Whole lotta fishin goin on

There are a heck of a lot of cephalopods in the local fish market at the moment!!! - and at extremely good prices. Squid in particular is becoming harder to get due to overfishing. So when one sees Squid, Octopus and my latest discovery Potas, one snaps it up.
Pota is of the squid family, a larger squid, but commanding a much more
affordable place on the fish stall.It has a high protein content and huge versatility when cooking, from ceviche to pota ragout with chili to name but two ways with Pota.
I always get the peixeiro ( fishmonger) to clean the octopus for me, but the squid I always clean myself and then freeze it before cooking, to tenderize it. This replaces the old practice of beating it against the rocks. As Freda said to Barry "Not bleakly, not meekly beat me on the bottom with a womans weekly." Sardines are another victim of over fishing. In the winter months small sardinhas are found in the market. They are being caught faster than they can reproduce.They are being fattened for spawning between May and October and should not be fished for outside of these months. Enough of the sustainable fishing rant, I feel a recipe coming on.

Squid, pota or octopus salad

500g squid, pota or octopus, cooked
1 stick of lemongrass
3 spring onions
2 small piri piri peppers
4 tablespoons freshly chopped coriander
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon muscovado sugar
Juice of 2 limes
handful of rocket per portion

Peel the outer leaves of your lemongrass and discard. Chop the lemongrass very finely and put in a mixing bowl.
Chop the spring onions and the chillies, getting rid of the seeds. Mix in the coriander leaves, fish sauce, sugar and lime juice. chop the fish into rough chunks then toss it in the dressing. Season with salt and pepper and serve on a pile of rocket.

comide com gosto fresco!!!

The market is back in town!!

It was the second saturday of July in Castro Marim and it was HOT.
( If I had been in England, I would have been advised to call NHS Direct helpline on 0845 46 47!!!!!!)
The monthly market came to town yesterday.Not the busiest we`ve seen it, but plenty of good home grown grub to buy. It is a showcase for local growers and mercearias ( grocers and specialist food suppliers ). One of my favourite stops is casa da serra, sabor e tradicao, literally the house of the mountains. The best cured meats and cheeses come from the serra,a romantic notion of a rural environment where time is still measured by sunrise noon and sunset, and the by line means `taste´and `tradition.´ All the stallholders are very forthcoming with samples of their produce and keen to tell you about how it was cured, grown or otherwise. I have one pet stallholder, whose stall was absent yesterday. She takes her van in July and August and parks it beside the approach road to the beach where she sets up a produce stall in the cool shade of the pine forest. Apparently in these two months she makes more money than if she was in the market.I always look forward to stopping off on the way back from the beach for a rather muddled anglo/ portuguese chat, and buy some fresh fruit and veg to take home. She is also an artisan baker and she will greet you with charming familiarity. She takes a stall at the many summer festivals up and down the east Algarve, and is always quick to inform you of which festival she will be attending that week. Her range of cakes is extensive and oh so tempting!! All her produce is ´propria`( home grown) and she flags up on her stall what is Bio and what is not. This means that she is not a totally organic grower but what she terms biologic is that she has not used any kind of pesticide or spray on these particular plants. At the ´Festa de gastronomia outono`( Autumn food fair ) in October she presents her first biologic clementinas and tangerinas and the best and most succulent dried apricots I have ever tasted. No doubt you will be hearing more about her in later blogs.

So what was in my shopping basket:

Chourico de porco preto sausage of the black pig
Chourico para cozido a chourico for cooking My suggestion: saute with new potatoes and sherry vinegar

Salsiccia paio smoked pork tenderloin sausage.
Paio are thicker than chourico. better cuts of the pig are usually used to make them, and the flavour may vary according to what spices have been used. Thin slices make a good tapas.Paio sometimes have more meat than fat, But lets face it the fat is what makes it taste so good!!!!!

Queijos various regional cheeses

Paraguayos Donut shaped peaches, a whole blog on this one later
Pessegos brancos white fleshed peaches


Uvas cardinal a variety of small black grapes

Alho garlic

Cookery day at Casa Rosada

Today we have just finalised a flyer promoting our cookery day add-on.
It can be viewed in full @ issuu.com/ocozinheiro. A cool new publishing tool we have just stumbled on.
The idea is not to create a cookery school, but instead
an informal day out in a guests holiday where they can acquire a background to Portuguese cuisine, its heritage, and its ingredients.
An insight into the different styles of Portuguese food, in particular
the culinary heritage of the local area of Castro Marim and the East Algarve,
and hopefully gain some culinary pearls along the line.

