Chloe

Great post, thanks tsquare I didn't know that tremoços were also known as lupini beans - thanks for teaching me! I had always referred to them as just lupin seeds. In the Algarve, it's called xarém (sha-RAYNG). When I get up the courage to visit the Algarve one day, I'll look forward to trying it! "Leite creme" is (or should be) an almost liquid custard (a bit like natillas in Spain) that is then caramelised on top. A good description of Portuguese Arroz de pato. It's curious that in the country of soupy rice dishes, the duck rice is generally a very dry dish. Chloe in wet, wet north Portugal where it's due to rain for the next 10 days

Most of the motorway service areas in Portugal seem to be depressing Spanish and French franchises, but the Mealhada one is a privately, locally owned venture that serves vast amounts of roast piglet in the form of sandwiches (which isn't really a fair description of those special crusty rolls absolutely stuffed with meat) in the cafeteria and in a real sit-down restaurant! I can happily confirm the excellence of the"sandes de leitão" for anyone passing by between meal times. Had an excellent leitão a few nights ago - visiting friends and family weren't really up to yet another restaurant so we picked up two "doses" of piglet (with their freshly fried crisps, black pepper sauce and salad) from the restaurant, after checking whether we could with the owner, bought a bottle of the local red sparkling wine (sort of red vinho verde champagne - a light but pleasant tipple) and enjoyed it at leisure at home. At leisure isn't really the word, because it disappeared very quickly Chloe north Portugal

Actually just bought some "artisanal" membrillo at El Corte Ingles yesterday, though I haven't tried it. Chloë

Quick translation of the menu from the Tromba Rija website. You can either eat all you can from the Starters and Desserts or, paying a bit more, you can have a main course as well. Starters Salt cod salad Chickpea salad Butter beans Ling roe Fritada (fried pork) Tomato rice Tuna salad Stuffed eggs with parsley Fried caul Fried pork belly Cold roast beef Brawn Young pork belly Fish salad Poultry hearts Gizzards "Mountain oysters" Fried sardines Fried horse mackerel Ham Melon Quail eggs Mixed salads "Bread meat pie" Octopus Wild mushrooms Mushrooms Roast stuffed pig's stomach Boiled stuffed pig's stomach Pigs' ears Courgettes Black-eyed beans Roast peppers Pork trotters Gaspacho Little cuttlefish Spinach with pine nuts Broad beans Asparagus tart Cheese with prunes Aubergine Cream of pumpkin soup etc. etc. etc. Next (One of the following dishes) every day Grilled salt cod "Spiritual" salt cod (pureed, with carrots etc) Stuffed squid Tiger prawns Fresh fish Stewed partridge with savoy cabbage Wild duck with mushroom sauce Pork loin with prune stuffing Medieval-style rabbit Grilled pork ribs Lamb chops Special beef loin Alentejo pork loin Daily dishes Tuesday - Roast duck Wednesday - Tromba Rija - Special bean stew Thursday - Roast kid Friday - Ti Rosária's Fritada (fried pork) Saturday - Cozido (Portuguese boiled dinner) in bread (on request) Others dishes on request Interval Natural lemon sorbet Cheese Serra Serpa Niza Ovelheiro (ewe's milk) Azeitão Castelo Branco Requeijão (ricotta) etc. Fruit (Except those not available seasonally) Figs Grapes Kiwifruit Pineapple Peach Strawberries Plums Lichis Papaya Guava Mango Physalis Sweetsop Kumquats Carambola Cherries etc. Desserts Papos de anjo Rice pudding Pumpkin pudding Toucinho do céu Apple sweet Migas doces (egg and milk dessert) Chocolate mousse Doce de cenoura com ovos moles (Carrot sweet with eggy sauce) Charcada (caramelised egg dessert) Burnt cream Vermicelli pudding Lime cake Pumpkin compote (??) Meringues Doce de Natas Floating islands Dried fruit and nuts Raisins Walnuts Peanuts Hazelnuts Almonds Dried figs Digestifs Port Brandies Bitter almond liqueur Coffee Pure Arabica Bom apetite

Unfortunately not. I had friends who used to live in Leiria but didn't manage to get to Tromba Rija while they were still there. For the curious (and Portuguese readers): http://www.trombarija.com/ Chloe

