Sub standard

October in the Algarve sees late cropping figs hit the market.

Not all traders have them but them that do does you proud.They jump off the stalls and into peoples shopping baskets before you can say figgin ell, there´s none left! Today I needed 12 fine specimens to make fig cheese cake. Cheese... cake? .... FIGS?
Yes, as a fig fanatic I had been lured into the pages of the latest issue of Blue cooking,which I no longer need to buy, as it can be read online at issuu.com.Blue cooking, Portugals answer to the UK´s Olive and Delicious, is part of a publishing portal of quality lifestyle magazines. Check out Blue Travel online issue 77 for a 19 page feature on Castro Marim
So what tempted me? - An 8 page feature on figs- am I in hog heaven or what?

My Cheesecake de figos

Cheesecake de figos seemed a mouthwateringly tempting recipe ( page 38 ) and very simple, so I rose to the challenge. My finished pud was thwarted by the fact that as so very often happens in this digital age- the recipe in question had not been subbed, by this I mean its author had written it and the copy had not been checked and proofed before publication. The problem in question was with the two types of sugar listed in the recipe. It tells you what to do with the golden sugar, but not the plain sugar. In hindsight I now realise this ingredient should have been added in Step 1. I overlooked this and my cheesecake was palatable and had our  guests ooing and aaahing but tasted a little bland. What a shame. Nevertheless I will try again.

If you have time to try this recipe please tell me how YOU get on.
Has anyone had similar experiences of badly edited recipes? I would love to hear from you.

Mushroom magic

The finished dish and the ingredient that brought it to life

For those of you not registered or followers of UK food bloggers. This is a challenge set by Julia Parsons , the founder of UKFBA and her co-organiser Scott of Real Epicurean. The idea is that they choose 3 seasonal ingredients which are put in the bag and we have to come up with a dish and blog about it.

This months ingredients are:

Mushrooms

Nuts

Herbs

For my "In the bag" dish I have chosen to cook my interpretation, (Oh dear I hear you all say.Here we go O Cozinheiro meddling with tradition again) of a traditional regional Portuguese speciality from the inland province of Tras-os Montes  in the far north of Portugal. I have used wild field mushrooms, grown locally and sourced by our local independent supermarket here in Castro Marim.This dish can make a rustic main course or sophisticated small bite starter, and the other great joy is that it can, for the greater part, be cooked in advance and finished off in 10 minutes.Wild mushrooms have a much richer flavour than the bland cultivated varieties, go easy on the mace as it can overpower the dish. Otherwise the subtlety of the flavours coming through are extraordinary.
Migas ( fried bread ) is a device in Portuguese cooking for soaking up juices.You will often find fried bread under a lamb stew or sardines. Mushrooms give off a lot of juices in the cooking and this is a perfect way of eliminating a lot of unwanted gravy on your plate.

Congumelos guisados com migas e rolado de pistachio tostado
(stewed wild mushrooms on fried bread with a pistachio crumb topping )

serves 4-6
1 kg wild mushrooms or field mushrooms
100g smoked ham, pancetta or lean bacon diced
4 medium slices of rustic country bread
4 cloves garlic plus extra
4 tablespoons olive oil and a little butter
4 shallots finely chopped
1 level desertspoon Dijon mustard
pinch of mace or nutmeg
Splash of Madeira wine
100g toasted pistachios crushed with your fingers
grated zest of orange and lemon
handful of chopped flat leaf parsley  sprigs and a  few chive stalks to garnish the plates

Wipe the mushrooms and cut off the end of the stalks. Cut the mushrooms into irregular sized pieces, leaving small ones whole without the stalk.Set aside. Fry the shallots and bacon gently in the oil and butter. Add the mushrooms and stir in the mustard, mace and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for two to three minutes until the mushrooms start to absorb the juices in the pan. Splash the mushrooms with Madeira and cook a further minute. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and rest in a warm place, add a little more olive oil and fry the slices of bread until golden on both sides.
Place the fried bread slices on plates and top with the mushrooms.Garnish the plates with parsley sprigs. Sprinkle the crushed pistachio crumbs over the top of the mushrooms and finish with the orange and lemon zest. carefully lay three or four chives across the top and serve.