PEARL OF THE DAY
When using tinned tomatoes ( Cirio only please )
and the recipe requires chopped tomatoes, but you only have the whole peeled variety on your larder shelf.. Don´t despair. Open the tin, insert a pair of long culinary scissors into the tin and cut the tomatoes vigorously.
Turn the contents out into your cooking vessel and Pronto - chopped tomatoes!!!
and you´ve saved money too. Tinned chopped tomatoes are dearer.

Windfalls and mascarpone ice cream

We awoke this morning to find the garden littered with windfalls from the orange and lemon trees. The wind in the night had told me today was the day to make ice cream. Orange curd ice cream was first followed by mascarpone ice cream. First off you have to make the Orange curd

Orange Curd

Grated zest of two oranges

1/2 cup of squeezed orange juice

1 cup of granulated sugar

4 large organic eggs

1 large egg yolk

250g (8oz) Unsalted butter

Put the sugar in a medium bowl and grate the orange zest into it. Rub the zest into the sugar vigorously with your hands. Strain the orange juice into a medium sized pan. Add the eggs, extra egg yolk, butter and zested sugar mix. Set the pan over a medium to low flame and cook, whisking constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Be sure to keep whisking all over the pan especially at the edges. At the first sign of a boil remove from the heat but keep whisking. Pour into a suitable container Put in the fridge to set and chill.

For the ice cream

300 ml (10fl oz ) whipping cream

Having made the curd. (The curd has to be home- made since only home-made has the right flavour, strong and perfect enough to carry the ice cream. Don’t think you can cheat by chucking a jar of commercial curd in with a tub of cream).

Whip the cream lightly, so that it is still floppy, but has some substance to it. Fold into the cold curd. Either freeze in an ice cream machine or if you don’t have one, pour the mixture into a shallow container and place in the freezer, set to its lowest setting. Leave until the sides are beginning to set, then break them up and push to the centre. Leave for another half hour and repeat. Leave until the ice cream has just about set but is not rock hard. Process until smooth. Or beat hard with a spoon to break up the crystals. Return to the freezer to finish freezing.

Transfer the ice cream to the fridge about 45 minutes before serving so it has time to soften

Next off the mascarpone ice cream, but first a walk down memory lane. Every time I make this ice cream it rekindles memories of growing up in border country Scotland.
We lived near Eyemouth, a small but important fishing town. I remember often being taken by my sister to see the fishing boats docking and unloading their laden cargos of fresh fish onto the quayside. Afterwards we would always stop and have an Italian ice cream at Giaccopazzi’s, the towns Italian run ice cream parlour. The unique taste of these ice creams I have never forgotten and bear an uncanny resemblance in flavour and colour to my own home made mascarpone ice cream.
The coastal town of Eyemouth, seven miles north of Berwick has long been spoilt for Italian Ice cream. a century ago. Peter Giacopazzi´s great grandfather used to sell it from an ice-box on his bicycle. “It was a classic Italian story” he says. “My family set out for America, but hit Scotland first, and stayed.” And the family tradition is still alive and well today at Giacopazzi´s, Peter´s award winning chip shop, which sells fish suppers and pizzas alongside a wide selection of artisan ice creams.
Scotland on Sunday

EatScotland's independent assessor said:

"It is the ice cream that would make me return again and again. The quality is evident and the awards that they have received are well deserved."

Mascarpone ice cream

Makes about 1 litre

450 ml whole milk

1 Vanilla pod, slit open length ways

Yolks of 5 large free range eggs

125g caster sugar

250 ml double cream

250 g mascarpone


Heat the milk with the vanilla pod until almost boiling, remove from the heat, stir well and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale and creamy in a roomy bowl. Slowly pour on the milk, stirring constantly. Lift out the vanilla pod and return the mixture to the pan. Stir constantly over a low heat until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. It must not boil or it will curdle.
Remove from the heat, stir in the cream and leave to cool completely. When cold, using an electric whisk, whisk the custard into the mascarpone then chill. Freeze in a freezer box and freeze firm, stirring once after 2 hours and twice more at hourly intervals. Transfer the ice cream to the fridge at least half an hour before serving.