My packed lunches were always delicious, but sometimes I did manage to frighten friends at school. I particularly remember: - sandwiches made from black German bread with cream cheese and real ham - lovely to eat and to look at - boiled lambs tongues (forced to eat these facing the wall ) - unpeeled prawns (before such things were very common in the UK - great for frightening the unwary) - dessert of sour cream with prune puree from Germany - my father's best fruit cake had some friends queuing up for a taste - home-made pizza That's all I can remember at the moment ... Chloe

I like that "dyeing the turnip" concept! (Is that an accurate translation, Eric?) The verb used in the original is "corar" which can be either blush/colour/dye or bleach (particularly bleaching damp clothes naturally in the sun) and I think the idea in this case is "bleach" rather than "dye". I have some slightly different recipes for this Nabada - without almonds. And in one of the recipes a suggestion that if the turnips are julienned it can imitate the "chila" (curcurbita ficifolia, rather than the yellow spaghetti squash, which is cucurbita pepo) jam. More later! Now I have to finish making supper Chloe

One job sent off, so before the next one: *** A Quince Cheese recipe Marmelada 2 kg quince 1.2 kg sugar Wash the quinces and, for the marmelada to remain white, cook them whole, without touching them with a knife, so that they don't go dark. When they are cold, peel them by hand, remove the seeds with your fingers and put them through the mouli-légume. Heat the sugar with just enough water to melt it and boil almost to "ponto de rebuçado" (125 centigrade). Add the quince pulp and stir with a wooden spoon until you can see the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and stir vigourously until it is cold. You can also make marmelada without cooking the quince pulp. Boil the sugar to a strong "ponto de areia" (141 centigrade), remove from the heat, add the quince pulp and stir until it is cold. Pour into bowl and let it dry until it has a hard surface. If you want to make red marmelada, cut the quince with a knife before cooking them. *** There are all sorts of theories about making quince paste paler or darker. In this recipe the no-knife theory seems to be messed up by the mouli-legume part ... Madeira is an island not very far from the Canaries. I should have been more accurate about the potato sweet - it is made from sweet potatoes (white, not orange, I think). Quince is cheese is commonly, but not exclusively, eaten with cheese in Portugal, but it tends to be the absolutely boring "Flemish ball" type. Chloe Portugal

So if the launch of the Opera/Song Festival that I am helping to set up in Ponte de Lima is successful, I should get in touch with you, Eric? The Maria de Lourdes Modesto book is great - I must get the English translation one, for reference purposes! I think it is one of the best selling books ever in Portugal. Another recipe from Tesouros da Cozinha Tradicional Portuguesa (Selecções do Reader's Digest, 1984): *** Bagulhada "This is a very ancient sweet preserve, very easy to make, and which can make a lovely dessert" 2 kg grapes 1 kg sugar 250 g peeled quince 150 g shelled walnuts Wash the grapes, remove their seeds, heat them gently in a pan without water and let them cook over a low heat for about 1 hour. Cut the quince into small pieces and add them to the grapes, together with the sugar. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and boil to "ponto de espadana" (117 centigrade, 40 Baumé). Then add the walnuts, remove from the heat and store in bowls or sealed jars. *** Now I must get back to more lucrative translating Chloe Portugal

To start with: Perada - Pear Cheese 1.5 kg pears 1.250 kg (castor) sugar 2 dl water Cook the pears whole unpeeled, peel when still slightly warm and sieve the pulp. Cook the sugar and water to "ponto de fio" (103 centigrade, 29 Baumé) and add the pear. Continue to cook, stirring, to "ponto de estrada" (110 centigrade, 37 Baumé). Fill bowls, cover them with gauze and let the perada dry in the sun. Once dry, cover with greaseproof paper or cellophane. There'll be more when I have a bit more time! Chloe Portugal

See also the marmalade topic at http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...17063&hl=quince Quince paste/cheese is part of the "national heritage" in Portugal, where it is still commonly made at home. There are various recipes for making quince cheese lighter or darker + modern less strenuous recipes. When home-made, it is normally stored in bowls covered with greaseproof paper; there are often set out to dry in the sun. There is also a traditional recipe for little "bricks" of quince cheese. Fruit (and other) cheeses are also made with bananas (in Madeira), pears, pumpkins, tomatoes, apples, peaches, apricots, potatoes, and carrots. Chloe Portugal

