Coming back for Moor

"Next month, when my lemons are ready, I will post a recipe for one of the most renowned Moroccan dishes containing preserved lemons, Djej Makali ( Tagine of chicken, preserved lemons and olives).By this time I will have returned from my up and coming trip to London with a tagine, or two under my arm.I have travelled the length and breadth of Portugal, and can I find a decent tagine shop, can I heck.The Moroccan influence in Casa Rosada will then be all set to kick in."

I keep my promise and here it is. The lemons are ready and delicious they are too.
London alas didn´t come up trumps on the tagine front. They were beautiful but not large enough for the job Casa Rosada had in mind.
The Moroccan tagine is directly descended from the Persian khoresht stew,

Traditionally a tagine is a robust stew consisting of meat, fowl or fish, vegetables or fruit, and spices slowly simmered in an earthenware pot with its distinctive conical lid.  The shape of the lid draws the steam upwards, while its unglazed underside absorbs the steam, concentrating the savoury juices in the bottom of the pot.If you don’t have a tagine, a heavy-lidded casserole is a decent substitute.I cooked this subtle dish of semi-stewed, semi steamed chicken in a heavy cast iron casserole. In theory therefore it was not a tagine but a pot-roast. What a pot roast it was, politely spiced with ginger, cumin turmeric and saffron with the salty tang of the preserved lemons and fleshy succulent olives.The resulting plate of gorgeousness was reminiscent of a coq au vin. The meat had cooked down sufficiently to just fall off the bone and await the moisture of the sauce it had been cooked in to be poured over.

Djej Makali

Tagine of chicken, preserved lemons and olives
Serves 4

1 large free range chicken

1teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

4 garlic cloves crushed

1 onion grated

2 chicken livers

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

300ml(1/2 pint) water

pinch of saffron threads

1 preserved lemon

110g pinky red and green olives ( if you can´t get kalamata can be a substitute)

salt and freshly ground black pepper
Trim the flaps of excess fat from the chicken at the opening of the cavity, and remove any other excess fat. Truss the legs and tuck them into the cavity. Rub the turmeric, ginger and cumin all over the chicken, and then smear over half the garlic.Season lightly with salt and pepper, then cover and set aside for up to 12 hours ( covered in the fridge).

Put the remaining garlic, onion, chicken livers, olive oil and water into a casserole , saucepan or tagine large enough to take the chicken.Stir and bring to the boil.Now, add the chicken and reduce the heat so that the liquid barely simmers.Cover the pan, leaving just a small gap for steam to escape, and cook for 11/2 - 2 hours,turning the chicken frequently so that the flesh is partially steamed and partially simmered to a melting tenderness.Meanwhile soak the saffron in a tablespoon of hot water.Scrape the pulp out of the lemon and discard. Cut the skin into strips, rinse thoroughly, drain and reserve. Rinse the olives. Bring apan of water to the boil, add the olives and blanch for 1 minute, to remove excess salt. Drain Thoroughly.
When it is done, take the chicken out of the pan and keep warm. Retrieve the livers, quarter them and reserve them with the chicken.Stir the strips of preserved lemon, the olives and the saffron into the remaining sauce in the pan, then simmer for 2-3 minutes.Taste and adjust your seasoning.Serve the chicken with the sauce spooned over and around it, scattering the bits of liver in amongst the olives and lemon.
And a suggestion for a starter.

Sabzi khordan, or soft herb salad. This is simplicity itself—a bowl of unadorned fresh mint, coriander, flat leaf parsley, dill, tarragon and basil, for example, along with some feta-like crumbly white cheese and warm flat bread.

It is difficult to convey how stimulating it is to crunch through such a kaleidoscope of flavors, tempered by a neutral mass of bread and cheese. Naturally, the mixture of herbs depends on availability and can also include radishes, spring onions and chives. But whatever the combination, it is a revelation to have such a fresh and simple start to a meal.

From little acorns...

