We’re heading to the Iberian peninsula this summer - PORTUGUESE is our latest COTQ! I’ve never been to Portugal outside of a long layover or two in Lisbon, so I look forward to learning about this vast and varied cuisine with all of you. Thanks for voting and hapoy cooking, dining out and eating, Portugal-style!
6 Likes
I really like David Leite’s The New Portuguese Table cookbook.
His site is a good place to start for recipes.
I mostly order Portuguese food to go, and try pastries, so I might add any take-out photos over the next 3 months.
7 Likes
I just returned from a holiday in Portugal, so I’m looking forward to further exploring this amazing cuisine!
Thank you for the link. I hope to soon be cooking from Leite’s book, and I also have this one:
https://www.amazon.com/My-Lisbon-Cookbook-Portugals-Light/dp/0399581715
2 Likes
Feijoada de Lulas (Portuguese Bean, Chorizo, and Squid Stew)
Google Translate may help with those last two. I’ve had my eye on this dish for a while and the rainy, cool weather made it perfect for today. I ended up doing a bit of a mix of the recipes I saw online, using the Saveur one as sort of the overall guideline. I was out of onion, so 3 large shallots stood in instead. I sweated them with carrot and then added cumin, sliced chorizo (it was a soft one from Whole Foods. I think Linguica might be a better choice for a raw sausage), garlic, and some Calabrian chiles in place of the piri-piri ones. Once the sausage was no longer pink, in went the wine and squid. You’re supposed to cook this until the wine mostly evaporates, stirring occasionally (~15 minutes). Mine did not really evaporate. Then you add the beans (I cooked from scratch earlier in the day) and tomatoes. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the squid gets tender, about 45 minutes. I did that part in a 275F oven. Serve the finished stew garnished with cilantro over rice.
I made a half batch of this, since it is just two of us here. There is definitely enough for at least one more meal for two left! The flavors on this are nice and bright from the wine, alliums, and tomatoes, even with the bean base. The squid does become very tender. A really nice change of pace for this dish, especially in the summer (or whatever this weather we’re having is supposed to be).
12 Likes
It looks amazing!! 
1 Like
Thank you! I was happy to have the whole day to chip away at prepping the components - mostly chopping and slicing, but it was still more consecutive chunks of time on my feet than my back want to deal with. Worth it for the outcome though (and leftovers)!
3 Likes
Looks wonderful!
(I’m not a big fan of feijoada, but I love the farofa that’s usually served alongside.)
1 Like
For those interested in a more traditional Portuguese feijoada, it appears to have originated in northeastern Portugal in Trás-os-Montes (Feijoada Transmontana). Reading about how it has traveled, most famously to Brazil, but also to other areas colonized by Portugal, such as Goa, Mozambique, and Macau, has been a fun rabbit hole this afternoon. Here are some links for Feijoada Transmontana (and a couple Transmontana adjacent ones):
https://portuguesediner.com/tiamaria/crock-pot-feijoada-a-transmontana/
Lorin Cooks Legumes also has some links to varieties from the other countries that had been under Portuguese colonization.
6 Likes
Caldeirada de Lulas (and shrimp). It’s too hot to make stew, but stew is always so good.
Also this aggressively un-Portuguese kale slaw with radish, tomato and hard-boiled egg. Maybe close your eyes and think of caldo verde, except not caldo at all.
8 Likes
Bacalhau à Bruxa de Valpaços
Ok, I had to try this recipe just based on the name alone! According to local legend, the Witch of Valpaços, Maria de Jesus Mourão, was more well regarded for her cooking skills than her magic. Her style seems to have been to create a casserole, in which you layer potatoes, onion, bacon, and garlic and then let it cook in olive oil and any other fat released by other ingredients (bacon! but, there is also a rabbit version out there). Then, in this case, add your (well soaked and checked for bones) salt cod (I used fresh haddock that I had in the freezer and skipped all the soaking) and continue to stew over slow heat until everything is cooked through. One version of this recipe (the one I used tonight) has you serve it up in a stack on your diners’ plates, and then make a quick hot vinaigrette to ladle over the top. The other has you add the vinegar before simmering the ingredients. What you get at then end are melting potatoes and onion with silky fish and a just tangy enough sauce to cut through all the richness. I will make this again!
Here is an article that gives more information about the Witch of Valpaços (and another version of the recipe!). If you open it in Chrome, you can use the browser translate function to read it (which I needed to do)!
8 Likes
3 Likes
August COTM nominations are happening here:
Two dishes tonight
Camarão Moçambique (Shrimp Mozambique)
Arroz de Chouriço e Ervilhas
Rice with Chorizo and Peas Mushrooms
I’ve had Shrimp Mozambique in mind since Portuguese was announced for the quarter, so I was very excited to get to it tonight! This is almost a very spicy take on a scampi style shrimp. I had difficulty securing the piri piri peppers called for, so I used a couple Fresno peppers and kept all the seeds and ribs. I also goosed the paprika with some cayenne. Once the ingredients are prepped, this comes together very quickly in the pan, so it is great for a week night! I served this with a rice pilaf (BF’s preference), but it would be outstanding with some warm, crusty bread. The zippy, wine tinged garlic sauce is that good!
The pilaf is pretty straightforward - render some dry chorizo (~2 oz.) in olive oil. I added about a half pound of diced mushrooms at this point and cooked them down in the oil (since I was deviating from the peas. We had some last night!). Then I added a bit of shallot (in place of the onion - I’d used the one we had in the house up on the shrimp) and garlic. Once those were cooked, in went the rice. I made a half recipe of this, so 1 c. dry long-grain rice followed by 1.75 c. water. Check to see if you need some salt at this point (based on what the chorizo is like). Then cook until the rice is done (18-20 minutes). Fluff and serve!
I would happily make both of these again!
11 Likes
I’ve been thwarted in my efforts to include Portuguese in my cooking,
But time marches forward 
1 Like
I’ve been bad at cooking or baking Portuguese food the past 3 months. I have been getting more Portuguese take-out and Brazilian take-out lately.
Most recently, I enjoyed a Brazilian Feijoada (last night!)
I also recently had a takeout meal of Portuguese petiscos, which are similar to tapas.
I’ll make Portuguese roast chicken tonight with a commercial peri peri sauce
https://www.mccormick.com/gourmet/recipes/salads-sides/portuguese-style-rice-with-rosemary
1 Like
