O descanso em Lisboa

Central hall of the Mercado de ribeiro

A long weekend in Lisbon.

Come Rain, come Obama, 

come clouds, come Cameron, 

come Sarkhozy, come sunshine,come Merkel....

The NATO circus did not prevent us 

from reaching our own favourite summit 

of The Bairro Alto.

The first thing on my mind when I arrive in a city is FOOD!!! My priority is always to visit the local markets, padarias, confeiterias,mercearias and check out the restaurants.

Buy lettuce!

Drawing of a figure walking to the right,

back slightly turned toward us. Staff in the left hand.

Bright red shorts, tightened below the knees. 

Light Brown coat with collar and pockets.

Cuffs with a button. White stockings and black shoes.

Hat, Donkey with wood side baskets carrying lettuce.
Photography Andrew j Roberts
Hotel As Janelas verdes
Inter city travel Alpha Pendular
transportes regiao de Lisboa

Fresh water! Milk!

On entering the loggia of the Mercado ribeiro one is not only impressed by the tile panels but by a series of characterful faded photographic reproductions  of engravings from a series by M.Godilho, entitled Os Vendilhoes, 1809.These are accompanied by very detailed captions that read like the credits in a fashion magazine -

Buy Lettuce! Milk! Cabbage!Fresh water! 
Varina ( fish seller) waiting for the fish to arrive.As one passes through the main hall and on through the floral hall,I become aware that the final hall is not fully subscribed to its quota of stalls.Even in the capital the municipal market is diminishing. A sign of the times. 
To be armed with a list of recommendations is always a good thing, but to discover your own special places is much more rewarding.Andrew checked out Trip advisor and I emailed David Leite before we left to get his list of recommendations.Sadly things have ( not surprisingly ) changed since your time there David.We looked forward to a dinner of Alentejan delicias at a charcutaria, one of your choices. Your recommendation was reinforced by us by an amazingly well written online review by James Martin.So what has happened? Our order had been taken when the waiter cunningly put two tasty looking couverts ( non- obligatory purchase amuse bouche).Normal procedure sees the couvert being served as an appetiser while you select from the menu. Huh, we were off to a bad start. Water was not put on the table but our glasses were regularly topped up regardless and we were obviously charged for all the bottles he had poured!!! Having eaten the delicious warm octopus salad and broad beans peppers and sweet potato, we then moved on to our starters of chourico and scrambled egg. Oh dear we´d misunderstood the translation. A very tasty breakfast or lunch dish, but not for dinner after one had already eaten two large starters. Our two main courses, loin of pork with clams and lamb chops with potatoes in a clear broth, were nothing to write to the Alentejo about!! What was the damage? €95 and we had been charged for a third main course!!! Inexcusable !! They weren´t exactly rushed off their feet, with only two other diners in the house.With a €15 adjustment to our bill we adeusinho´d off into the night and there will be no second visit.One restaurant name had stuck in our memory, Number 8 of 478 on Trip advisor, Flor de Laranja.  

After a very disappointing first dinner, the thought of a traditional Moroccan meal in our already favoured quarter of the city, Bairro Alto, by far outweighed any appetite for regional or typical Portuguese cuisine. What a discovery, at the top of a steep street we opened the door of number 206 Rua de Rosa, went down 3 steps into a small room ( 6 tables, 20 covers ) and were given an exceptionally warm welcome by Rabea. Chicken briouats sprinkled with confectioners sugar and meat rolls were our chosen starters, followed by a delicious lamb and artichoke tagine with plentiful peas and a sizzling spicy prawn dish.Rabea had 12 diners including ourselves and was completely hands on. Cooking all the food herself, serving it, and still having time for pleasantries with all her customers. We were the last to leave, and Rabea gave us two fantastic recommendations that we would never have found. A restaurant in a moorish palace,-the Casa de Alentejo just blew us away.- a hidden jewel, a Rhiad in the centre of Lisbon!! Her second pointer was to Pavilhao Chines.Once an old grocery store, this 1900s style bar/restaurant beckoned your curiosity to knock on the door and be met with a kitsch interior. This city reminded me so much of bygone Paris.I even saw an original art nouveau sign outside Picoas Metro station, on the linha amarela. 

Interior, Casa de Alentejo

Original art nouveau metro sign,Picoas

Parisian, Moroccan
and Chinese influences
in the heart of Lisbon

Pavilhao Chines

Choosing from a menu was not often easy.....

...nor so watching the world go by on Rossio.

Spamalot- long ago in days of yore

O cozinheiro and his merry maid Mariana on a recent crusade to Mertola Castle

It's true! It's true! The crown has made it clear.