As I live just down the road from the Carvalheira, I'm very happy to recommend it! It's often quite busy, so reservations are recommended, especially at the weekend. The same priest also has a restaurant on the road between Ponte de Lima and Braga, called Cozinha Velha, which serves some mean piglet. And he has just taken over a restaurant in an excellent site overlooking the river, Marina. Chloe

About 400. Chloe

The hotdog mentioned some way back in this thread reminds me of Portuguese hotdogs: - roll, sausage, mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise and matchstick potatoes. And at the fancier stands, a choice of sweetcorn, grated carrot, shredded lettuce, grated cheese etc. Not sure where the idea came from, maybe Brazil? Chloe

On the subject of Spanish hotel breakfasts, many Spaniards at home tend to eat cakes and biscuits (dunked in milk etc) at breakfast, and that *is* reflected in hotel breakfasts of the basket full of sponge cakes/sweet breads/dry biscuits type. (that could lead on to an "international breakfasts/what do you eat for breakfast topic ...) Chloe

My Learn to Cook Book Followed by My Fun to Cook Book. Chloe

The roast piglet town is Mealhada, just north of Coimbra. Leitão is traditionally served with a very peppery sauce, freshly fried crisps (or potato chips, or whatever you want to call them), green salad + fizzy wine. Wonderful! There are also good leitão restaurants a bit further north (near Anadia and Águeda) - I can give you their names if you like. Also recommended are O Manjar do Marquês in Pombal and Tromba Rija in Leiria (you have to be very hungry to go there!) Excellent restaurants in the Alcobaça and Rio Maior area. Good seafood in Ericeira north of Lisbon, and Sesimbra and Setúbal south of Lisbon. I'm afraid I don't have much experience of restaurants in Porto and Lisbon, so I can't really make personal recommendations, but very happy to list recommended places from Portuguese publications if you like. Personal recommendations only in the very, very north, where I live. Don't forget that in the typical Portuguese restaurant, servings are sometimes enormous and that it is quite common to have a half "dose" (price indicated on the menu) or to share dishes. Netmenu has lots of restaurant info, but I can't remember whether any part is translated into English and I can't open it at the moment (internet a bit sluggish here). Chloe

The hump is called cupim. Can't think what the eggy coating might be! The Porcão has a website, but it's more a general internet portal than a restaurant site. And no menus, as far as I could see. I went to the Ipanema Porcão some years ago - can't say I enjoyed it that much. I though the meat rather dull compared to many other restaurants in Brazil or even here in Portugal. Maybe I had bad luck. Chloe (dreaming of a good picanha + caipirinha ...)

In a couple of hours time, boiled salt cod and octupus + boiled potatoes, carrots, cabbage, eggs. Just the same as Christmas Eve Eggy rice pudding, rabanadas, fritters of some sort maybe, and my trad English trifle, lemon version of the clementine cake I made at Christmas, Rose Levy Beranbaum's White Spice Pound Cake (smells lovely), a frozen chocolate mousse-cake thing and a heavy eggy-almondy cake. Tomorrow: left-overs ("old clothes", as they call them here) + some sort of home-raised fowl. 15 adults, 8 children - Chloe in veeeerrry wet Portugal

The Dinaguan actually sounds very Portuguese! In their travels around the world, the Portuguese managed to leave a legacy of bloody and vinegary dishes: cabidela (chicken with its blood + vinegar) and sarapatel/sarrabulho (pork offal and blood + vinegar or lemon) appear in Portuguese-speaking Africa, Brazil, Goa, Macao, and East Timor, and maybe influenced this Filipino dish. These dishes are still popular in Portugal as well, although mainly prepared at home. Chloe from a town in north Portugal where the restaurants do actually produce one of these dishes in vast quantities!

It's in the New Oxford Dictionary of English artisan noun a worker in a skilled trade, especially one that involves making things by hand. DERIVATIVES artisanal adjective. ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from French, from Italian artigiano, based on Latin artitus, past participle of artire ‘instruct in the arts’, from ars, art- ‘art’. (which I have on my computer, in case anybody thinks I've just typed that out) Chloë