Mar 2, 2007
Portuguese Traditional Food You Can Cook At Home by Roger Wakefield
Portugal is a wonderful place to throw caution to the wind and dive into the regional food.
Don't be upset if you don't enjoy great food early in the day however, the locals often skip breakfast , usually deciding on a continental style breakfast. In fact you will often see commuters having a quick bite in a cafe on their way to work.
Lunchtime and Evenings are a quite different and greatly pleasurable experience.
The locals like their cooking, and you are likely to be offered satisfyingly large portions when eating in restaurants. The mid day meal can be a long affair, in general taken between 1pm and 3pm, and even in the heat of the summer, the portuguese eat hot cooked meals in cafes or restaurants. The evening meal is taken between 7.00pm and 9.00pm, and again, customarily is a cooked meal.
The charm of Portuguese cooking is often described as 'basic ingredients, perfectly cooked'.
Portuguese cuisine is mostly based on good quality, fresh local produce, usually featuring fish, meat, olive oil, tomatoes and spices.
The typical portuguese meal should ideally begin with a traditional portuguese soup.
The best known portuguese soup, is called caldo verde, a wholesome, spicy soup made with shredded kale, potatoes and chourio or linguica sausage. Caldo Verde originates in the Minho region, but is widely available throughout Portugal, from lisbon to the holiday resorts in the algarve.
Here is a Recipe for caldo verde that will let you bring a memory of portugal into your own home
Portuguese kale soup recipe:
1 lb. (0.45kg) stew beef (chopped into 1 inch cubes) 1/2 lb. (0.23kg) linguica or chourico (cut into slices) 6 cups water A pinch of salt 3 big potatoes, chopped into 2.5cm cubes three carrots, cubed 1.5 lb (680g) kale, finely chopped, or 1 pack defrosted frozen kale 1/2 cabbage (well chopped) 1/2 pack macaroni (elbow) 1 tin white beans (any white beans will do) 1 chili, (remove seeds), chopped 1/3 tsp paprika 1 tsp Olive Oil
Directions:
Peel and chop the root vegetables.
Fill a large saucepan with the water and add the stewing beef, linguia or chourio and sea salt.
Bring to a rolling boil and keep covered until cubed beef and linguia or chorio are almost cooked.
Then add the the chili pepper, carrots, beans, (if using them), paprika, chopped cabbage & kale and stir well.
Replace the lid and cook well for 3/4 hour or until kale is fully cooked.
Once the kale is ready, add the olive oil chopped potatoes and pasta.
Keep stirring the kale soup so that the potatoes and macaroni won't end up stuck to the base of the pan.
Simmer (keeping the saucepan lid on) until the potatoes and macaroni are perfectly cooked..
Caldo verde can be served as a starter or as a tasty main course.
Portugal is a wonderful place to throw caution to the wind and dive into the regional food.
Don't be upset if you don't enjoy great food early in the day however, the locals often skip breakfast , usually deciding on a continental style breakfast. In fact you will often see commuters having a quick bite in a cafe on their way to work.
Lunchtime and Evenings are a quite different and greatly pleasurable experience.
The locals like their cooking, and you are likely to be offered satisfyingly large portions when eating in restaurants. The mid day meal can be a long affair, in general taken between 1pm and 3pm, and even in the heat of the summer, the portuguese eat hot cooked meals in cafes or restaurants. The evening meal is taken between 7.00pm and 9.00pm, and again, customarily is a cooked meal.
The charm of Portuguese cooking is often described as 'basic ingredients, perfectly cooked'.
Portuguese cuisine is mostly based on good quality, fresh local produce, usually featuring fish, meat, olive oil, tomatoes and spices.
The typical portuguese meal should ideally begin with a traditional portuguese soup.
The best known portuguese soup, is called caldo verde, a wholesome, spicy soup made with shredded kale, potatoes and chourio or linguica sausage. Caldo Verde originates in the Minho region, but is widely available throughout Portugal, from lisbon to the holiday resorts in the algarve.
Here is a Recipe for caldo verde that will let you bring a memory of portugal into your own home
Portuguese kale soup recipe:
1 lb. (0.45kg) stew beef (chopped into 1 inch cubes) 1/2 lb. (0.23kg) linguica or chourico (cut into slices) 6 cups water A pinch of salt 3 big potatoes, chopped into 2.5cm cubes three carrots, cubed 1.5 lb (680g) kale, finely chopped, or 1 pack defrosted frozen kale 1/2 cabbage (well chopped) 1/2 pack macaroni (elbow) 1 tin white beans (any white beans will do) 1 chili, (remove seeds), chopped 1/3 tsp paprika 1 tsp Olive Oil
Directions:
Peel and chop the root vegetables.
Fill a large saucepan with the water and add the stewing beef, linguia or chourio and sea salt.
Bring to a rolling boil and keep covered until cubed beef and linguia or chorio are almost cooked.
Then add the the chili pepper, carrots, beans, (if using them), paprika, chopped cabbage & kale and stir well.
Replace the lid and cook well for 3/4 hour or until kale is fully cooked.
Once the kale is ready, add the olive oil chopped potatoes and pasta.
Keep stirring the kale soup so that the potatoes and macaroni won't end up stuck to the base of the pan.
Simmer (keeping the saucepan lid on) until the potatoes and macaroni are perfectly cooked..
Caldo verde can be served as a starter or as a tasty main course.
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