Only the freshest ingredients are used in Portuguese cooking. (Photos.com)
I’ve included my pumpkin jam recipe at the end for the Portuguese pumpkin pudding.
Shredded cabbage soup Minho style
Serves 4
600 g (1 1/4 lbs) potatoes
l onion
175 ml (3/4 cup) olive oil
2 cloves garlic
180 to 200 g (1/2 lb) green kale or cabbage
4 slices chourico or smoked garlic sausage
2 slices corn bread
Salt to taste
Peel the potatoes, onion, and garlic and cook in 1.5 litres (6 cups) of water with salt and half of the olive oil. Wash cabbage leaves and shred very finely. When potatoes are well-cooked, mash with the onion and garlic. Gradually bring to the boil again and ten minutes before serving add the well-drained cabbage. Simmer, uncovered until cabbage is cooked. Season to taste and add the rest of the olive oil. Place a slice of sausage in each bowl and pour the hot soup over it. Serve with sliced corn bread. In summer, when the cabbage is a bit tougher, it is advisable to scald it before adding to the broth.
Pork loin with clams
Serves 4
800 g (1 1/2 lbs) pork loin
4 cloves garlic
15 ml (1 tbsp) coarse salt
25 ml (2 tbsp) chili sauce
50 ml (4 tbsp) lard
1 kg (2 lbs) clams
Mix together the garlic and coarse salt and crush into a paste with a pestle and mortar. Brush the meat first with the garlic paste and then the chili sauce. Leave to stand overnight or, preferably for 24 hours. Just before serving, cut the pork loin into squares and fry in lard in an earthenware casserole. Meanwhile, wash the clams thoroughly. Add them to the meat and cook over a high heat so that they open up quickly. Serve at once with fried potatoes and wedges of lemon.
Pumpkin pudding
625 ml (2 1/2 cups) white sugar
250 ml (1 cup) blanched almonds, chopped fine
15 ml (l tbsp) butter
5 egg yolks
1 egg
l small roll
5 ml (1 tsp) cinnamon
15 ml (1 tbsp) pumpkin jam (recipe below)
Butter or margarine for greasing
In a cup of water, bring the sugar to a boil at 100º C (225º F) until it forms a thin syrup. Add the almonds to the syrup with the butter and stir well. Remove from heat and leave to cool for a while. Mix the egg yolks with the whole egg and add to the sugar syrup. Remove the crust from the roll. Crumble the rest of the bread and add it to the mixture along with the cinnamon and pumpkin. Mix all ingredients together and bake in a moderate oven in a 2 L (2 quart) well-greased pudding mold or casserole dish.
Pumpkin jam
Small pie pumpkin
250 ml (1 cup) sugar
5 ml (1 tsp) cinnamon
Juice and zest of 1 large organic lemon
25 ml (2 tbsp) rose water
Wash, peel, and grate enough pumpkin to fill a 250 ml (8 oz) cup. Put in a stainless steel pot with the sugar, cinnamon and the juice and zest of the lemon. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add rose water and simmer for approximately 30 minutes until thick and syrupy. Put in jars and seal. Keep in refrigerator.
Susan Hallett is an award-winning writer and editor who has written for The Beaver, The Globe & Mail, Wine Tidings and Doctor’s Review among many others. Email: hallett_susan@hotmail.com
