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
The past three decades blessed Ottawa with newcomers and new flavours.
From the old base of Italian and Chinese, the restaurant ranks expanded to include a dozen more cuisines from around the world.
Some imports are still less visible than others, not on account of quality, more because fewer restaurants represent them. I'd like to remedy that by introducing the happy Portuguese presence.
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.
Good things happen, like the annual Montalegre Feira do Fumeiro, a food festival that celebrates smoked and cured pork delicacies, presunto, air-dried ham like prosciutto, and chourico, known to us better by its Spanish name, chorizo.
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.
You may taste some in Nelson's dishes.) No wonder that with a palate ruled by Portuguese DNA, Nelson likes to add some East Atlantic flavours to the menu.
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 chouriço.
He also offers a port tasting course: your choice of port with five accompaniments -- quince marmelade, chocolate, figs, prosciutto and cheese -- to let you find out what goes best with what.
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 (as in the two recipes on this page) or just slice it as a snack with olives and a glass of wine.
Salted, dried cod appears in endless varieties. Without it, Portuguese cookbooks would be half as big. We get mostly Norwegian (no need to be nationalistic about it) in whole sides or fillets. Don't bother with thin pieces: they may flavour a dish but are not worth chewing. An extra dollar or two will get you a nice, meaty chunk.
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.
Olive oil is the basic fat, and we are lucky with its higher than average quality. The international rule demands that extra-virgin oils may not contain more than one per cent oleic acid, but the exact content is usually not revealed.
Portuguese producers can rightly brag about 0.5 or even 0.1 per cent acidity on the label. Nelson uses the 0.6 per cent Victor Geddes for cooking (cheap at $6 a bottle) and the 0.1 per cent Neipoort Carm for flavouring.
Tony Suarez of Lisbon Bakery with some of his savoury supplies.
Photograph by : Bruno Schlumberger, The Ottawa Citizen
For your shopping, there are a few but good sources in town. The Lisbon Bakery & Cafe, 355 Montreal Rd., offers Portuguese cheeses, hot and mild chourico, prosciutto or serrano ham to substitute for presunto, and fresh corn bread. It also sells wines and port; owner Tony Suarez can advise knowledgeably on matching port to food.
The Europa Food Centre, 77 Beechwood Ave. opposite El Meson, and Mario's Food Centre, 381 McArthur Ave., have salt cod, frozen sardines, stickleback and squid, also sausages, ham and cheese, including fresh cheese every Friday.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006
Portuguese Farfalle
Portuguese Farfalle from Merlot Restaurant, Ottawa Marriott Hotel
Photograph by : Bruno Schlumberger, The Ottawa Citizen
(From: Merlot restaurant, Ottawa Marriott Hotel)
Serves 4
- 3 cups (750 mL) dried farfalle pasta
- 4 tablespoons (65 mL) olive oil
- 1/2 pound (225 g) chourico sausage, sliced
- 1 cup (250 mL) black olives, sliced
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) capers, rinsed and squeezed
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 4 cups (1 L) cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 2 tablespoons (25 mL) parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) basil, shredded
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) grated asiago cheese
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
1. Cook pasta in 8 cups (2 L) of salted water until al dente. Drain pasta in colander, rinse with cold water and set aside.
2. Heat oil in large frypan, add chourico and saute 5 minutes on medium heat. Add olives, capers, garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, parsley, basil and saute another
2 minutes.
3. Add farfalle pasta to the mixture and saute another 5 minutes, or until hot. Add grated asiago and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss once more and serve in wide bowls.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006
Bolinhos de bacalhau (salt cod croquettes)
Bolinhos De Bacalhau (Salt Cod Croquettes) or Cod Cakes
Photograph by : BRUNO SCHLUMBERGER, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN
(From: El Meson)
Makes 10 appetizer portions (4 croquettes each)
- 1 pound (450 g) boneless dried salt cod
- 1 pound (450 g) potatoes (about 3 medium size)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped fine
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 4 tablespoons (65 mL) butter
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) salt, or more to taste (depending on the saltiness of the cod)
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (25 mL) semi-sweet (ruby) port
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons (25 mL) chopped fresh parsley, leaves only
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch, cayenne pepper
- Olive oil, for frying
1. Soak salt cod in water to cover for 24 hours, changing water 5 to 6 times. Drain and press cod with your hands to remove excess water; discard any bones or skin and shred it finely with your fingers.
