Bacalhau à Vasca

Warm spring weather gives me an itch to eat the beautiful green veggies showing up at the market. It is a temporary but powerful urge, driven by both the beautiful look of the produce and the knowledge that I will have to wear fewer layers of clothing very soon. A great opportunity to make a greens-filled, springlike bacalhau recipe to welcome the new season, wouldn't you think?

Yes and no. The typical bacalhau dish in Portugal only has one green component: parsley on top. The rest of the dish is nearly always beige: onion, garlic, olive oil, and potato. Sure there are green olives sometimes, spinach or a green pepper here or there. But on the whole, bacalhau recipes suffer from a lack of color.

So just imagine my excitement when I came across this recipe for Bacalhau à Vasca. Asparagus and peas and bacalhau? It may as well be called Bacalhau á Springtime!

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.

Torresmos de Vinha d'Alhos

Although technically spring has sprung, it seems that the weather has not chosen to cooperate yet. For me, this is not unwelcome since:

a) I thrive in cooler weather and can maintain a happy mood for longer periods of time;
b) The baby has many cute long sleeved outfits and sweatshirts which he is getting good use out of; and
c) Comfort food tastes better when there is a chill in the air.

Case in point: this Marinated Pork in Wine and Garlic, known in its native Açores as Torresmos de Vinha d'Alhos.

Bolinhos de Bacalhau

Whenever Portuguese family and friends are gathered together, little fried balls of bacalhau and potato-- bolinhos de bacalhau-- are likely to show up on a table nearby. They are a type of snack called salgados, a subset of petiscos that describes a variety of similar fried savory bites.

I have attempted bolinhos de bacalhau once before, the night I did petiscos.  Those are not featured on the petisco blog post because they were horrid, bland, lead balloons. Bacalhau fail. But not being one to give up easily, one rainy Saturday I decided to try again. I threw myself into the task of making these light on the inside, crispy on the outside bacalhau and potato fritters.

Bacalhau success!

Custard with Port Wine Sauce

Oh my, how things have changed. When I created this blog, it was in large part to give myself a challenge. Things are slower here in Portugal than they were in my action-packed workaholic US life, so cooking Portuguese food, taking pictures of it, and writing about my attempts was a fun new hobby and filled many quiet hours.

Now, as the mother of a ten-week old, I shake my head nostalgically at the thought of those quiet hours.

Bottles and blender... Port and high chair.  Counter space has suddenly gotten tighter around here.

We have a brand new baby in the house, an adorable tiny boy who keeps us in constant motion and fills our kitchen with things like bottles and play chairs with five point harnesses. He is also adept at filling my hours from dawn until dusk and through to dawn again, making it hard to carve out time to cook new things and even harder to find time to take pictures and thoughtfully blog.

This weekend, though, Bacalhau Boy took charge of the baby for a few hours while I shut the kitchen door and-- like any good Portuguese mom-- pulled out a bottle of Port wine. (For cooking purposes only, of course.)

Fresh Peach Pie

I believe in happy accidents. Especially when they lead to fresh pie.

Irish Fish Pie

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day: a tale of Irish Fish Pie and saudade.

Arroz de Pato

Ever had Arroz con Pollo? Of course you have!  Chicken and rice is just plain yummy.

And if you want to take yummy to the next level, try your rice with some duck.

Bacalhau com Molho de Coentros

The nickname for this bacalhau, I have just decided, is "Undercover Bacalhau."

Baked Calamari

Last week I saw a big sign at my supermarket saying there was a sale on jumbo packs of squid. I stopped my cart in front of the giant refrigerated case, surrounded by other bargain-hunting donas de casa, and wondered when I last saw a grocery store displaying family-packs of squid.  Probably not at Stop and Shop. 

Then, I decided I would have to find a recipe to suit this bargain Portuguese find.

Massa de Pimentão Pork Roast

Massa de pimentão, or red pepper paste, is a condiment I had tasted many times before I ever knew what it was. Or that it existed.

Why did the juice on Portuguese pork roasts have a red tinge? What was the spicy-but-not-spicy flavor that the pan drippings gave my potatoes? I tried putting some slices of chorizo in the roasting pan, doing a paprika-based spice rub-- not the same taste.

Then, I found a smiley little jar. (See above.) Bingo!

Boeuf Alentejano

If you are looking for a quick weeknight meal, look away.

On the other hand, if you are snowed in for the day with a side of beef and feel like transforming yourself into a beloved wintertime kitchen god or goddess-- here you go.  Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon recipe, featuring a robust Portuguese wine and even more robust side of Portuguese beef.

Bacalhau Fishcakes with Spanish Rice

This week's bacalhau dish is a riff on a Portuguese classic, Bacalhau Fritters and Tomato Rice (Pataniscas de Bacalhau com Arroz de Tomate).  It is a tasty dish, to be sure.  But deep frying?  I think we all learned our lesson on that one this week.  No one escapes the revenge of the deep fried cheesecake. 

So in case deep fried cod poses the same risks, here is a patanisca made a bit lighter.  Instead of tomato rice, here is a Spanish rice that packs in more veggies than the original.  Is it super healthy?  Errrr, not exactly.  But it is genuinely delicious and not as unhealthy as it could be.