Vegetarians, sorry, there is nothing for you here.I have always loved pigs. As a child my favourite bedtime story was The Three Little Pigs. "Without acorns, there can be no pigs."and "without pigs there can be no ham."- and I would not be a happy man.
The Black Iberian Pig, also known in Portugal as Alentejano Pig, is a breed,Mediterraneus, of the domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) that is indigenous to the Mediterranean area. The Iberian pig, whose unique origin can be traced back to ancient times, is found in herds clustered in the central and southern territory of the Iberian Peninsula, in Portugal and Spain.

 “No flies on this little piggy”

These Little Piggies went to Prada 

Nursery Rhymes for the Blahnik Brigade

Twenty-one revamped, tongue-in-cheek, name-dropping nursery rhymes, This Little Piggy went to Prada is the must-have gift for yummy mummies. Politically incorrect, utterly frivolous and lots of fun. If the Sex and the City girls had a baby shower, it would be top of the gift list!

 

The Iberian pig is dark in colour, ranging from black to grey, with little or no hair and a lean body, thus giving rise to the familiar name "pata negra", or "black hoof". Because the animals live freely they are constantly moving around and therefore burn more calories than other species of pig. This in turn produces the fine bones typical of this kind of Jamón ibérico. At least a hectare of healthy dehesa ( oak forest) is needed to raise a single pig, and since the trees may be several hundred years old, the prospects for reforesting lost oak forest (dehesa) are slim at best. True dehesa is a richly diverse habitat with four different types of oak that are crucial in the production of prime-quality ham. The bulk of the acorn harvest comes from the holm oak (from November to February), but the season would be too short without the earlier harvests of Spanish oak and gall oak and the late cork oak season, which, between them stretch the acorn-chomping period from September almost to April. During the season each pig gobbles up acorns fallen from the trees at the astonishing rate of over twenty thousand acorns a day. I am in hog heaven

Off the beeton track

This is my blind interpretation of a favourite starter item from O Monte Velho, a very popular Portuguese hunting lodge. It´s hidden away in the hills around Santa Caterina,if you are lucky enough to find it. Its also a much frequented haunt of Casa Rosada´s when we are lucky enough to have a day off.The cooking of Dona Ana Lidia, for me, is probably the most innovative of all the Portuguese hostelries I have ever visited.She tempers her food with spices not applied elsewhere by her counterparts.Her partridge with chestnuts is aromatized with Star Anise for instance.Rabbit with pennyroyal and mashed potatoes topped with duck and blackberry compote.You need to order your chosen dishes in advance with your reservation.So, you will also need to be in possession of one of her menus so you can make your selections. The menu is your doorway to a restaurant of enchantment.

    
                                              Reservas: Tlm. 961 253 727  Tlm. 967 091 015

Betteraba pudding Pudim betteraba

serves 6-8

This makes a a dazzling and delicious starter or part of a selection of dips served with a creamy fresh mild goats cheese, Serrano ham and rustic country bread.It has a sweet- sour sharpness and the earthiness of beetroots roasted in their skins.
serve warm or cold

3 medium-sized beetroots

3 tomatoes skinned and seeded
1 teaspoon olive oil
150g/ 5oz onions peeled and thinly sliced
1clove of garlic peeled and crushed
6 desertspoons of good quality sherry vinegar
Valdespino, Lustau or Pedro Ximenez
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon double cream, optional
150ml / 5fl oz hot chicken stock
Flat leaf parsley

Wash and trim the beetroots. leaving the roots intact so the colour doesn´t bleed. bake them in individual foil parcels in a medium oven until cooked, pierce with a skewer after 45 minutes. Skin and slice them thinly as soon as they´re cool enough to handle. Chop the tomatoes coarsely.
Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the onions and garlic gently until softened but not coloured. Pour over the vinegar, and add the tomato,beetroot slices and seasoning.Cook with alid on very gently for an hour. Check the moisture level from time to time. liquidize, or blitz in a food processor for a slightly coarser purée, with the stock. If you go for the cream option you will lose some of the deliciously deep colour that gives the dish its dramatic effect.If serving warm,keep in a bowl over simmering water until you are ready to serve.