Nature´s crown jewels

Open this exotic fruit up and you'll find that its seeds are truly the jewels in nature's crown, a fruit fit for kings It can ward off Alzheimers disease. It can prevent breast cancer, and the British Heart foundation endorses cartons of pomegranate juice. This hardy fruit with its thick, red-hued skin, has obtained the accolade of a superfood due to its sky-high levels of antioxidants. But enough of myths and health benefits – lets just eat them because they're versatile, perfect for sweet and savoury dishes, and because they taste good.Serve it with chicken, fish, quail, cheese or as a constituent in numerous desserts.

This weekend Casa Rosada offered Chermoula marinated tuna with jewelled cous cous as a main course option. 

Chermoula marinated tuna with jewelled cous cous
serves 2

2 thick tuna steaks

MARINADE
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 medium red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon coriander leaves chopped
1 tablespoon parsley leaves chopped

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a large shallow bowl 
add the tuna and coat the fish with the marinade mix
leave for 30 minutes

heat the griddle pan until it is smoking then quickly cook the tuna steaks
about  1 1/2 minutes each side will ensure they remain pink inside
serve with the jewelled cous cous


JEWELLED COUS COUS
150g cous cous ( 2 person portion )
250 ml marigold bouillon or good quality vegetable stock
1 red onion finely diced
100g pomegranate seeds
50g toasted pistachios coarsely chopped
( 50g dried apricots if you are serving this with meat not fish )
sprigs of flat leaf parsley for garnish
juice of 1 lemon
grated orange and lemon zest
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil


pour the stock over the cous cous and fluff it up with a fork after 10 minutes
mix in all the rest of the ingredients and adjust the seasoning.

Dia descanso com o diabo

O meu dia descanso( my day off ) - ´You little devil ´ I hear you say. An unexpected encounter with another red devil brought fire to a simple Casa Rosada supper.

Having cooked a serious 3 course dinner for our guests last night, tonight I need speedy supper, and it needs to be devilishly delicious. I go to the fridge,open the door, and it shouts hello condiment queen. Oh my god my fridge is complaining about the number of jars its being asked to store.You name it I´ve made it, I´ve stored it....Thai green curry paste, red tomato chutney, chilli jam, green olive tapenade, piri piri sauce, salad dressings every which way, so what needs using up and what can contribute to speedy supper. A jar of harissa I made last week catches my eye. I´ve got the devil in me and like a thing possessed I don my shopping basket. Its  half past twelve, its Sunday, its Castro Marim and the local supermarket closes in thirty minutes. Our supermarket has its own butchers counter selling a lot of home produced meat.His satanic majesty requests two free range chicken breasts, and returns home with a recipe in mind. Half my work is done, the fridge also proffers me a bowl of jewelled cous cous left over from last night. Harissa Chicken with jewelled cous cous, less mutton dressed as lamb, more devil wears Prada.

I simply adore this fiery pungent paste made with hot red chillis and spices. It can be smeared over almost anything. Let this North African staple give punch to lamb shanks or just simply mop it up with hunks of fresh bread. Our piri piri bushes are covered with little red chillis crying out, ( you will be ) to be picked and taken to the kitchen. There are so many recipes for harissa, using either fresh or dried chillis. The quantities vary with each one so I took the plunge and decided it should be as hot as you

want it.

Harissa

100g fresh hot piri piri chillies

2 tablespoons cumin seeds

3 tablespoons coriander seeds

4 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon salt

5-6 tablespoons olive oil

Grind the cumin and coriander seeds finely.

Put the ground spices, chillies, garlic and salt in a food processor and whizz to a stiff paste. with the machine running, slowly add the olive oil through he feed tube until the paste becomes smooth.

Harissa Chicken with Jewelled cous cous
 (per person)
1 boned and skinless chicken breast
Harissa paste
Jewelled cous cous ( recipe in "crown jewels" blog , coming soon )

Method
Smear the chicken breast all over with harissa paste.
Cover and put in the fridge for at least an hour.

Heat the oven to 200c. Put the chicken on a lightly oiled roasting tray. 

Pop in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until done. 