Grilled fresh sardines are as popular in Portugal as hot dogs and hamburgers are in North America.
The characteristic smell of grilled sardines permeates everywhere, during the summer months, when literally tonnes of them are consumed. Natives and tourist alike devour them by the dozen from street vendors, in local seaside tascas, restaurants and in the backyards and terraces of private homes. Apart from the ubiquitous salt cod, fresh sardines are, of course one of Portugal´s national dishes, especially char-grilled.
If your experience of sardines is limited to the canned variety, here´s your wake up call.
The season to eat sardines is between May and October, when the fish fatten for spawning




Portuguese grilled sardines
the salting that´s done here gives the sardines extra flavour, akin to cured fish.

Prep time: 30-60 minutes for salting the sardines
Serves 4 people

24 sardines, fresh , cleaned, heads and tails left on 1 cup sea salt 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil lemon wedges for serving

Rinse the sardines under cold running water, then drain them and blot dry with paper towel. Sprinkle one third of the salt on the bottom of a ceramic dish. Arrange half the sardines on top and sprinkle with half the remaining salt. add another layer of sardines and sprinkle the remaining salt all over. Cover and cure in the salt in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes.

When ready to cook, rinse the salt off the sardines and dry off with paper towel. brush the sardines with the oil.If you are worried about the fish sticking, use afish grilling basket; otherwise oil the grate and arrange the fish directly on it. Grill the sardines until their skins are lightly charred and the flesh is cooked to flakiness. 5 minutes per side max.serve immediately with lemon wedges and a fresh salad

Fresh cured sardines
This makes a great tapas that can be prepared in advance

Serves 12 people

500g fresh sardine fillets
100ml white wine vinegar
6-8 fresh bay leaves
4 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
2 taespoons sea salt
4-5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
cracked black pepper

Rinse and drain the sardine fillets and cut into strips. Place on a shallow platter. mix together the vinegar, bay leaves, garlic and salt and pour over the sardines. Let stand, for 3-4 hours in acool place or refrigerator. Drain off the vinegar mixture, pour on the olive oil, mix through and and add pepper to taste. Serve garnished with fresh chopped parsley or coriander and fresh artesanal crusty bread.


Filetes de sardinha panados
( breaded sardine fillets)

This is a staple of the portuguese table and one of my all time favourites
serve it as a supper dish or as part of a tapas platter

Serves 4 people

8 Sardine fillets
sea salt
crushed garlic
lemon juice
4 soup soons bread crumbs
1 soupspoon chopped flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
flour
1 egg, beaten
olive oil

Season the sardine fillets with sea salt

garlic and a little lemon juice. drag the sardine fillets through some flour, and then through the beaten egg, and finally coat
them with a mixture of the breadcrumbs, parsley and oregano.
Heat a little olive oil in a deep frying pan and fry the fillets until they are golden. lift from the pan and dry on kitchen paper.
Serve hot or cold
Serve with thin slices of home made bread and a salad of lettuce, tomato, roasted pepprs and cucumber
Garnish with fresh coriander and oregano


Sardines and chickpea salad, escalivada
Escalivada, the mixture used to stuff the sardines,is a typical preparation of catalan cuisine.
Escalivar means to cook in hot ashes. Typically the vegetables in an escalivada are grilled, and the dish is served with grilled meats or fish. Mountain shepherds were adept at packing their rucksacks with some cheese and wine and building a hardwood fire near their sheep's pasture where they could grill a medley of vegetables. The sardines are marinated in orange juice and served on a salad of chickpeas, croutons and bacon

Serves 6
30 minutes prep time plus 6 hours marinating

18 small sardines rinsed and cleaned mint leaves to garnish
FOR THE MARINADE

4 oranges juiced
30 ml sherry vinegar sea salt

FOR THE STUFFING
1 red pepper 1 onion, peeled 1 aubergine 2 tablespoons olive oil

FOR THE SALAD
25g bacon chopped in cubes
100g croutons
125 g chicpeas, cooked or tinned
2 spring onions, chopped

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 orange, juiced
15 ml sherry vinegar
salt and pepper

Mix together the orange juice, sherry vinegar and salt for the marinade
Toss the sardines with the marinade in a large dish and leave in the refrigerator overnight.
Preheat the oven to 190c / gas 5
Toss the red pepper, onion and aubergine in the olive oil in a roasting tin.
Roast for 30 minutes until tender
Cut the roasted red pepper, onion and aubergine into short thin strips and toss together.
Fry the bacon in a small heavy based frying pan.
In abowl mix together the fried bacon, croutons spring onions and chick peas
make the vinaigrette by whisking together the olive oil, orange juice and sherry vinegar.
Season with salt and pepper
Toss the chick pea mixture with the vinaigrette
Drain the marinated sardines. Stuff each sardine with the roasted vegetables.
To serve. - Spoon the chick pea salad onto a serving plate.
Top with the stuffed sardines, garnish with the mint leaves.