Spring into action

Acelga leaves ( wild spinach beet )

Spring is just around the corner and that means green soups.In the days following my recent foraging adventures I have been experimenting with the harvest of leaves I returned home with.My second recipe using acelga ( wild spinach beet) was a spring soup- a combination of vibrant colour and the freshest flavour. A thick creamy pool of green deliciousness daringly fine- tuned with dandelion and hare´s lettuce.One word of caution, texture is as important as colour, when it comes to green soups. Spinach like cabbage can be unpleasantly fibrous, unless very young, and therefore needs serious blitzing to get rid of its fibrous nature.If you´ve ever eaten a bowl of caldo verde the famous cabbage soup of Portugal, you´ll know what I am talking about.This dark green soup is so thick you could stand a spoon up in it.
Apart from the acelga obviously,I collected two other wild culinary herbs,* dente de leao ( dandelion ) and *serralha ( hare´s lettuce, milk tassel)I am not certain if the latter can be found outside of Portugal and would advise omitting this from the recipe, if you can find dandelion,all the better but use the leaves only.I have made this soup on many occasions in the past using only the spinach and omitted the other two herbs and I assure you it is equally delicious.

Sopa de acelga com folhas dente de leao
( Spinach beet soup with dandelion leaves )

                        
                        simplicity itself to make and an ace taster.I made lots as seconds were inevitable

8oog folhas de acelga ( leaves of wild spinach beet)
100g manteiga sem sal ( saltless butter)
* dente de leao q.b ( optional )
* serralha q.b ( optional )
2 cebolas ( 2 onions finely chopped)
1 pau pequeno de aipo ( small stick of celery)
2 dentes de alho ( 2 fat  cloves garlic )
Flor de sal e pimenta q.b (Flor de sal and pepper)
1.8 litro caldo de legumes ( vegetable stock )
180-200g parmesao
casca de parmesao ( parmesan rind)
Noz moscada ralado q.b ( grated nutmeg or mace)

Peel and finely chop the onions, garlic, celery and herbs. Heat the butter in a large, heavy pot until it foams, then add the vegetables, Flor de sal and pepper. Cook slowly for 20 minutes, until the vegetables have softened and just coloured. Pour in the stock, add the Parmesan rind (optional).
Bring to the boil and simmer for a further 15 minutes. While the soup cooks, pick through the spinach, ripping out any excess stalks and yellow or blemished leaves. wash thoroughly to remove any grit, Bring the soup to the boil, plunge in the spinach and liquidise immediately ( discard the parmesan rind at this point if you have used it).. Pass the soup through a sieve and return to the pan, taking care that it does not get too hot, or it will lose its colour and spoil the flavour. Add the grated nutmeg, check the seasoning and serve with liberal amounts of grated parmesan on top.

With a spring in my step, a hoppity skip and a jump and foraging cap a kimbo I´ve got the bug for free food and next I´m off into the Sapal ( salt marshes) to gather wild asparagus and samphire grass as part of a recce. 

DIA INTERNACIONAL DA MULHER

International Womens Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. ... O Cozinheiro celebrates, acknowledges and pays tribute to the work of women in the kitchen, past present and future, in no particular order.

Pamela Kirby, Julia Child, Alice Waters, Rose Gray, Ruth Rogers, Vianna la Place, Fanny Craddock, Elizabeth David, Patience Gray, Nigella Lawson, Angela Hartnett, Jane Grigson, Sophie Grigson, Stephanie Alexander, Marcella Hazan, Mary Contini, Madhur Jaffrey, Sybil Kapoor, Jennifer Patterson,Clarissa Dickson-Wright, Delia Smith,Alice B.Toklas, Marguerite Patten,Ursula Ferrigno, Tamasin-Day Lewis, Donna Hay, Claudia Roden, Sally Clarke, Elisabeth Luard, Valentina Harris, Anna del Conte, Alison Crudas, Catherine Calego, Sarah Purificaçao.

Women touch our lives in so many ways, as mothers, grand mothers, sisters, aunts and friends. So this special day is just for them, and all the things they do big and small. In Portugal, women have strongly embraced this day and take advantage of it to get together with friends to celebrate womanhood.