Once done, remove and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Serve on top of jewelled cous cous

a platter of tiny meats

There is nothing more appetising than the sound of a biscuit being crunched with tiny slivers of ham. Last month I recounted a visit to  the "secret grocer, " Alimentacion Orta´,in Ayamonte. Beyond its epicurean lobby lies another secret - a tapas bar. Under the guise of a grocers shop steeped with tradition you will find this interesting and unique little place for tapas. Here you can taste excellent preserves, cured fish, pork products,cheese, preserved vegetables, fine wines, sherries and all surrounded by a cacophony of antique furniture.At the back of the shop you pass windowed offices full of old fashioned typewriters from which you can imagine the echoes of stenographers tapping out bills and accounts from a more mercantile era. Walk past sherry casks and high stools till you stumble upon a beautiful crumbling patio, with tables in the shade of an orange tree where you can peacefully escape the intense heat of the Spanish sun and enjoy Andalucian tapas at its best.   What a discovery!!!! 

 

 

Nun in the oven

Picture by kind permission: Abigail Hedderwick

Long before Portugal´s monasteries and convents were turned into luxury hotels, they were places of high living. William Beckford the English travel writer who visited Portugal in 1793, and settled here for a while, was shocked by the "perpetual gourmandising" of the monks, wondering at their diet of "rarities and delicacies of distant countries, exquisite sausages, potted lampreys and strange messes from Brazil!!!"His writings are full of "description of scenes and manners".

Portugal boasts more than 200 varieties of biscuits, cakes and pastries known collectively as doces (sweets). With names as quaint as papa de anjo (angel's chin), they're fun to get your mouth around in every sense.Each sweet delight is an integral part of Portuguese culture and history.

These sweets have been an important part of Portuguese culture for centuries. Although popular in medieval times (honey was the sweetener), the arrival of sugar in the 15th century, brought by the Arabs, quickly crystallised the sweets industry, especially among the aristocracy, who could afford it.

However, it was the nuns and monks from Portugal's convents and monasteries who produced some of the country's best-known recipes. The popularity of doces conventuais - literally "conventual sweets", which include biscuits and pastries - soon spread through the provinces. Conventual sweets sprang up through habits of a different kind. To protect family virtue and fortunes, wealthy families sent their daughters to the local convents. These well-off religious institutions served not only as places of faith but as accommodation options for important visitors, including royalty, and became gastronomic centres (the idea perhaps being the more one ate, the more one prayed). With time to kill, the chaste females flirted with recipes, using eggs from the convent's chickens and other ingredients available to them. One nun did stray when she fell in love at first sight with a French officer whom she spotted from her convent window. Letters Of A Portuguese Nun, five passionate letters to her man published in the 1600s, is the result of her non-consummated lust; today, the letters are assumed to be fiction but the romantic tale is a great drawcard for the town of Beja.

In the 1800s, when the clergy and workers were expelled during the liberal revolution and convents and monasteries were shut down, these recipes found their way into local padarias and pastelarias. In Beja for example, Casa de Cha Maltesinhas, a small back street bakery specialisies in conventual sweets, their toucinho do ceu comes highly recommended. The centennial coffee shop Luiz da Rocha is a true institution of the city of Beja, and an undeniable reference of Alentejan conventual sweets . The cupcakes of curd, backpacks of eggs, sweet almond, or the irresistible chicken pies are part of a showcase of delicacies that belong to the heritage of many generations of Alentejo gastronomy. Trouxas de ovos,( sugared egg yolks) plus other less conventional creations including the porquinhos de doce, literally "sweet little pigs", made of marzipan and shaped as pigs and piglets. ( a guilt-free choice for vegetarians).Luiz de Rocha has sweetened the lips of generations of Bejense and turistas alike.The nuns nevertheless "pigged out" in more ways than one. Pork, up there on the list of the world's quirkiest cake ingredients, was used frequently in recipes. Adventurous nuns and monks added to the Portuguese culinary call, such delights as pudim do Abade de Priscos (a creme caramel prepared with pork lard, port and spices) and toucinho do ceu (literally, "heaven's lard", or "bacon from heaven" a small almond cake with a touch of, you guessed it, Porky Pig). Even the monks were in on the act: you can imagine them chuckling away, while concocting their own egg-based creations, including barrigas de freiras - nuns' bellies. Culinary horizons can be expanded eating your way through the medieval history of Portugal and indulging in some sinful treats. After all, a porky belly is nothing a few Our Fathers, Hail Marys, or a few months at the gym won't cure.