Success!

Spicy Rice with Black Beans

Hello, my name is Jen and I am a spicy food junkie.

Sad to say, I'm actually not interested in a 12-step program to cure my addiction.  The nasal-clearing rush you get from a big green pea of wasabi on a piece of sushi.  The tingling burning lips you get from too much hot-label salsa on a burrito.  The kick in the back of the sinuses you get from a cheese sandwich slathered with English mustard.  The combination of blistering hot sauce on wings that can only be tamed by a dip in some blue cheese sauce.  These are happy feelings.

Generally, I don't indulge this urge for spice very much these days.  As you can see from the recipes on this site, Portugal is a land where the flavors match the temperament of its people and its climate: mild, pleasing, and friendly.  On the rare occasions I have encountered "spicy" food, I find that my weathered American tastebuds barely register the kick, while Portuguese friends are gulping water and fanning their mouths.

Sometimes, though, a girl needs her heat.  And this Jamaican-inspired baked rice and bean dish really hits the spot.

All Gold Bolo Rei

This Bolo Rei is missing its traditional jewels.  Candied fruits in neon colors are not bedecking the top, and piles of chopped dried fruit are not baked into the dough.

It is more like a simple gold crown for the king.  A lack of ostentation.  A Portuguese King Cake which has been subjected to austerity measures.

But this cake is not a socio-economic political statement.  It is merely a matter of taste-- MY taste.  In the past few years of tasting bolo rei in Portugal, I have found the visual impact of the fruit entirely cancelled out by its off-putting taste and slimy shiny texture.  Meh.

This year I decided to attempt a makeunder on this Lisbon holiday staple.  The result was a golden, crusty, simple, sweet treat that made for many a happy winter breakfast.

Fish Chowder and Crusty Bread

The weather is not exactly frosty here in Portugal.  As I walked around town yesterday, I had on a long sleeve shirt and a sweater vest. All around me were people stubbornly making the most of their winter wardrobes-- full length wool jackets, fur collars, chunky knit scarves and knee high leather boots.  I couldn't help but smile, thinking of how the Vermonters I used to live and work with would be happy to run around in t-shirts on a 60-degree sunshiney afternoon.

Nonetheless, winter is here juuuuust enough, and as night falls I am cozied up in my favorite sweater and leggings and socks imagining what warming dinners I can make in the next few weeks before spring arrives. The first thing on my cold weather menu is hearty and healthy all in one, and slightly adapted from a meal my sister-in-law made us in DC this fall.

Bacalhau Assado no Forno

If Bacalhau à Brás is the dish I hear most foreigners call their favorite, then Bacalhau Assado has to be-- hands down-- the one I hear most Portuguese call their favorite.

It shouldn't be terribly surprising, really.  Of all the simple ways to prepare bacalhau, this is one of the simplest. And in a culture where quality ingredients are prized above fancy culinary techniques, how could you help but love a no-fuss dish which showcases the taste of bacalhau at its best?

Bacalhau com Amêijoas

I feel like I should apologize.  I have nothing much to say about this cod and clam and crunchy potato dish.

Not that it wasn't great!  It really was.  But right now, all I can think about is packing for my annual trip to visit with my family in the US.

Have I gotten presents for everyone?  
What will the range of weather be-- jacket, or just sweater weather?
What if I save space by leaving all my toiletries here and stopping at Target to pick up necessities right after arriving?  
All the sightseeing-- have I gotten tickets for the high-demand museums yet?  OH!  That reminds me... walking shoes...

But in fact this dish WAS good and I have the picture to prove it.  I really want to share.  So here is the most important info, via a brief packing parable:

Applesauce Cake with Brown Butter Frosting

This is not a cake to wheel out for a flashy dinner party.  This is a cake which will happily sit on your counter, beckoning to you throughout the week.  It will say things like:

"Care for a morning snack with your coffee?"
"Oh, what a tough day you had a work, let me console you!"
"Come on-- curl up with me and a glass of milk before bed. You know you want to."

This cake is a simple pleasure to enjoy a whole week long.  Because it is made with apples, it only gets yummier and more moist as the days pass.  And since it is made with apples, you can believe that it is healthy enough to eat every day at any hour.

Louisiana Bacalhau Cakes with Corn Relish

If there were a book about my eating life in Portugal, the first chapter would undoubtedly be called, "Jen versus Fish Bones."  

In the US, I had only ever eaten fresh fish in fillets.  They were every bit as fresh as the fish I get here, but they were prepared.  As in, let the fishmonger do his job and make the fishes all pretty and easy to cook at home.  As in, let the restaurant fillet your fish so that they do not risk provoking a lawsuit when you swallow a rogue bone.  As in, why let the fish stare at you with that fishy head and eyes if you don't have to?

I have since made peace with the espinas of the peixes here in Lisbon, and can now eat a grilled whole fish more or less neatly in a restaurant setting.  Because BB is a huge fan of grilled whole sea bream I cook that for him whenever I am feeling particularly sweet.  But at my core, I am always more comfortable when I can enjoy a fish dish without picking through bones.

In other words: it is not accidental that these Louisiana Bacalhau Cakes are the second fish patty recipe I have posted.