The Taste of Portugal: A Voyage of Gastronomic Discovery Combined with Recipes, History and Folklore.

by Edite Vieira

Overview

In this revised and updated edition of her authoritative and fascinating book Edite Vieira traces the rich legacy of her country’s culinary excellence from medieval through to modern times lacing it with history and anecdote and a collection of authentically delicious recipes.

From simple and wholesome peasant fare to elaborate celebratory meals, ingredients include salt cod (bacalhau) in all its myriad variations, cumin and oranges are both remnants of the voyaging past, green coriander is the main flavoring herb; essentially the food is the food of a country which grows grapes, peppers, melons, quinces and apples, and few other countries have such a repertoire of pork dishes. Fresh pork is much in evidence as well as ham (presunto), pork and red pepper sausages (chouricos) and black pudding (morcela), all foods very much in present vogue.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781911621188
Publisher:	Grub Street
Publication date:	06/25/2018
Edition description:	Revised Edition
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	1,080,668
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Edite Vieira was born in Portugal. She moved to London where she worked for the BBC as a radio journalist and programme announcer. She was a cultural affairs correspondent for a number of magazines but is most highly regarded as the author of many books including a collection of poetry and for her food writing and recipe books. She is also the winner of a Gourmand World Cookbook Award

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

SOUPS

In Portugal it would be unthinkable not to have soup every day, at least for dinner, if not for lunch as well. Generally speaking, soup is a must.

There is always, as the Portuguese say, room for the soup. ('What is the soup today?' is the first question to housewives from their hungry family on arriving home from work). Some people eat their soup as a last course, instead of as a starter.

Some countryfolk like to eat a good bowl of soup for breakfast, if there is any left over from the previous day. This will provide enough sustenance for a hard morning's work, especially if it included some meat or bacon fat, pulses and vegetables.

It is good to see that in many other countries soups of the 'a meal in themselves' variety are also taken seriously. Soups can be very nutritious and satisfying. In fact, why not elect soups as the next best idea for 'fast food' – with a difference?

There are countless soup recipes in Portugal, and they tend to be thick and chewy, blending only the basic thickener (potatoes, beans, chickpeas or whatever) and leaving the rest as it is (cut into small pieces, of course). Consommé-type soups are also popular, the best loved being canja, a broth made with pieces of chicken or just the giblets, with or without the addition of chouriço, for more flavour, and rice or small pasta. Fish and shellfish are also ingredients of splendid Portuguese soups. On the other hand, bread is sometimes the main ingredient of a soup (apart from being used as a garnish, as croutons).

GREEN BROTH

Caldo Verde

MINHO PROVINCE, BUT USED WIDELY ALL OVER THE COUNTRY • Serves 4 to 6

This soup, extremely simple but very tasty, is perhaps considered the most typical of Portuguese soups nowadays. It is rather appropriate that it originated in the northern province of Minho, as it reproduces the emerald colour of the countryside.

The real version of caldo verde includes a little garlic sausage (chouriço, see p.25) and, in some places, a tiny amount of onion. A simpler version, with only the shredded cabbage, mashed potatoes, olive oil and perhaps a very small clove of garlic, is really all that is needed. The cabbage must be very finely shredded, which makes it look like little mounds of grass. Because of this, a misinformed British journalist wrote, a few years back, in one of Britain's leading papers, that the Portuguese people are so poor that they even make soup with grass!

Whenever a Portuguese émigré manages to get a little plot of land, he will invariably grow some of these special cabbages (calledgalegas, meaning that they came originally from Galicia, the neighbouring Spanish province), which are tall, similar to the kale and Brussels sprout plants and from which one can go on gathering leaves all the way up the stem. As this variety of cabbage is not normally available outside Portugal (unless in the private gardens of émigrés), I have experimented with other kinds and find that curly kale is remarkably similar to galega cabbage. Tender spring greens, when in season, can also be substituted, when nothing else is at hand, although the 'real' thing must be made with galega cabbage, of course. My friend David Leite (based in New York), an excellent food writer, says that he uses collard greens, with success.

450 g/1 lb tender kale or spring greens, very finely shredded
4 medium floury potatoes
1 small clove of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil enough water and salt
½ small onion, chopped
4-8 thin slices of chouriço

Cook the potatoes and garlic, as well as the chopped onion in salt water, while you prepare the greens. For this you must gather up the clean leaves, free from the hard core, and roll them up, to be able to cut them evenly with a sharp knife. Secure the rolled leaves against a wooden board. You will probably need to make up several bunches of rolled-up leaves to facilitate the shredding. This is a very easy procedure which you will be able to follow immediately. If not, just cut the leaves as finely as you can, by any other method you prefer. Mash the potatoes with a fork, return the mash to the broth, add the olive oil and the cabbage. Bring back to the boil and cook for just a few minutes.

