King Crab video

Portuguese Cook : King Crab episode

A spectacular seafood dish…..soooo good mmmmmm…..

Filet of Sole video (baked)

PORTUGUESE COOK Filet of Sole episode

Watch an Italian cook show a Portuguese chick how to make fish, baked not fried. Watch out when it’s time to make bacalhau, woo hoo !!!

Caldo Verde

Today is a day that I really need some comfort food. Whenever it’s cloudy, rainy or cold I think of my mom’s soups. My mom has so many soups that I am learning to make, one of them is Caldo Verde, but the chorizo is optional. I like making the vegetarian version as well.  Here’s the recipe, and enjoy !

Extra equipment: a hand blender.

Ingredients: (Yields 5 – 6 persons)
1 1/2 cups of thin shredded Collards or Kale
1/2 medium onion
1 tablespoon of light olive oil
2 Litre pot and fill 3/4 of the pot with water
1 1/2 cubes of chicken  or vegetable bullion
1 tbsp. of parsley
1 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp of pepper
Chorizo sliced (optional, vegetarian style without the meat)
3 large-sized white potatoes, peeled and sliced in 1/8 sized pieces.
1 tsp of Garlic powder to taste. & or pimento red pepper paste (1 tsp)

The Method:

1) I fill 3/4 of  the pot to about with water, add my potatoes and 1/2 onion cut in a few pieces, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and let it boil at medium heat.

2) About 20 min. later add your bullion and let it dissolve, add your salt, pepper.

3) Turn the stove off. Let it cool about 5 minutes or so.

4)Then with your handblender, blend the potatoes with the broth, until you have a cream of potato consistency, it will be a smooth-thickness consistency.

5)At this point add your thick sliced collard or kale, and some parsley, and a few pieces of sliced fried Chorizo, begin cooking again on low heat for additional 10 to 12 minutes.

6)When the collard have  softened turn the oven element off. Take a taste test after the soup has simmered down, and add your garlic powder or additional black pepper  or pimento paste to taste.   

Really simple soup dish and so healthy for you.  I eat it with a piece of baguette bread or any good European style bread, with a side of sliced tomatoes  for afterwards. For me, it’s a meal in itself.

Let me know what you think and drop me a comment, thanks.

Sliced Tomato plate

Here a simple vegetable side dish you can serve on the table with your main meal or even on its own with some fresh popsecos (Portuguese buns).

Fresh beef steak or any type of tomato, I prefer straight from my garden.

Dressing:

1/4 cup of fresh virgin olive oil
1 tsp. bits of fresh dried Rosemary
pinch of sea salt
pinch of black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp. of  white or red vinegar
1  pinch of cumin
1 tbsp. of cut up parsley
1 lemon wedge
1 tsp of red pimento sauce
pinch of sugar (optional)

Add all the dressing ingredients and stir it with a fork.

Pour over your sliced tomatoes. You can also add sliced cucumbers, and I also add fennel and celery as well.

Great sides are the perfect accessories to the picture perfect meal. Enjoy !

Mannie Dasilva

http://www.portuguesecook.com

Octopus Stew

Hello again, 

Here’s the Portuguese Octopus Stew recipe illustrated on the Portuguese Cook’s Octopus Stew part 1. It’s a 2 part short video clips on this wonderful traditional recipe illustrating the use of white and red wine. Normally I like to link my recipes with a preliminary story, but the video below says it all for now.  So without further ado, here’s the recipe: 

INGREDIENTS: (Yields 3- 4 persons) 

Cooking time 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 

1 med. Octopus (about 1 1/2 to 2 lbs)
3 – 4 tbsp. Olive Oil 
1/2 of medium onion, diced. 
2 – 3 Cloves of Garlic 
1 tbsp. of tomato paste (diluted with some water)
1 tbsp. of Red pepper paste 
1 tbsp. of red Pimento sauce (sweet) 
1 full wine glass or 3/4 cups of red wine or white wine (darker stew is with red wine)
1 sm. pinch of parsley (optional) towards the end.
1 bay leaf 
1 tsp of Cumin 
pinch of salt, and sm. pinch of black pepper 
1 1/2 cups of water ( and additional 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water during cooking process) 
( 2 to 3 potatoes. cut in quarters) 

The method : 