The climate must be perfect all the year. ( ticks the right box)

A law was made a distant moon ago here:

July and August cannot be too hot. ( not the case I´m afraid )

And there's a legal limit to the snow here ( no snow since 1950 )

In Spamalot.

The winter is forbidden till December  ( absolutely )

And exits March the second on the dot. ( on the dot )

By order, summer lingers through September ( lingers longer these days )

In Spamalot.

In short, there's simply not

A more congenial spot

For happily-ever-aftering than here

In Spamalot. (10,443 British residents( and still rising) can´t be wrong)

They come for the restaurants, the great food,fine dining and miles of sandy beaches. Toss in a relatively low cost of living, and Al- gharb makes a warm, attractive long stay and holiday destination.A military stronghold since the time of the crusades, the upstanding town of Castro Marim has a castle a fort, a nature reserve and Casa Rosada, the perfect hostelry for an overnight stay. We like al-gharb a lot.
( we are a spam free zone )

Credit -where credit´s due!!!

 My breakfast this morning. 

After walking the dog on the beach, I came home made a slice of toast and spread the newly made pumkin jam on it. 

Oh My!! No going back,all credit, I have to make more. 

I haven´t yet discovered what it´s shelf life is 

but I am going to need grams and grams of this 

to fuel my winter breakfasts.Yes thats how good it was, and I need to share the experience with up and coming Casa Rosada customers and as they say at the pictures......

A bottle of Versatil and a home cured olive

Manel, our lunch companion

Last Thursday we took another trip to the beautiful town of Mertola.We lunched again at Terra Utopica, the Mediterranean themed restaurant. The weather was clement enough this time to allow us to eat on the roof terrace. As we sat down I sighed "Oh for an Olive" and lo and behold these delicious home cured cracked olives were put before me with a delicious bottle of Alentejan vinho branco,Versatil, that we had not tasted before. Made with the Arinto grape, definitely one to put in ones back head.We were joined for lunch by Manel. a feisty little companion. I suspect the secret of this restaurant is in its meat menu, so I look forward to an overnight stay in Mertola at Casa das Janelas Verdes, with dinner at Terra Utopica. Drink and no drive is always a good option. 

The doors of Casa das janelas verdes welcome

Think Quince

Quince tatin as served at Casa Rosada

There is a certain voluptuousness to a quince, comparable to a character in a Beryl Cook painting.Pure beauty with generous bulges and an unforgettable perfume. Estate agent speak says, always put a pan of these beholden beauties on to boil an hour before potential buyers are coming to view your house.Before you can say Zoopla, your house is sold. So beautiful is the smell of a ripe quince that I always keep a couple in the fruit bowl from now until Christmas, replacing them only as I use them.The best thing about the quince is that she has a good shelf life. The perfume of the cooked fruit imparts a unique scent to any dish it becomes part of.Think pink! think pink! if you want that quel-que chose. Red is dead, blue is through, Green's obscene, brown's taboo. And there is not the slightest excuse for plum or puce or chartreuse. Think pink! forget that Dior says black and rust. The colour it takes on when cooked is like a piece of soft pink carnelian jewellery beckoning to you from the window of Van Cleef and Arpels. Boil them for 20 minutes in water and sugar and they take on a wonderful ruby rose complexion.A colour that could never be matched by any Christian Lacroix beautician on the beauty playgrounds of Selfridges or Bloomingdales.

Quince Tatin

You will need a 20cm loose bottomed cake tin for 6-8 generous portions

FOR THE QUINCES

juice of one lemon

2 medium sized quinces

2 tablespoons of sugar

FOR THE CAKE

Grated zest of of a lemon

100g of unsalted butter, softened

175g caster sugar

3 eggs

100g plain flour,sieved

100g papa de milho,polenta or cornmeal

Grate the zest from the lemon and set aside for the cake. Squeeze the lemon juice into 300ml of water in a saucepan. peel, core and quarter the quinces, putting them into the water as you go to stop them browning.Add the sugar, place the pan on a medium heat and bring to a rolling boil for about 5 minutes.Reduce the heat and allow the fruit to simmer until it has turned pale pink and has tenderized.This should take 10-15 minutes,depending on the ripeness of the fruit.Leave the quinces to cool in the juice, then drain and strain them. If you want to, reduce the juice by about half to use as a syrup. It will be slightly sharp and rosy pink. When the quinces are cool, pre-heat the oven to 180C /350F7 gas mark 4. Grease the tin and and line with baking parchment, then arrange the quince quarters over the base.

Cream the butter and the sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one by one. Fold in the flour and polenta followed by the lemon zest. Spoon the mixture into the tin on top of the fruit and bake for 45 minutes. Test with a skewer and if it comes out clean its cooked.