Still keeping the theme Iberian I am dying to try a phenomemon that I have heard about, but as yet haven´t had the chance to experience first hand. The order of the Claridad nuns ( Poor Clares) have a convent in Ronda Spain, and they sell their homebaking through a revolving hatch (so you can't see them)...this was featured on the recent Jamie Oliver in Andalucia programme.You place your money on a sort of lazy susan, or in this context shall we call it a lazy nun.The wheel rotates and in return your conventual treats appear.This seems to be quite commonplace in a lot of Andalucian convents so check it out.

Other conventual recipes that make me chuckle -

Angels Breasts

Fig Lord

Abbots Ears

St Claras turnovers

Prisco´s parish priest pudding

Friar John´s delight

I wonder if Stephen Sondheim has ever had a taste of things conventual.
it makes you wonder when Sweeney Todd enquired  - 

Haven’t you got poet or something like that?

No you see the trouble with poet is how do you know it´s deceased - Try the priest

Dear Diary- what a busy day!!!

We have just had a visit from Charles Metcalfe and Kathryn McWhirter, co-authors of The Wine and food Lovers guide to Portugal They publish it themselves and are currently travelling for the next update, which is due to be translated into Brazilian Portuguese.

Incidentally you can read Charles regularly in ‘Blue Wine’ (if you speak Portuguese!)

Unfortunately Casa Rosada could not accomodate them at such short notice for an overnight stay, so we were also not able to wine and dine them.They dropped by for morning coffee and an informal chat round the kitchen table.I unfortunately had to join  them late having been on airport courier duties, buzzing Andrew's parents back to Faro airport, and taking the chance of a once in a while shop at the Waitrose of the Algarve, Appolonia in Almancil, the service town for Quinta de Largo, home town for Footballers Wives. My mission on this occasion was to stock up with Asian ingredients for my store cupboard, still unavailable down our end of the East Algarve.( Coconut cream sachets, bottles of coconut milk, light muscovado sugar, Udon Noodles, Sesame oil, Nam pla, kikkoman soya sauce, preserved ginger ).

The day also saw a new influx of guests and dinner had to be cooked for 5, including us.

I opted for -

a large platter of tapas: 

Muxama, pequillo peppers, home made chicken liver pate

fresh local goats cheese with honey and almonds, figs and green olive tapenade, pipas and bread

Stir fried chilli and lemongrass tenderloin of pork

with a salad of ginger noodles

tarte au citron 


And with my pantry freshly stocked with pan Asian goodies it brings me to tonights dinner.
Guests have gone out and we are going to sit down with our friend Cate to a Thai green chicken curry.
Yum Yum -or as they say in Thailand

ฉ่ำ, น่าปิติยินดี, มีใบและก้านฉ่ำน้ำ, หวานฉ่ำ, หอมหวาน, อร่อย

Fish of the day

I ventured to the market this morning to buy fish for our honeymoon guests from Sarajevo. I found myself standing next to Pedro the chef from our favourite restaurant Dom Petisco. After digesting, cogitating and deliberating, he pointed me in the direction of these smiling little chappies, Bicas.

They are of the sea bream family. I explained to him what I was cooking and he talked me through all the options. Every story has a moral, and this one is that I learned all about a new fish to add to my repertoire and in return Pedro got a lunch reservation in his restaurant from me, and.....

.....Antonio the fish man got a sale from both of us!!!!!

An artesan art

Andalucia, is the home of flamenco and Tapas, of sherry, bodegas and bullfights. This is the Spain of castanets and flounced skirts. If you are wearing a thong and have sand in your fish and chips, you are most certainly in the wrong place. 
O cozinheiro finds the real Andalucia in the heart of Ayamonte.

When in Andalucia I shop as the Andalucians used to shop. Abaceria ( grocery ) Orta, established 1863, is pure buried treasure. You could walk the length of Calle Lusitania in Ayamonte and not even notice it. Its discreet facade with a window stacked with old tuna cans, hides some inner secrets and hidden delicacies. Pata Negra ham, Pate de jabugo (wild boar ) with Pedro Ximenez sherry, tins of artesan smoked Pequillo peppers, small boxes of Saffron,and Tortas de aceite, thin round olive oil wafers served at Casa Rosada as an accompaniment to ice cream, which I have re christened sweet Spanish poppadom. This old fashioned delicatessen with its fitted floor to ceiling wooden shelves is pure refreshment and I will cover that in a second instalment of this post. What does O cozinheiro suggest you do with a tin of Pequillo peppers? What slips out of the tin are long red satin gloves that bring the temptress out in you. They remind me of the red Balenciaga slippers adorning the popes feet on his recent travels. I feel a recipe coming on. Smoked red peppers and tuna are a match made in heaven and adding these two to some buttery mashed potato that has had some fried onion cut through it is celestial comfort food.

