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Ola! Portugal
We've come a long way in ethnic cuisine. It's time you discovered Portugal.
George Pandi, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, February 22, 2006
 El Meson proprietor Jose Alves, left, with Salt Cod Braz Style and chef Tom Moore, right, with Salt Cod Croquettes.
Photograph by : Bruno Schlumberger,
The Ottawa Citizen |
I've been lucky to know two cooks, Jose and Nelson, both born in the same region -- Terra Fria in Tras-os-Montes province -- in northeastern Portugal. Perhaps because of its distance from Algarve, where cooks have to cater to tourists' tastes, the cooking there has remained traditional.
Jose Alves opened El Meson Restaurant 19 years ago. He calls his restaurant Iberian because it offers both Portuguese and Spanish dishes.
I ate some of this, sampled some of that, but eventually ignored the menu and ordered anything Portuguese with bacalhau, salt cod or, for the occasional wild change, porco alentejano, marinated pork with clams. Did I settle into a rut? No, more like fell in love with the cooking.
I became quite creative in thinking up Portuguese topics to write about; they took me to Jose's place for recipes and pictures. The best part of the work was eating the photo props.
Nelson Borges is the Marriott Hotel's executive chef. He arrived in Canada at age four but grew up on home-cooked Portuguese dishes, Old World style, wholesome ingredients prepared without shortcuts. (His dad still makes sausages the traditional way in Leamington, Ont.)
The Marriott may be an international chain hotel that doesn't wish to frighten guests with anything too exotic, but the clientele appreciates the difference: the most popular side dish guests order with steak is mashed potato with chourico.
In Portugal, you won't see much beef on the table; the cattle are kept for milk. Along the coast the protein comes from the sea; inland it's pork made in many ways, fresh, cured or smoked. Don't confuse Iberian sausages.
The meat in Portuguese chourico is chopped, in Spanish chorizo, ground. If you think this is a minor variance, stay with hotdogs. Pork, garlic, wine, paprika and pimento paste may go into chourico, and it may be hot or mild, cured or smoked. Cook it whole or fry it sliced or just slice it as a snack with olives and a glass of wine.
Portuguese cheese comes from cow, goat and sheep milk, made fresh or semi-hard. You won't find rind-ripened soft types like Brie; the closest to that is the delicious Serra, made of raw sheep milk, so creamy, you spoon it out of its linen-wrapped case.
Sao Jorge, Limiano, Casteloes, Palhais cheeses all go well with port, walnuts and marmelada, not the breakfast marmalade you put on your toast but a thick confit of quince (quince is marmelo in Portuguese).
Queijo fresco, the fresh white cheese eaten as a first course with crusty rolls and wine, must be eaten in a few days, so it's not always available but worth looking for.
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