To serve, turn out upside down so the fruit is on top and remove the parchment carefully.

If you have made the syrup from the poaching juices, this is delicious poured over the top.

- Tuck in with abandon, spooning quenelles of creme fraiche onto the beauty. S´wonderful!!!!.

An autumn windfall-part two

A busy afternoon in the kitchen. My box scheme challenge continues. P-pick up a pumpkin.... and make????  What do you do with a pumpkin that weighs over 8 kg?!!!! The saving grace, pumpkins and other squash can hang around and wait for you and dont start turning mouldy as soon as your back is turned. As opposed to pears who "are bastards" as any Izzard will tell you.

From a recipe inspired by Patience Gray in her heart warming book, Honey from the Weed, I decided to make pumpkin soup, and wait for it Jorge,the marmelade was missing in part 1 so here it is. I am not going to get into the controversy that these kind of books are currently fueling among UK food journalists, but this is a truly passionate autobiographical cookery book. Evocative of  Mediterranean days of yore, Gray brings us, like her contemporary Elizabeth David a sort of Mediterranean odyssey that combines learning, wide reading, folklore and cookery. She gathered the recipes from Tuscany, Catalonia, the Cyclades ( Naxos) and Apulia, where she settled in 1970 with her lover the sculptor Norman Mommens.

Zuppa Di Zucca Invernale - pumpkin soup
Gray uses a winter pumpkin that has a gnarled greenish yellow exterior and hour-glass form, much cultivated in Italy, Greece and Catalonia. The Portuguese winter pumpkin as you can see in picture,part 1 of this blog is more squat and segmented.The inside however is identical, a wonderful orange colour, fine grained and not fibrous, so I knew all was well before I started. But I still had kilos of pumpkin left. Gray resourcefully, (like it ) suggests two more uses for the rest, an unusual preserve and a winter pumpkin salad. I feel part 3 coming up!!!

1 kilo pumpkin
olive oil
1 onion
2 large potatoes
1leek
a branch of thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
300g cooked chickpeas
salt and pepper
chopped parsley
large knob of butter 
juice of a lemon 

Peel the pumpkin with a sharp knife, cut it into segments about 2.5cm (1in thick ), and then into neat cubes. Discard the seeds and fibres. Put some olive oil in the bottom of a pot, slice up the onion and simmer without browning. Peel and dice the potatoes,slice the leek. Put all the vegetables into the pot with the onions and sweat for a few minutes, add the thyme and enough hot water to cover ( I used chicken stock ) Season with ginger and add the chickpeas and salt and pepper. In an hour the pumkin will have melted into a creamy mush. Add the butter and parsley and allow to cool slightly. Add the lemon juice
and blitz the soup in a processor. Enjoy the softer than satin orange velvety sensation.

Doce de abobora 
( Pumpkin Jam)
This is an excellent jam, very useful for filling tarts and cakes or simply on its own as a dessert, with creme fraiche cut through it and topped with toasted almonds.
1lb (450g) cooked pumpkin
1lb (450g ) granulated sugar 
(The Portuguese prefer their sweet things, very sweet, I used half this amount)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
Peel and clean the pumpkin and cook in water until tender, adding just a pinch of salt. Place it in a sieve to drain it as much as possible while pressing it lightly to extract the liquid trapped inside.Blitz in processor until you have a very smooth puree. Mix with the sugar and boil, stirring with a wooden spoon until it thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the cinnamon. Pour into a sterilized jar and keep in the fridge.I am looking forward to spreading this on some toast tomorrow morning for breakfast.

Stocking up?

Christmas is coming and this old goose is getting fat.Whether using Grandmother´s, mother´s or somebody else's recipe,It´s never tw'early to think about making the Christmas cake.  My mother's recipe has long since disappeared and I have always made this rich dark fruit cake, from the writings of the late Michael Smith.It should be left for at least a month for its flavours to fully mature.This cake is good at any time of the year. Got a wedding in 2011 anybody? Dare I suggest you try eating fingers of it, as they do in Yorkshire, with a sliver of Wensleydale or Cheshire. or any other crumbly cheese for that matter.

RICH DARK FRUIT CAKE
Preparation time30 minutes ( plus overnight optional)
Cooking - 3- 31/2 hours
serves 30-40 ( get you Martha Stewart!!!!)