2. In a medium saucepan, boil potatoes with bay leaf until tender. Peel potatoes, return briefly to pot over heat to evaporate excess moisture, then mash potatoes with chopped onion using a fork or potato ricer (not a food processor) in a bowl. Mince garlic and add. Add salt cod and mash it all with a fork until well blended.
3. In another small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup (125 mL) water to a boil with the butter and salt. When butter is melted, add flour all at once and cook, beating until the mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Immediately transfer to a food processor. With the motor running add port, eggs, parsley, pepper, and cayenne; process until the paste is smooth.
4. Stir the flour mixture into the salt cod and potato mixture. Taste for seasoning and correct for salt, if necessary.
5. In a deep fryer or a deep pan, heat oil, at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep, to 340 degreesF (171 degreesC).
6. Using two table spoons, form quenelle-shaped croquettes. Slip them from the spoon into the oil. Cook a few croquettes at a time until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006
Bacalhau a Braz (Salt cod Braz style)
Bacalhau a Braz (Salt Cod Braz Style)
Photograph by : BRUNO SCHLUMBERGER, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN
(From: El Meson)
Serves 4
- 1 pound (450 g) salt cod
- 2 onions
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) olive oil
- 1 large clove garlic
- 1 pound (450 g) potato
- 6 eggs
- Salt and pepper
- Pinch, cayenne pepper
- 2 to 3 sprigs flat parsley
- Black olives, fresh parsley, to garnish
1. Place cod in a large bowl, cover with cold water and soak 24 hours in a cold place, changing the water 5 or 6 times. Drain fish and place in a large saucepan with fresh water to cover. Bring to boil, then drain again. Skin the fish, remove bones and flake the flesh fine.
2. Chop the onions fine; cook in 2 tablespoons (25 mL) of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until golden, 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the type of pan and the heat. Don't increase heat to save time or it will burn, not brown.
3. Mince garlic and add with the flaked fish. Cook 3 more minutes, then pour off excess oil. Set aside.
4. Peel potato and cut into matchsticks. Heat remaining oil in another pan, add potato and fry gently 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender but not crisp. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels and add to the flaked fish. Mix well.
5. Return pan to moderate heat and cook, stirring lightly so as not to break up the potato, until heated through. Beat eggs and add. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Continue cooking until eggs have the consistency of creamy scrambled egg.
6. Meanwhile, mince parsley fine. Turn the mixture out on to a heated serving dish, garnish with black olives and parsley; serve at once.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006
Potato and Leek Cream Soup
Potato and Leek Cream Soup from Merlot restaurant, Ottawa Marriott Hotel
Photograph by : BRUNO SCHLUMBERGER, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN
(From: Merlot restaurant, Ottawa Marriott Hotel)
Serves 8
- 2 large leeks
- 1 large white onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 sprigs of fresh thyme (leaves only, removed from stem)
- 4 large Yukon Gold potatoes (peeled and large diced)
- 1 cup (250 mL) heavy 35-per-cent cream
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) unsalted butter
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 link, double-smoked chourico sausage
- 6 cups (1.5 L) chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons (50 mL) dry white port (Taylor's Chip Dry)
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) clover honey
- White pepper
- 6 chives
1. Wash leeks well. Chop, keeping the green tops and white stalks separate. Chop onion. Mince garlic. Remove stems from thyme. Peel potatoes and cut into large dice.
2. Place green leek tops in a small saucepan with the heavy cream and a little salt. Gently bring to a simmer for 20 minutes to infuse the cream with leek flavour, then strain out and discard solids.
3. In a soup pot, sweat the white part of leeks and onion in the butter until tender. Add garlic, bay leaves, thyme, chourico link and potatoes; cook 5 minutes.
4. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer; cook until potatoes are tender. Remove chourico and set aside.
5. With a hand blender, puree the potato soup until smooth; put through a sieve. Add leek-infused cream, port and honey.
6. Season to taste with pepper and salt. Chop chives and slice chourico; garnish each bowl with them.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006