1) Wash the Octopus and cut in bit size pieces, set to the side. 
2) Saute the diced onions and sliced garlic cloves with the olive oil in a deep medium pot. 
3) Add your Octopus pieces. 
4) Add your 1 1/2 cups of water, glass of red wine, tomato paste, red pepper paste, red 
Pimento paste (sweet), the Bay leaf, 1 tsp. of cumin, pinch of black pepper. 
5)Put it at medium low heat for the first hour of cooking. (Check on the cooking process to see that it’s slowly boiling, not too feverishly) 
6)Second half of the cooking, add more water, about another 3/4 to 1 cup water. 
7)Add your 2 or 3 white potatoes cut in quarters and some diced parsley (about a hand full) ( Let it cook at medium heat for about 1/2 hr to 45 min. more ) 
8)Lower the heat to med. low, until the water lowers down to a runny gravy like texture. 

Great sides are Portuguese white or yellow corn flour bread.

Enjoy and Cheers !!! 

Portuguese Style Corn Bread

Portuguese seafood, meat and soup dishes tastes so much better with a good piece of bread. My favourite one is Portuguese Style  corn bread, the perfect complement. Although this bread is made in various European households, I grew up with this bread in my household all the time, but it was made at home, not bought at the bakery. 

When I was a little girl of about 5 or 6, I remember watching my Dad in the kitchen,  rolling the dough into the size of a  cantaloupe. He would be so involved in the process, unaware of his surroundings as if he was pouring his soul into the bread. It is really remarkable to watch someone really enjoy making bread. He must have been thinking about his life back home in Portugal or  the  anticipation of eating his creation;  perhaps reminiscing about his mom making the same bread and watching in the same appreciation as I did. 

Nobody can make this simple, tasty bread better than my dad….until now. Time to hand over the tradition Pai,  (Dad in Portuguese), your daughter will carry it  to the next generation.   The only downfall is that this bread doesn’t keep long,  2 days max, and for a somewhat  frugal cook,   I’ve got to love it to go the extra mile and make it. Yet it is so  easy to make, for busy people it’s definitely a weekend baking treat.

It is a staple in my home now, even though my kids eat bits at a time. Given the right dish,  like shrimp in a wine sauce (one of my  future posts)  they would dip the plates clean.  

May you enjoy this favourite of mine. Cheers ! 

• INGREDIENTS:
• 2 cups corn flour + 1 tbsp. extra for dusting baking pan
• 1/2 teaspoons ground pepper
• Dash of garlic powder
• 1  to 1 1/2 tablespoons of  sea  salt  or  (if you want to cut down of salt do 1 tablespoon)
• 1 1/2  cups boiling water
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup of white flour or hand full of white wheat flour
• optional tiny bits of dried Rosemary herbs

 

The Method:

1) Pour 2 cups of corn flour,  pepper and salt, dash of garlic powder, sugar (and 1 tsp. of  dried Rosemary herb optional)  in large mixing bowl.  Add 1  1/2 cup  of hot boiling water and stir with wood spoon until thick and well mixed. Consistency should be thick with minimal lumps.   Let the dough cool about 20 minutes at room temperature; or outside with a towel covering it; or in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes.

2) In the mean time, prepare the baking surface with the extra flour dust on a rectangular or round baking pan. Preheat the oven to the highest heat, mine goes to about 550 degrees farenheit, and that’s where I set it.

3)  Now roll your sleeves on this part and of course clean hands.  Take bowl out of fridge and add the  1/2 cup of white bread flour into dough and blend with your hands. It will be sticky, but the goal is to   knead on a floured surface, and not make it sticky. Roll  into a nice ball like the shape of a cantaloupe. Then Flatten the dough to the shape of a medium oval pizza shape, with the thickness to be about an inch to inch and 1/2 .

4) If you have a large flat spatula,  carefully slide it under to scoop the rolled out dough on the flour dusted  baking pan and place it on the baking pan carefully.   

5) Bake until bread is deep golden  brown on top, usually about 1/2 hour to 40 min., but have the light open in the oven so you can spot check after 20 minutes to see how it’s doing. Once its a nice light golden brown, remove from oven. Wait about a minute or two and wrap with a clean tea towel so that it keeps it’s moisture and won’t go dry on you.

