridge for tow days. Before serving, garnish the sardines with onion rings and parsley, and pour some of the marinade over each portion. Serve a well-chilled Vinho verde with this dish.
serves 8
INGREDIENTS
4 lbs (2 kg) lamb
1/2 cup (100 ml) olive oil
5 garlic cloves
Salt, black pepper
3 onions
1 Tbs ground paprika
2 bay leaves
1 Tbs white wine vinegar
1 1/4 cups (250 ml) dry white wine
2 1/2 cups (500 ml) bouilon
8 thin slices of light sourdogh bread
serves 3-4
INGREDIENTS
1lb (500 g) calf's liver
2 garlic cloves
salt,white pepper
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs white wine vinegar
half a cup(100 ml) dry white wine
1 lb (500 g) potatoes
1 and a half oz (40 g) pork fat
1 Tbs coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley
Cut the liver into very thin slices and spread out on a large plate (not metal). Chop the garlic finely and sprinkle it over the liver, and season with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaf and pour the vinegar and wine over the liver. Marinate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, turning the slices of liver occasionaly. Boil the potatoes in their skins. peel and slice them. Heat the pork fat in a frying pan and add the liver slices (without draining them). Brown them briefly on both sides and remove immediately. Take the bay leaf out of the marinade, add the marinade to the frying pan and boil it down. Dip the liver slices in the resulting sauce and arrange on a preheated plate. Coat the potato slices in the remaining sauce and arrange around the liver. Sprinkle on the parsley and serve with a red Dýo. Cut the lamb into large pieces (each about 2 oz or 50 g). Peel the garlic and chop it finely. Put the meat and garlic together with the olive oil into into a large pan, season with salt and pepper, and turn the heat on. Peel and chop the onionsv and add them to the meat once it has been bowned gently all over. Sprinkle on the paprika, add the bay leaves, vinegar and wine and half the bouillon. Stir and simmer the meat for about 30 minutes. Then stir again and add the remaining stock. Simmer for a further 20-30 minutes and season to taste. Put one thin slice of sourdough bread into the bottom of each of eight deep plates. Place the pieces of lamb on top and pour over the thin meat sauce. A young Alentejo red wine goes very well with this dish.
The national dish of Portugal is caldo verde, it comes from the same region as vinho verde, green wine. It is based on one particular variety of cabbage from galicia, couve galega. This cabbage is one of the elements that shapes the entire look of the landscape in Minho and Northern Portugal. It often grows successfully underneath vines, and is a regular feature of gardens, even back yards in Lisbon. It is one of the standard vegetables on sale at all markets. This extremely green, long-stemmed cabbage is even frequently sold ready to use in bags- it needs to be chopped very finely for use in soups. Couve galega is only available in Galicia and Portugal and it is used almost without exception to make green soup. The traditional accompaniment for green soup is freshly-baked- broa de milho, a typical, thick- crusted northern maize bread. A few slices of sausage, such as chourico or salpicao, should also be paced in each bowl or plate before the soup is poured over it.
INGREDIENTS
10 oz (300g) Galician cabbage (alternatively kale or spring cabbage)
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves
1 lb (500 g) mealy potatoes
3 tbs olive oil
5 oz (150 g) chourico
salt, black pepper
maize bread
Wash the cabbage; let it drain and cut into very thin strips (1,2). Peel the onion and garlic and dice finely. Peel the potatoes and cut into thin slices. Heat the olive oil in a large pan, and fry the onion and garlic gently until the onion is transparent; add the slices of potato and brown them gently, turning occasionally. Add enough water to cover the ingredients. Simmer gently for about 25 minutes, until the potatoes are done. Remove the pan from the heat and mash the potatoes. Cut the sausage into slices and fry for about ten minutes; drain the fat away. Return the pan to the heat. Add the sausage and re-warm slowly; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the cabbage and simmer for about 5 minutes until tender; add a dash of olive oil if desire. Pour the soup into bowls (3, 4) and serve with chunks of maize bread.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
4 Slices of light sourdough bread
2 bunches of cilantro
4 garlic cloves
Salt
1/2 cup (100 ml) cold pressed olive oil
4 eggs
Cut the slices of bread into large pieces. De-stalk the cilantro leaves and chop finely; also chop the garlic and mix with the coriander, salt and olive oil. Place the bread in a soup tureen and drizzle the mixture of herbs and oil over it. Boil 5 cups (1 liter) of water. slip the eggs into it and poach for 3 minutes; reserve. Pour boiling water over the bread in the soup tureen and mix in the ingredients. Add the eggs carefully and salt them lightly. Cover and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Tip: In Portugal pao caseiro, a white country sourdough bread, is used.
serves 8
INGREDIENTS
1 pig's ear
5 oz (150g) streaky bacon
2 onions
3 garlic cloves
1 black chourico (black pudding)
1 chourico
1 lb (500g) fresh red or black beans
2 bay leaves
salt, black pepper
1 lb 10 oz (750g) potatoes
1 carrot
1 small white turnip
1 tomato
2 Tbs finely-chopped cilantro
scald the pig's ear and bacon. Peel the onions and garlic, dice finely and place in a large pan together with the meat, bacon, sausages, beans and bay leaves; add salt and pepper. cover with water and bring to the boil. Simmer gently with the lid on for 45 minutes. Take out the meat and bacon and reserve. Remove some of the beans, puree them and reserve. Peel and dice the potatoes, carrot and turnips, and skin and dice the tomato. add the vegetables to the soup and simmer for a further 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Mix in the pureed beans, bring to the boil and season to taste. Cut the meat, bacon and sausage into pieces or slices and place in a soup tureen. Pour in the hot soup, add the cilantro and allow to stand for a few minutes. Traditionally, a large, thoroughly washed and cleaned stone is placed in the soup before serving, and the soup is served with fresh maize bread