As time has passed by though the day has become more romanticized and in different countries you will find different customs. For example in Italy and Russia men give yellow mimosas to the women in their lives, and  Portugal and Romania celebrate with women only dinners and parties.
What would be my time honoured recipe to celebrate International womens day?
It has to be a recipe from the most influential woman in my life, my mother. Jerusalem Artichokes are alas something of an expat craving here in The Algarve. I haven´t yet sourced them here, but they still conjure up fond memories as a child in the kitchen.

Jerusalem Artichokes Au Gratin
1 1/2 lbs Jerusalem Artichokes
Salt
Water
Lemon Juice
Breadcrumbs for the top
1/2 oz butter
1/2 oz flour
1/2 pint of milk
4 ozs grated mature cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon djon or english mustard

Scrub and peel the artichokes.  Drop into a pan of salter water to which has beed added a little lemon juice.  Boil gently until just tender. Drain well and turn into a ovenproof dish.
Make the cheese sauce by melting the butter in a pan and adding the flour.  Blend well and let the roux cook for a minute of two over a low flame.  Add the the milk, 3 ozs of the grated cheese and mustard along with salt and pepper and stir constantly until the sauce thickens.
Pour the cheese sauce over the artichokes, sprinkle the top with breadcumbs and the other 1 oz of grated cheese and brown under a hot grill or the the top part of an hot oven for about 20 minutes.  Serve piping hot.

"Women are responsible for 50% of the world´s food production, 
but are only paid for 10% of it"

“More than 800 million people are suffering from hunger in the world, and some 70 percent of them are women and children.”  World Food Program.

Cant help lovin´ dat pan

My faithful pancake pan

The secret to making the perfect pancake is the pan and the temperature at which you have it when you tip the batter in. "A bad workman blames his tools", and no wiser word said than when applied to the cook. When it comes to Shrove Tuesday, pancake day, I have a pan that is only used for cooking pancakes. My mother gave it to me as part of a set of six assorted cast iron pans when I left home. It is cast iron and shallow and has never been washed in the 35 odd years I have had it. I have always just rinsed and wiped it. A pancake is for life, not just Shrove Tuesday. I merely grease the pan with a small amount of butter, when it foams I wipe the excess with kitchen paper towel, lower the heat and pour in an amount of batter to create the first pancake. The first pancake is always the test and is then discarded before you continue with the rest of your batch.Once your happy with the quality of what your pan is producing, maintain that heat and regrease the pan before cooking each pancake. I have always found this method foolproof and of course, have never used anything other than my trusted pan.
Since I posted my alternative pancake recipe for carnival on Saturday I have discovered a very popular recipe that originates from Argentina but is ever popular in Spain and Portugal
Dulce de Leche is a rich, milk-based caramel sauce. Now, Dulce de Leche is available packaged in bottles, but nothing compares to the richness and density of homemade Dulce de Leche. 

Even Haagen Daz have been inspired by Latin America's treasured dessert.

Pancakes with Dulce de leche
(dool-say deh lay-chay)
This is easy peasy to make, but keep your eye on the tin while boiling. if the water is allowed to evaporate the tin can explode.
Submerge a can of leite condensao, condensed milk, in a large deep saucepan ( about 6-litre capacity, if possible)full of water. Bring to the boil and and bubble for 2 hours, topping up the water level with boiling water from the kettle. The water must cover the tin at all times.When the cooking time is over make sure not to open the can immediately, else you just might have some hot Dulce de Leche in your face.The dulce de leche should have a rich, deep caramel colour.


I wondered how something as simple as condensed milk could be transformed to such a tasty caramel sauce, with just a little heat and a lot of time. I had read about it being extremely easy to make; simply plonk the can of condensed milk in a vessel of simmering water or microwave it (in a non-metallic bowl, of course) for 10-15 minutes, and there you have it.From being just condensed milk, it undergoes a metamorphosis into a thick, creamy and rich dessert in its own right. Its one of those desserts where you must be careful not to feed your clothes too.  It can be used in cakes, as a topping for muffins and ice creams, spread over bread and cookies, or swirled into brownies but on its own Dulce de Leche sounds pretty darn addictive don´t you think? Once addicted why not try......