6) Serve it warm or at room temperature, it can be baked 1 day ahead, although I find it best the same day that you cook your main dish. (Keeps for about 1 or 2 days in a sealed bag)

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Crab salad

One of my Dad’s signature dishes is  his Portuguese style Crab Salad. This dish had many rave reviews from our  visitors and friends. It’s a dish that is light, full of flavours, addicting and a real treat. I remember on Saturdays, my dad would go to the Portuguese fish market downtown Toronto, buy 1 or 2 crabs, live ones, and it would be a feast for the eyes and mouth. Here’s the recipe enjoy !  Oh, I almost forgot, a nice wine to go with it would be a smooth  white chardonnay such as Allianca a light inexpensive Portuguese vino verde (green/white wine) or  Little Penguin of  South Australia !  Try it !

Ingredients: Yield 4 persons

King Crab (about 3-4  lbs) (or 2 small sized)

Deep pot of water

The Dressing:

garlic cloves 3 or 4
Red Pimento sauce (mild)
pinch of cumin spice
parsley
Olive oil
sea salt
white or red wine vinegar
Black Pepper
squeeze of lemon
4 boiled eggs (optional)

1. First you would boil the water in the pot, try to fill it about 3/4 of the pot.
2. After it’s been boiling for about 15 minutes or so, grab the live crab from the back, usually
the claws are tied by a rubber band. You can cut the band  after it’s boiled. Let it boil for about 5 to 7 minutes. The crab would have changed to a pinky orange colour.
3) Remove crabs from the Pot, let it sit on a tray to cool down, about 10 to 15 minutes. b) At this point you could boil the 4 eggs, for about 5 minutes. They need to be hard-boiled. Set to the side for decorating the salad.
4) Making the dressing; pour about 3/4 cup of olive oil, about 1/2 cup of red or white vinegar, chopped parsley about 1/2 cup, add 1 tablespoon of red pimento sauce (mild) or  1 tsp. of hot pimento sauce to the mild sauce if you prefer, chop the 3 cloves of garlic in small bits, add the 1 tsp of pepper, and a pinch of sea salt.
5) Mix all wet ingredients, and put to the side.
6) Begin cracking the crab legs for ease of eating. In addition, the main body of the crab, use a steak knife by puncturing the opening of  the front facial part of the crab and crack in half. You may need to clear out some of the guts, and brake the body into 4 or 5 parts for eating. You can save part of the crab juice and add it to the dressing if you wish. It  reinforce the overall crab flavour.
7)Gather all your crab pieces on a rectangular casserole dish Add your boiled eggs sliced in halves, drop some pimento red pepper sauce sparingly over the whole dish and eggs.
8)Pour the dressing over the entire crab, making sure all pieces has some dressing.
9)Squeeze some lemon over the entire dish and add some parsley for decoration, and there you go a really tasty Crab salad great for anytime of the year. Nice sides are Portuguese corn bread or popsecos (Portuguese buns).

Bom Appetit !

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Portugal small country ….Global Impact

There aren’t many small countries that can attest to the  level  of global influence than to that of Portugal’s. It’s as if the language, intentionally or not, has transcended to all races around the world. The Goans of India, the oriental influence within Macau, the Portuguese  historical presence within Labrador, Canada,  Brazil’s  multicultural ethnicities,  and the African inhabitants of Mozambique  and Angola.  Although, I believe the Portuguese explorers forgot about colonizing the South Pole, but then again, it might have been intentional. I couldn’t see Vasco da Gama camp out with the penguins during the winter !

Yet, it is no wonder that I am drawn to many cultures and want to embrace  and celebrate the commonalities of racial themes. It is probably innate due to my ancestry and natural appreciation of Portugal’s historical influence. The common quest to not only discover the physical world, but the longing to exchange ideas with fellow world citizens.

I am often perplexed with the Portuguese enigma, are we a “people in transition” ? Certainly not just one race  because many races  speak the Portuguese language. It is not just the history that binds us, nor is it our ancestral heritage or the flag of the mother country, but rather it’s our communication to one another, shared cultural experience, hard-working values. So if it’s the language that brings us together, then we have much in common with the English and Spanish-speaking world. We are a people of language, influence and pride. Therefore patriotism may have a different meaning here. Can patriotism be exclusive to one Portuguese speaking colony at a time ?  Or can it mean a shared culture and language  towards the affiliation of  the original country? Do we desire Portugal to be home ?  Perhaps,  it’s similar to the idea of the nuclear family, where the parents eventually encourage their  kids to go out and be independent, find their own place in the world, yet they can always come back home. It’s  an open invitation, the unconditional bond.  And so we should, Mother Portugal. To those that made their new homes in Brazil, Cape Verde,  Aruba,   Boston  U.S., Toronto, Vancouver and South Africa, we all adapt and create a space, knowing there’s a little place across the Atlantic called “home”.  Portugal,  small country ….global impact !

