Healthy Chicken Feijoada

I was a confirmed carboholic for most of my pregnancy. No regrets there-- I will always have the fond memory of leveraging my son's metabolism to eat ice cream and french fries with abandon. I kept my weight healthy and on track for all 9 months, which is the first time in my life I have been able to say that. I was a lucky gal.

Continuing the carb-fest for three months afterwards? Errr, my pre-baby wardrobe is seeming more unlikely with each passing day. So unless I want to embrace my maternity pants for another year or two, it is time to stop the madness and put down the fried potatoes.

Enter this dish, an easy, nutritious, and homey meal with no potatoes or refined carbs.  It takes the delicious Portuguese feijoada and spins it into a healthy weekday meal which could even help me lose some of my baby padding.

Chicken Biryani

The King of Chickens.  O Rei dos Frangos.

Portugal has no shortage of kings, it seems, despite the absence of a monarchy.  In a sleepy old neighborhood called Moscavide, near our apartment, there is a King of Chicken.  Walking around Cascais a couple months ago, BB and I saw a rival King of Chicken enthroned there.  And there is even a King of Chicken chain, whose kingdom is vast and moderately priced.

So, when I was perusing my Bittman Bible, How to Cook, and I came upon Chicken Biryani, the "prince of chickens"-- how could I resist trying out some new royalty?

Frango na Púcara, Santo António, and the Marchas Populares

Behold, my first attempt at recreating the deliciousness experienced in Alcobaça, which I raved about in a previous post.  Monday was the Feast of Saint Anthony, a big holiday and day off in Lisbon, so what better way to fill my afternoon than with a couple hours of fussing over some delicious, drunken chicken stew?

Frango na Púcara at Frei Bernardo

Alcobaça is a town with an amazing monastery.

Stunning, right? One of the best examples of gothic architecture in Portugal, it was founded by the first king of Portugal in the 12th century and back in the day used to house over 300 hard-drinking, big-eating monks.

But do you know what else Alcobaça is famous for?

Frango na Púcara.

Spicy Yogurt Chicken and Zucchini Gratin

I feel like I need to confess something.  Looking at the title of the blog and the recipes I've posted, one might imagine I am exploring Portuguese cooking with every meal we eat.  Errrr...

Yes, we are in Portugal. Yes, I have a Portuguese husband who likes to be fed, and yes, I try to make him things he finds comforting, familiar, and appetizing.  Sometimes.

But most of the time?  Bacalhau Boy survives on American cooking.

Luckily for him, that encompasses, oh, every type of cuisine the world has to offer. Spaghetti bolognese, and pierogies, and sushi, and burritos, and sesame noodles, and beef stroganoff, and falafel, and chicken vindaloo... and yes, some darn good burgers and fries, too. I'm not sure whether America is more of a "melting pot" or a "tossed salad", but either way, can it be coincidence that the metaphors for our multi-ethnicity are related to food??

So, to the (constant) surprise of Bacalhau Boy, we tend to eat from a grab bag of ethnic flavors.  Last weekend was one such meal: Greek-Thai Spicy Yogurt Chicken and French Zucchini Gratin.