Pancakes with Dulce de leche and goats cheese

Bannofee pancakes

Been around the world and I, I, I

When marimba rhythms start to play

Here in Portugal today sees the start of a very wet Carnival, Mardi gras in many other Latin countries. This was a perfect excuse for blogger Cozzy-B to make a short foray into international food customs. Forget the dancing in the streets, the fancy floats, music and costumes. Its time to eat some pancakes, in preparation for 40 days of fasting - NOT!! talking of which....

The day before the beginning of Lent is known as Shrove Tuesday. To shrive someone, in old-fashioned English, is to hear his confession (he shrives, he shrove, he, she, or it has shriven. Say that very quickly I dare you. or he shrives, he shrived, he, she, or it has shrived). The term survives today in ordinary usage in the expression "short shrift". To give someone short shrift is to pay very little attention to his excuses or problems. - 'Yeah, but no, but yeah... WOTEVER!'

In Portugal Shrove Tuesday is  called "Terça-feira gorda", Fat Tuesday.In Louisiana it is the last day of the Mardi Gras Carnival season,as it always falls the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.The day (or sometimes a longer period immediately preceding Lent) is also called Carnival, which means "farewell to meat." "Carni" as in carnivorous, and "vale" as in valediction.In the name of love, lets have one last hamburger before the Lenten fast begins. In France Mardi=Tuesday and gras=fat, as in foie gras which is very fatty. On this day  a thrifty French housewife uses up the fats that have been hanging around for cooking (her precious can of lardons, or WOTEVER!) She will not be using these throughout Lent, and will be mardy for sure, like a surly moaning child who doesn't get his or her way. 

Back in England, since pancakes are a standard way of using up fat, the day is also called Pancake Day,  and  is celebrated with pancake races. Flipping feck, the contestants run a course while holding a griddle and flipping a pancake. Points are awarded for time, for number and height of flips, and number of times the pancake turns over. There are of course penalties for dropping the pancake. Too much griddlin´ and flippin´, life´s too short. So happy Carnival everyone and just to put a spanner in the pan, O cozzy-B is still intent on watching his middle page spread, so here is Casa Rosada´s  healthy alternative to panquecas.Tortilla is the new pancake and the apple turns over a new leaf as the filing in the enchilada. For Carnival I decided on something a little more Ricky Martin and a little less James Martin if you get my drift, and its great for the kids after show party too.I´ve flipped now its your turn to set your sights on pancake perfection......

Apple enchiladas
This is not a quick dessert, but it is very easy,
very little prep involved, very Latin and vey lovely

Mushed filling from 4 baked apples
6 Tortillas
1tsp ground cinamon
125g ( 4 oz ) unsalted butter
100g ( 3 oz )white sugar
100g ( 3 oz )brown sugar
125ml ( 2/3 cup) water

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark4
Grease a baking dish. spoon the cooked apple evenly down the middle of each tortilla, the sprinkle with cinnamon. roll up the tortillas, tucking in the edges first, then place seam side down in the baking dish.
in medium saucepan over a medium heat, combine the butter, sugars and water. bring to the boil, stirring constantly, then reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Pour the sauce over the enchiladas and leave to stand for 30 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden, and serve piping hot. 

I,I,I,
Dancado lambada

Robin Hood - Men in packaging ( os homems em embalagem )

It has come to my attention when shopping, how many times the male image features on Portuguese food packaging, so I thought I would share some of my finds with you.And I have thrown in a recipe for good measure. UK viewers may also remember the Weetabix advert that used a comedy version of the Robin Hood song. The lyrics consisted of the chorus followed by:

Robin Hood, Robin Hood, could be in a fix
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, spies the Weetabix
Does he retreat, back to Sherwood?
Course he should, course he should, course he should

                                                                   

Pudim Flan (creme caramel)
Home made version not from sachets!!!
Serves 6

450ml (3/4 pint) milk
4 large eggs well beaten
200g (7oz) granulated sugar
Mould 15-18cm(6-7 inches) in diameter