Writers blog!!!!

So hot today 35º in the shade,
Culinary thoughts not occurring!!!
coming shortly.......
Watermelon,
avocado,
seafood,
the perfumed garden
and many other
tasty instalments

The perfect Tortilla

The lunch dish or bar snack of my dreams.
So delicious and worth the faff for sure.
Cheap to make. Delicious hot, warm or cold.There is nothing better on a hot summers day than a slice of fresh tortilla and a bottle of Cold Sagres
I think this is the definitive recipe for spanish tortilla. I have tried and tested many versions but have stuck with this one as the most delicious and authentic.
Tortilla connoisseur Kerry Rankine, mastermind of Growing Communities and the Stoke Newington farmers market in London,
endorses it as her favourite.

Spanish Tortilla
serves 6-8
2 large spanish onions
750g firm waxy potatoes
10 tablespoons olive oil( dont stint here )
750ml sunflower oil
6 organic or free range eggs
sea salt and black pepper

Cut the onions in half, peel and thinly slice. Peel the potatoes, cut them in half lengthways, and then across in slices 5mm thick. Toss with 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and leave to stand in a colander. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy based pan and when hot but not smoking add the onions with a pinch of salt. Give them a good stir, reduce the heat to low, and cook very slowly for 30-45 minutes until golden and sweet smelling. Stir the onions every few minutes so they cook evenly and do not stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat, drain and reserve the oil. Meanwhile cook the potatoes. A deep fat fryer is just the ticket but if you do not have one, pour the sunflower oil into a similar sized saucepan ( never fill it more than half full) and set it over a medium heat.The temperature is crucial as the potatoes should cook until tender but not colour. A gentle simmer is the secret to success here. Drain in a colander. Strain the oil, let it cool and keep it for later use. Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk briefly. add the onions and potatoes and mix well. Taste for seasoning. Pour the oil you previously reserved from frying the onions back into a 20cm non-stick frying pan approximately 3mm deep.
Set over a high heat. When the oil starts to smoke pour the mixture in with one hand while shaking the pan with the other. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 3-5 minutes or until the underside is is golden brown.

THE CRUCIAL STAGE - take care here!!!!

Take two tea towels and a plate of a similar size to the pan and rest it over the pan.
With both hands and two tea towels ( I do this over the sink!!!)
Carefully invert the the tortilla onto the plate. The uncooked side will still be fairly runny so watch out!!!!
Turning the tortilla gives it its distinctive rounded cake like shape.
Turn the heat to high again, and pouring a little more olive oil into the pan,
carefully slide the the tortilla back into the pan,uncooked side down,
tucking in the edges as you go. Cook for another 3 minutes.
Both sides should now be golden brown. If not repeat the process once more.
The tortilla will be cooked if the middle feels solid.
Remove from the pan and slide onto a serving plate allow to cool before cutting it into wedges.

Enjoy!!! - keeps up to three days in the fridge

The Distiller´s secret... and another story

Today I decided Casa Rosada needed more Home brew!!!
3 years ago I was handed down an old french recipe for Vin d´orange which I developed and rewrote, but it remains a secret. Like my mother´s recipe for Creme de menthe, ( the confectionary treat Lokum* not the licore,) I play the card close to my chest. Many guests here have asked for the recipe and been politely refused.For those of you with nouse the secrets are in the two pictures.

TODAYS EXERCISE!!
How many of you can create this recipe from what they see?

* Lokum has travelled from a small candy factory in Turkey to countries all around the world. Whether imported or made at home, the unique treat has left an impact that stretches far beyond its founding country).I love uncovering recipes that have travelled beyond their original boundaries and seeing how they have become subject to change.

I love Andrews photo here Its like a picture painting!!!!

Hommage to Delia!!!!

Summer has arrived,and o cozinheiro promises to bring you plenty of ways to cook your way through it, and here for starters, or rather dessert is a spectacular summer pudding to accompany the Wimbledon final, perhaps.
Ooh all that foam!!!!