The cabbage will take more or less time to cook according to how tender it is, but given the fact that it is so finely shredded, it normally cooks in a very short space of time. Besides, caldo verde must not be served with mushy cabbage. Allow 4-5 minutes, check, correct seasoning and serve at once. Add a drop of olive oil to each plate, if you like.

In Portugal they will give you a piece of that wonderful cornmeal bread which is so typical of the countryside (see p.51). Otherwise you can serve the soup with fresh wholemeal bread. Place 1 or 2 slices of chouriço in each soup bowl. Add a side dish of small black olives, if you can.

VARIATIONS The basic potato thickener can be used for straightforward similar soups, all very popular with the Portuguese. Instead of kale, use watercress (purslane), turnip-tops (see Ingredients, p.28) or very tender green beans, adjusting the cooking time for these vegetables. Chinese leaves are also good for this kind of soup.

CHICKEN SOUP

Canja

Serves 4 to 6

Still suspicious, he [Jacinto] tried the fragrant chicken broth and looked up at me ... His eyes shone in surprise. Another spoonful, and still another, fuller, more consistent. And he smiled, astonished: 'It's good!' And it was: divine. It had liver and gizzard. Its aroma was endearing. And thrice, with great fervour, I attacked that broth. 'I'll have some more as well,' Jacinto exclaimed, thoroughly convinced. 'I am so hungry!' he said. 'God! I haven't felt this hungry for years!' ... The rich aroma from the soup in the tureen was simply mouthwatering. On a large platter, a succulent chicken covered with moist rice and garnished with sausages had the magnificence of a meal fit for the lord of the manor.

Eça de Queiroz, A Cidade e as Serras (The City and the Mountains)

Apart from caldo verde (see p.34), canja is perhaps the best-known Portuguese soup. It is mentioned in the classics, ingrained in popular tradition and considered a particularly good food for the infirm. As far back as the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, canja was being recommended as a food suited to those suffering from consumption. The Princess Maria medieval cookery booklets (see p.11) advised for this complaint a concentrated broth made from one chicken cooked in a minimum of water and then pounded into a purée, which was then pressed through a sieve, to extract all its goodness. This 'dose' had to be repeated daily until the person felt better. The current version is simple enough but always a winner.

1 medium chicken and giblets
140 g/5 oz rice
1.2 L/2 pints water salt
4 small sprigs fresh mint (optional)
A few dashes of lemon juice in each plate (optional)

Clean and prepare the chicken. Cut it into convenient-sized pieces. Bring to the boil together with the giblets and cook gently until tender. Skim the broth once or twice. When tender, drain the meats and set aside. Cook the rice in the broth, taste for salt and add more water, if needed. Serve the soup garnished with a few pieces of cooked chicken and the edible giblets, diced. Some people like to add a small sprig of fresh mint to each plate.

Use the remaining chicken for other dishes.

VARIATIONS

1 Small pasta or noodles can be used, instead of rice. Also, for a rich tasting broth (and provided it is not intended for sick people), add a few pieces of chouriço (p.25) towards the end of cooking.

2 The broth can be served on its own, as a consommé, perhaps with a few cubes of toast floating in each soup bowl.

NOTE: A simpler Canja can also be prepared just with the giblets, provided these are meaty enough. In this case, add a good chicken cube or granules, to enhance the stock. Nowadays there are trustworthy brands you can try.

STONE SOUP

Sopa de Pedra

RIBATEJO PROVINCE • Serves 4 to 6

There is a delightful story attached to this soup, which, in spite of its name, is very rich and wholesome.

A monk used to travel up and down the country, taking nothing with him in the way of provisions or money, so he was forced to beg for food now and then. He would knock at some door, asking for a little bowl of soup. If the people answered that they had no soup to offer him, he would suggest that they let him in to show them how to prepare a very nice soup out of a stone. The astonished hosts would then follow the monk's instructions: 'Please get a clean, biggish pan and add some water to it. Bring it to the boil and, in the meantime, wash a medium-sized stone and place it inside the pan.' 'Perhaps,' he would go on to say, 'we could find a piece of bacon and some bones with meat, and maybe a few carrots. If you could also manage some cabbage and onions ...' and so forth.