Take each pepper and with your finger prise the the glove shaped pepper open,
carefully fill it with a pre-prepared mixture of mashed potato, fried onion and tinned tuna.
Press the filling carefully right to the bottom of the pepper, I use the handle end of a small wooden spoon. Do not overfill it, and then lay them side by side in a ceramic oven proof dish,
cover with foil and bake until heated through 15-20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and a simple supper awaits you.

Finger on the pulse or hands alone?

I have been noticing how many hits this blog has been getting but very few of you have actually become followers - 18 in total, and even less of you leave comments. If you enjoy this blog please vote for it where it says rate this blog. I would love to get some feedback, and also some inter action. What would you like to see more or less of in the content of this blog? More recipes, less comment,foodie reportage. O cozinheiro would like to hear from you. To start the ball rolling todays post encourages discussion and comment so without further ado -

"Shall we have a heated debate?"

Is time worth more than small pleasures that pass us by? The crunch of fresh celery against a steel blade, the pungent tear inducing aroma of hand chopped onions. These are fabulous sensations that I feel give a dimension to food prep. Certain rules must be observed - we know basil must be torn not chopped otherwise it will bruise.
A happy medium can be achieved between hands-on cooking and labour saving devices, We should definitely take advantage of modern batterie de cuisine but at the same time be flexible about how we use it. Do what is doable. If you have just 20 minutes to cook and you want to be a dinner party pro, enlist the help of a processor.
If you have 3 hours use a knife and get chopping!!
Ah ha there is a third option. This involves hands assisted by machine.
When I make aioli, I use a pestle and mortar to grind the garlic cloves to a paste with the sea salt before folding it through the processor prepared mayonnaise.

Here are some examples of food preparation using an appliance to do half the work either before or after our hands do the other half.

Pestos, relish, aioli,
pastry,
some tart fillings, some cake mixes,
particularly useful for those amongst us who are not good pastry makers
blending soups and sauces.

I prepare all my salad dressings using the processor method. There are two reasons for this.The speed with which the job is accomplished and secondly I defy anyone to achieve the rich velvety quality of the emulsified dressings that the processor produces, by enduringly handling a whisk or beater. I am sorry my arthritic wrists just aren't strong enough for the task involved!!!

Here is a plugged and an unplugged menu

I am not providing the complete recipes for all the items on these menus as they are just illustrating a point in the plugged vs. un-plugged debate.

PLUGGED
Blender gazpacho
Bruschetta with tuna pate
Thai Pork Burgers with chilli relish and potato wedges
Tarte au Citron

All the ingredients for the gazpacho are blended in the processor.
The original method of preparation would of course have used a pestle and mortar!!

All the ingredients for the tuna pate is blended in the processor.

The Fresh herbs and seasonings for the burger are all processed
before being incorporated into the mincemeat by hand and then formed by hand into burgers

The pastry for the tart is entirely processed before being chilled.
The eggs sugar and lemon zest are beaten in the processor before having the cream and lemon juice added and then poured into the blind baked pastry case

Fay Presto, you are now a dinner party pro without any effort
in an approximate timescale of 30 minutes.

UN - PLUGGED

Carpaccio of Thai marinated beef
Cardamom yoghurt baked chicken
Churrimbhoy salad with cumin croutons
Peaches poached in vanilla and almond licore

The whole essence of hand crafted food is encompassed in the carpaccio of beef, where an extremely sharp knife is essential for thinly slicing the meat.

The spices for the cardamom chicken are hand ground in a pestle and mortar before being blended with the yoghurt to make the marinade for the chicken to rest in.

The croutons for the salad, after being cubed by hand are tossed in the cumin seeds and oil before being baked on an oven tray.

The peaches are carefully peeled by hand after being poached and having their stones removed,the poaching stock is then reduced to make a light syrup to pour over the peaches before serving.

Beating, blending, chipping, chopping creaming, crumbing, grating, kneading, mincing, mixing, pureeing, shredding, slicing, whisking.

Time -saving or artesan chopping and chatting the choice is yours!!