12oz/ 340g self-raising flour
1 dessertspoon mixed spice ( mace, cinnamon and ground cloves )
1/4 teaspoon salt
8oz/230g currants
3oz / 85g sultanas
8oz/230g seedless muscatel raisins,chopped
6oz/ 170g glace cherries, halved
4oz/110g glace apricots, roughly chopped
4oz/ 110g  stoned prunes, soaked overnight in rum and chopped
6oz/170g blanched almonds roughly crushed
4oz/110g mixed candied peel
10oz/280g moist brown sugar
5 large eggs beaten
4 Tablespoons treacle
Juice and grated zest of 1 large lemon
Light rum or brandy 

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark3 ( 160ºC, 325ºF )
Sieve together the flour, spice and salt. In a large bowl mix together the fruits, nuts, peel and spiced flour coating all the fruits with the flour.In a second bowl cream the butter and sugar until quite light in colour. Beat in the eggs then the treacle, lemon juice and zest.
Combine the two mixtures in one bowl. Mix well, adding enough rum or brandy to arrive at a soft dropping consistency. 
Butter and line the bottom and sides of a 7-8lb ( 3.2 - 3.6 kg ) square or round cake tin ( about 9in/23cm  square or 10in/25.5 cm in diameter and 31/2in/9cm deep)with double buttered paper. Fill with mixture and level the top. bake for 1 hour, then reduce the temperature to gas mark 1 (140ºC, 275ºF ) for a further 2-21/2 hours.Test with a skewer to see when the cake is done. Leave to cool. Store for at least a month, spiking it with rum and or brandy once a week. 

Cover with home made almond paste and royal icing if you like.Decorate the top with a snowman, Father Christmas, reindeer, Christmas tree,baubles, whatever. Its extra work but its camp, its naff and so old fashioned,  I lurve it!!!
 

Life is a minestrone

Our last guests of the season  checked out this morning. The weather has turned cold and some rain showers have manifested themselves. Time to light the first fire of the year, turn the clock back to 1975 and get inspired by an old 10cc classic.

"Life is a minestrone

Served up with parmesan cheese

Death is a cold Lasagne

Suspended in deep freeze "

I make a hearty main course soup for lunch!!!

SOPA DE MINESTRONE,

1/4 cup olive oil

60g unsalted butter

4 carrots peeled and finely diced

4 celery stalks, finely diced

3 medium onions, finely minced

800g tin  Cirio chopped tomatoes or 12 large, ripe, fresh Roma or San Marzano tomatoes,

peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley

6 basil leaves (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil and butter in a heavy nonreactive pan. Cook the carrots, celery, and onions for about 20 minutes, or until very tender. As a time saving device I chop these 3 ingredients 

in the food processor all together. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up a bit with a wooden spoon, and continue cooking over a moderate heat for a further 25 to 30 minutes. Stir in the parsley and basil, if using, and season with salt and pepper. Serve in bowls with grated parmesan and good crusty bread.

COOKING TIP
Please forgive the fact that I have posted this tip before on a previous blog, but it  is particularly relevant to this recipe.

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.

....AND ONE FOR THE PALATE

When making this soup, if you have a piece of parmesan rind in the fridge add this to the soup when you are cooking it and discard before serving....a taste sensation.

Port authority

SERVING PORT: 
 A solemn warning
At the dinner table port must always be served clockwise, from right to left.
Never pass the port to your right or across the table unless you make the circuit first. For them that´s superstitious say that the Devil himself lurks at your right shoulder and if you should forget, he will pass his hand over the port and then goodness knows what will happen to you, your family and your dependents.

SO BE WARNED!!!!!

An autumn windfall-part one

Yesterday our friend and neighbour, Jorge, dropped by with this bountiful harvest of seasonal organic vegetables. It was like receiving a box scheme delivery. "Let the battle begin" -the challenge of finding recipes to utilise the produce began.  Last night I started with some of the sweet potatoes and set about making a sweet potato and ginger soup. A starter item for the Casa Rosada guests who had booked in for dinner.

Sweet Potato and ginger soup
1kg sweet potato ( approx. 3 medium sized sweet potatoes)

1large onion

200g unsalted butter
thumb sized piece of fresh ginger finely chopped

1 litre of good quality vegetable stock ( marigold bouillon)

up to 700ml full fat milk

small bunch of coriander including stalks

salt and cayenne pepper

grating of nutmeg

Peel the potatoes and chop it into dice, halve the onion and slice thinly.
Take a heavy bottomed casserole large enough to hold all the ingredients and sweat the onion, coriander stalks and ginger in the butter, with a grating of nutmeg, for 10 minutes. Add seasoning, the sweet potato  and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Turn up the heat and add the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Remove from the heat, add some extra coriander, liquidise and pass through a fine meshed sieve. This liquid will need thinning with the milk. Add enough slowly until you obtain  your desired consistency. Be sure that you are not diluting the flavour too much. Serve garnished with a coriander sprig in each bowl.