Prepare the caramel first: bring 110ml (4 oz)of the sugar to the boil with 2 tablespoons of water, in a saucepan. Allow it to turn into a liquid caramel and pour immediately into a large mould, turning it around, to coat evenly. A spoon may be helpful, to cover the interior of the mould. This operation must be done at great speed, as the caramel dries very quickly. Any lumps left around the mould will melt later, so do not worry.Set the mould aside. Warm up the milk to blood temperature and beat in the eggs and the rest of the sugar.Combine really well and pour into the prepared mould, 15-18cm(6-7 inches) in diameter. Bake in a bain-marie ( placing the mould inside a tin containing boiling water)in the oven 180C /350F/gas 4 until set, about 35-40 minutes.

Back to the future

I have a glut of acelga ( wild spinach beet ) from last week´s grovelling in the earth. I have to prove my worth in following through the skills I learnt at foraging academy.Everybody´s talkin´Blumenthal, so with all the buzz last week surrounding the opening of Heston Blumenthal´s "Dinner" I decided I should take a leaf out of his book,follow fashion and step back in time by bringing another former classic back to life in the 21st century. When choosing spinach, assess its liveliness, none livelier I say than something one has just plucked from the ground.It should be bouncing and bright , not dull and limp.

Saco de pano

As you stuff it into your saco de pano ( towelling or cloth bag to ensure freshly gathered herbs and greens hold their freshness and moisture, a must have for farmers marketing) it should crunch and squeak.

I cook spinach by leaving it to stew in its own juice, not blanched in salted water as in many mediterranean kitchens.My way, the English way, conserves flavour and virtues better.

The big spinach enemy is wateriness, and its natural allies are butter, olive oil,cream, anchovies, nutmeg or mace and citrus juices. A dash of sugar in a spinach soup or sauce will also help enhance its flavour.
In the 18th century,when Spain and Portugal exported these fruits to England, the Seville orange came into fashion and was often used as a flavouring. Creamed spinach flavoured with Seville juice was turned onto a serving dish and surrounded by a fence of fried bread triangles. Segments of  Seville orange then were placed on top of the spinach to form a central crown. This is a fine dish for the final days of January or February, when Seville oranges come into season.To this basic dish you can add poached fish or lightly fried white fish steaks. Fish, spinach and orange make a heavenly troika.

An 18th century dish of spinach with Seville orange

1.5kg (3lbs) cooked spinach

125ml (1/4 pint) double cream

salt, pepper ,nutmeg

juice of Seville orange

1sweet orange cut into segments

12 triangles of fried bread

Reheat cooked spinach with the cream. season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Add the juice of a Seville orange to taste. turn onto a hot serving dish. Arrange the orange segments in the middle, peel side up, and make a fence of fried bread triangles round the edges. Fried bread is commonplace in the Portuguese kitchen as a device for soaking up juicy dishes.

One said hot the other said not

Pimentos padron com améndoas salgadas

Cristóvão Colombo trouxe o pimento (capsicum) para territorio espanhol, dando inicio à sua expansao. O pimento padrão  é uma especialidade galega, apreciada um pouco por todo o mundo.Rico em vitamina C e carotenos, tem um sabor único......Já diz a célebre expressão:" Pimientos de Pádron,unos pican otros non."

Following in the footsteps of Christopher Columbus, my search for the perfect tapas continues.The Casa Rosada 2011 dinner menu will soon have a comprehensive tapas selection.These little chaps are the perfect start to a good meal,followed by meat,seafood or shellfish.They are also great support to an early evening "pair o teef."And for the girls who can´t say no, stir some up to accompany a copa de vinho or a cerveza before lunch.

Pimentos padron com améndoas salgadas
( Padron peppers with salted almonds)
Olive oil
Flor de sal Azeitona Castro Marim
1 packet pimentos padron
1 cup of almonds (with skin)

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, Add the olive oil,lower the heat and and tip in the peppers and almonds. Toss them together well, season them with Flor de sal and mix again. When the peppers begin to blacken slightly, after about a minute, remove them from the pan. Put hem in a bowl or on a plate and serve with another sprinkling of salt.