'Stone soup' became well known in the Portuguese countryside. Here is the recipe – although this is the kind of soup to which one can add almost any vegetable and meat that may be available.

1 L/1¾ pints water
200-225 g/7-8 oz boiling ham or bacon
1 medium-sized knuckle of bacon (ham hock)
a few beef marrow bones (optional)
1 medium-sized black pudding
90 g/3 oz chouriço (p.25)
175 g/6 oz red or butter beans
175 g/6 oz onions
1 medium turnip
175 g/6 oz carrots
350 g/12 oz potatoes
110-140 g/4-5 oz cabbage
1 small clove garlic
1 bay leaf

If wanted, instead of beans use double the amount of vegetables (except the onion) or 175 g/6 oz of soaked chickpeas.

Bring the meat to the boil in the water and simmer together with the previously soaked beans (if used) and bones. When everything is almost tender, add the other ingredients, chopped. Skim off the soup and simmer until everything is collapsing. Correct the seasoning and the amount of liquid (the soup should be thick, like a chowder). Serve from a large tureen, whilst very hot, with crusty bread.

BEEF STOCK SOUP

Sopa de Caldo de Carne

Serves 4

This is a soup intended to use up any left-over beef stock or the broth which hopefully still remains after one of those big cozido meals (p.100).

enough stock or left-over cozido broth (for 4 people)
4 slices of good-quality white bread, dried in the oven and crumbled roughly
4 small sprigs of mint

Bring the liquid to the boil (you can add some stock made from a good cube, if you need to resort to this) and pour over the bread. Serve with one piece of mint in each plate.

VARIATION Another way of using the above liquor for a good, everyday soup, is to cook some small pasta in it (1½ tablespoons of pasta per person), until tender.

BEEF SOUP

Sopa de Carne

Serves 4

750 ml/1½ pints beef stock
2 tablespoons small pasta
1 small potato, diced very small
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
1 small turnip, thinly sliced
¼ medium-sized cabbage (or equivalent amount spring greens), shredded salt

Simmer all ingredients until tender (20-25 minutes). Add more stock if needed, taste for salt and serve very hot.

VARIATION A few slices of chouriço (p.25) or a little smoked bacon can be added half-way through cooking, as well as small pieces of boiled beef, for a richer flavour and texture.

FESTIVAL SOUP

Sopa da Romaria

MADEIRA • Serves 4

The Madeira and Azores archipelagos have long-standing religious traditions, which they keep faithfully, due no doubt to their insularity. This soup will be comforting after the merrymaking of the Romaria.

450 g/1 lb beef (brisket or shin, cut into small chunks)
1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, thickly sliced
4 medium potatoes, quartered salt

Simmer the beef in enough water with some salt, until almost tender. At this point add all other ingredients and boil everything for about 40-50 minutes, over a low flame. The idea is to have both the vegetables and the meat really soft and mushy, like a very thick chowder. Serve piping hot, with crusty bread.

DRY SOUP, MINHO FASHION

Sopa Seca do Minho

Serves 4

The Portuguese housewife is thrifty and imaginative. Very little is thrown away in her kitchen, and it is considered almost a sin to discard good food only because it was left at the table. On the other hand another of her traits is being a little too generous with the amount she cooks. So these are two good reasons to create different recipes out of left-overs. Cozido (p.100) is a dish you can count on for this, the meat being suitable for various fillings, and the vegetables and broth for soups. But if you happen to have cozido left over as well as some cooked chickpeas, try this substantial 'dry soup', which is a meal in itself.

enough mixed cooked meat (for 4 people)
some cooked cabbage (the amount depends on whether you use green beans or not) and about:
280 g/10 oz cooked chickpeas
200 g/7 oz cooked green beans (if in season)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium tomatoes (peeled, seeded and chopped)
6-8 slices of bread
2 tablespoons olive oil

Fry the onion in the oil until transparent, add the tomatoes and parsley and fry again for 3-4 minutes. Add this to the pan with the cooked meats and some stock. Boil for 4-5 minutes. Set aside.

Line a deep, buttered fireproof dish with half the bread. Assemble layers of cubed meat, chopped vegetables and chickpeas. Cover with more bread. Pour some of the liquor over all, to moisten, and leave in the oven (190ºC/375ºF/Gas 5) until golden brown and crusty on top. Serve at once.

WILD RABBIT (OR HARE) SOUP

Sopa de Coelho Bravo (ou Lebre)

INLAND PROVINCES • Serves 4 to 6

Soups made with game are always extra-special and worth a little extra trouble. Instead of using a whole rabbit or hare, one can of course use only part of it and the carcass, plus any trimmings especially reserved for the soup (the more the better, obviously) and the offal, if this is in good condition.