M. Dasilva
November 24, 2009

www.portuguesecook.com

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Portuguese Queen of Kensington

Portuguese Queen of Kensington:

I remember growing up near Kensington market in downtown Toronto. When I was about 4 years old, every Saturday morning my mother, with her 1960’s hairdo and thick black retro glasses, would take me to the market. I am reminded of the hustle and bustle of aggressive shop keepers, nostalgic smells, cars honking, a busy hum through the streets, people were alive, really alive. The typical Portuguese fish store with the owner raising his voice to alert customers their orders were ready, NEXT…. Stores packed with hungry patient customers, waiting in line for their orders. The floors were always messy, filthy, with saw dust everywhere. Then there were the chicken and pork butchers. They had real live chickens running through the streets, and I would crack up watching the frustrated store keepers gasping after their chickens. It was a spontaneous circus worth more than the price of admission.

But the best part of the whole excursion, was the Portuguese bakery. The aroma of Portuguese custard tarts and “massa sovada” and the famous chocolate umbrellas with their colorful wrappers… a treat my mother promised me every time. And the almond covered candies that you get at weddings, I would never have the patience to dissolve them slowly, I would always crunch within thirty seconds. That wonderful smell of Portuguese almond candies reminded me of an innocent time within the city. Where it felt like a real community, like a small town. Everyone knew each other, there were no strangers. Why is it that when Portuguese people get together, there’s a lot of loudness, arms waving, excitement, passion? We are just very energetic passionate people wanting to be heard, wanting to connect, we live life like the kings and queens of Kensington.

M. Dasilva

November 23, 2009
www.portuguesecook.com

Portuguese rice pudding or Arroz doce

It’s starting to get cold outside, winter is almost upon us, I look outside my window and the sky is smokey slate grey, I just want to curl up with a good book. But wait, something is missing….my comforting signature dish, Portuguese rice pudding  arroz doce !!!… I just can’t get enough !!!…to the kitchen I go.
I really enjoy this dish while listening to soft music, a crackling fireplace, relishing the moment.

The ingredients:

3 1/2 cups  of 1  or 2 % Milk
 1  1/4 cup of Aborio (any European named brand) rice
1 cup sugar
1 Lemon skin slice
1 egg yolk (optional)
1/2 cup water and more if necessary.
cinnamon

Yields about 4 to 6 servings

Cooking time will take about 1 1/2 hours – slooooooow cooking.

1) Gather your ingredients, you need to measure about 1 1/4 cups of rice. Wash it in the sieve. then put it into your medium-sized no stick pot.
2) Measure about 1/2 cup of water, add about 1 1/2 cups of milk, add your sugar. Put the heat on at low heat for about 30 minutes, in a covered pot. (Stir intermittently about 10 to 15 min. into the cooking process)
3)As it starts bubbling and thickening, it’s time to add more milk, add about 1/2 cup of milk and stir it slowly. This is a good time to add the lemon slice since this will allow the citrus flavours to slowly fuse with the rice grains and milk. Try to stir the pudding with your wooden spoon every 10 min. to 15 min.  or so ( You really need to spot check this one, so that it doesn’t burn at the bottom.)
4)The last 1/2 hour continue the same stirring action intermittently, and add some more milk, the last 1/2 cup of milk. If you are running low on milk you can substitute with water if you wish. Continue the stirring action, until the consistency it really thick and creamy, have a quick taste test with a spoon, to make sure the rice grains have cooked right through. Total cooking time will take you to about 1 1/2 hours anyway.
5)Once you’re satisfied with the taste of the rice, take it off the heating element to a cool element. Also remember to take out the lemon slice. It’s done it’s job.
6)At this point, this is where the egg does it role. Separate your egg, and only add the yoke to the rice pudding, save the whites from the egg for another recipe. Stir the yoke through and you’ll have a nice off-white golden tone. The pudding will be a nice creamy thick risotto type texture.
6)Pour your rice pudding with the wooden spoon into your oval semi-deep serving dish.
7)Sprinkle your cinnamon sparingly or if you want to get fancy create a design.

Some like it hot and some like it cold. I like it both ways,

And Enjoy