With everyone banging on about terrines and pate this week, I thought this quite appropriate. A proper use of a terrine. I don´t normally attempt this sort of pudding but I made it for a garden lunch earlier this year and was amazed by the result. Classic Delia at her best, and the recipe worked too!!! Strawberries are plentiful here from late March but nearly over now. However Portugal is not the greatest producer of summer berries, at least here in the south, so I had to substitute with a bag of frozen fruits of the forest. I will give Delias original specification for those of you lucky enough to have berries abounding.



A Summer fruit Terrine
You will need 2 x 900g loaf tins 19 x 12 x 9 cms deep

425 ml sparkling rose wine
( if you cant find this, I successfully substituted 125ml sparkling mineral water to 300ml of rose wine)
22g gelatine granules or leaf equivalent
50g caster sugar
1 tbsp fresh lime juice

FOR THE FRUIT

500g strawberries
225g raspberries
110g each of blackcurrants,redcurrants and blue berries, or a combination of your own choice

Remove the stalks from the fruit and halve any strawberry that is larger than a quail s egg.
carefully mix all the fruit together in a large bowl. In a small saucepan heat half the wine till it begins to simmer, then whisk the sugar and gelatine into it. Make sure that everything has dissolved completely before adding the remaining wine and lime juice.
Pour the liquid into a jug and allow to cool. Lay the fruit in the loaf tin with the smallest prettiest fruit first as this will be the top of the pudding when the terrine is turned out. Pour in all but 150ml of the liquid over the fruit. Lay a sheet of clingfilm over the tin. Place the other terrine on top then put two unopened tins as weights into the terrine and put in the fridge for one hour or until it has set. warm up the remaining 150ml wine mixture and pour it over the surface of the terrine. Re-cover with clingfilm and return to the fridge overnight to set firm.

TO SERVE
Turn out the terrine by dipping it very briefly in hot water and inverting it on to a plate.
Use a very sharp knife (also dipped in hot water ) to cut it into slices.
This recipe can also be made in small individual ramekins if you are catering for large numbers.
Quantities can be doubled in the same proportions.

Summertime and the living doesn´t get easier!!!!!

A simple summer supper at casa rosada

6.10am. Awoken by the dawn chorus and as 32C was forecast decided to jump in the car with the dog and head to the beach for a swim before everybody else got there.I bumped into our friend Dorinne who had had the same thought as me - Miles and miles of deserted beach and high tide so perfect for swimming and warm water to boot.
8.00am. Headed home picking up a trial bread loaf from Padaria 125 en route. This bakery had been recommended to me from a while back so thought I would give it a whirl. Bread soft and warm from the oven.
8.30am Cup of tea on a sun lounger in the garden before breakfast of pineapple watermelon and other fresh fruits.
10.oo -12.30. "Mop and bucket" duties as befalls a hotelier!!! couple of hours in the laundry room. Minor fabric repairs and piles of ironing.
1.00 Make a quick tuna and home made mayo sandwich with the trial loaf. Bread no better than our local town baker so will be keeping our loyalties there.
1.30 No guests in the house so off to the beach to catch some rays for the afternoon.
6.15pm. Home and time to muster up some simple supper...

Well as I said above "Summer time and the living is easy". The best thing about summer is that one doesn´t have to work very hard in the kitchen. It´s not about laziness its more that the quality of seasonal produce requires very little effort. mixing simple elements to create sumptuous spontaneous salads. A salad need not be the warm up act to the main star of the show. Prepared with a little ingenuity there is no reason why it shouldn´t be in the spotlight itself. So my choice for supper at Casa Rosada tonight is

A summer pasta salad of ricotta,
cherry tomatoes and rocket

This easy summer salad can be messed with to your hearts content.
Its constitution is in its versatility.Any soft curd type cheese can be used
according to what is available in whatever part of Europe you´re in.
Ricotta, Requeijao, soft goats cheese, Robbiola and feta all work beautifully.
You can add extra herbs if you feel inclined or substitute mint or basil
for the rocket or even have basil with the rocket. Experiment!!!!!!

125g conchiglie pasta per portion
200g small organic cherry tomatoes halved
250g tub of Ricotta
Large handful of chopped rocket
Lashings of extra virgin olive oil
Plentiful freshly ground black peppercorns

Cook the pasta shells, drain and while they are still warm toss with generous extra virgin olive oil, and the freshly ground peppercorns. Stir in the cheese and rocket or herbs of your choice and the chopped cherry tomatoes. Serve warm immediately or chill in the fridge until ready to serve

Remember Easy does it!!!!!