1 small wild rabbit (or part of it, see above)
90-110 g/3-4 oz smoked ham or good bacon, cubed
1 tablespoon lard
1 tablespoon butter
150 ml/¼ pint white wine
3 tablespoons port (or dry madeira)
1 large onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 medium carrots, diced small
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 stalks parsley, chopped
4-6 peppercorns
1.2 L/2 pints chicken stock or any good meat stock without a very marked flavour, so as not to influence the overall taste
1 tablespoon cornflour, diluted in a little water garnish – a handful of croûtons for each person

Prepare the rabbit (or equivalent amount of hare), the cubed ham or bacon and all the other ingredients (except the port and flour) and cook until everything is tender. Strain it all, keep the stock aside and discard all bones and unwanted bits. Bone and cut the meats and vegetables, add to the stock, bring to the boil and add the cornflour. Simmer for a few minutes, to thicken. Add more stock or water, if necessary, and the port or madeira. Correct seasonings and serve with the croûtons.

VARIATION From the same regions, another, slightly different wild rabbit soup:

1 medium-sized wild rabbit, cleaned and cut into pieces
110-140 g/4-5 oz fatty bacon, in chunks
300 ml/½ pint white wine
2 large carrots, halved
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium potato, halved
3 sprigs parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped freshly ground pepper salt
900 ml/1½ pints water
3 slices stale bread

Prepare a marinade with the wine, garlic, a little water, salt, some pepper and the parsley. Steep the rabbit in this and leave for 4-6 hours. Bring the remaining water to the boil with all the other ingredients, add the rabbit mixture (with the wine) and cook until the meat is tender. Drain everything in order to get hold of the rabbit pieces. Bone them. Mash the carrot and potato roughly. Return to the broth the boned meat and mashed vegetables. Add more water and salt if needed and boil again for 3-4 minutes, to blend it well. Thicken the soup with a few pieces of stale bread soaked into it.

PARTRIDGE SOUP

Sopa de Perdiz

MOST INLAND PROVINCES • Serves 4

Any stock left when preparing partridges should be used as a basis for this lovely soup. However, any other game would be appropriate for a soup of this kind, and it can be enriched with all sorts of things, such as cream, egg yolks and port wine. Try your own experiments on a small portion first, before committing yourself to the whole stock.

900 ml/11/2 pints partridge stock
90-110 g/3-4 oz smoked ham or lean bacon
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon lard
1 large onion, chopped enough slices of bread for croûtons (toasted or fried)
seasonings to taste

Taste the stock and see whether you are satisfied with the seasoning. If not, add perhaps a few peppercorns, or just pepper. Do not add any salt until after cooking the smoked meats. Fry the onion in the fats until transparent. Add to the stock, boil with the cubed meats until tender. Pour into a tureen, add lots of croûtons and serve.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "The Taste of Portugal"
by .
Copyright © 2013 Edite Vieira.
Excerpted by permission of Grub Street.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Preface 4

Preface and Foreword to Previous Editions 5

Introduction 8

A Flavour of the Country 8

Food and Tradition 10

Preparing to Cook 21

Soups 33

Bread and Bread Dishes 50

Açordas 52

Migas 57

Ensopados 59

Dry Soups 60

Gaspachos 62

Seafood 66

Salt Cod 67

Sardines 77

Fish Stews 78

Other Fish Dishes 83

Shellfish 89

Squid, Cuttlefish and Octopus 93

Meat 96

Beefsteak 97

Roast Beef 99

Stews 100

Kid 104

Other Meat Dishes 105

Pork 109

Pig's Haggis 115

Poultry and Game 117

Sauces 128

Vegetables and Accompaniments 134

The Tempura Connection 135

Broad Beans 139

Sweet Things 144

Puddings 144

Sweets 165

Pastries 174

Small Cakes and Biscuits 184

Fried Cakes 187

Buns 194

Large Cakes 198

Fancy Bread 203

Jams and Jellies 205

Fillings 209

Portuguese Wines 212

Liqueurs and Spirits 222

Useful information 226

List of Vegetarian Recipes 228

Index 231

Acknowledgements 238

Editorial Reviews

The introduction is a pleasure to read, painting a portrait of how food and drink is at the very heart of Portuguese culture, exploring the traditions of food and festivals, and introducing the core ingredients that feature most heavily.

Kavey Eats