Portuguese Food

Several years ago I was in the Tampa Bay area of Florida enjoying a beautiful 80-degree day while on a two week vacation. It was a vacation, even though we house sat while our son and his new wife went on their honeymoon cruise.

Our daughter and her boyfriend were there as well. Jaoa Ferreira is from the Azores and, while there, treated us to his native Portuguese cooking. Jaoa and Nick (the groom) went fishing a few days before the wedding and brought back some Blue Gill and some Mackerel. It would have been difficult to do anything wrong to those fillets, as wonderfully fresh as they were, but Joao sautéed them lightly in olive oil and served them with a wonderful sauce or refogado.

It is often said that one knows when he is in a Portuguese home by the aroma of refogado that fills the kitchen. Refogado is both the product and the technique of a universal base for sauce, comparable to the Creole roux. Basically it is comprised of sautéed onions in olive oil with one or all of the following: garlic, bay leaf, paprika or tomatoes.

Portuguese cooking is really simple; basic meats, poultry and fish most often marinated and served with dipping sauces. The spices are the hallmark that distinguishes Portuguese food from other cuisines; in particular Spanish. The Portuguese were explorers looking for spices to trade and in so doing brought home and used exotic flavorings long before other European countries did. Although a close neighbor of Spain on the Iberian Peninsula, Portuguese cooking has spices and herbs and taste combinations that would be astonishing to most Spanish palates. The list is long but the most common are cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, paprika, red pepper paste (Massa de Pimentao), black and white pepper, saffron and coarse sea salt—usually more than our American taste would dictate. Other ingredients that are frequently used are tomatoes, vinegar and wine.

The traditional spice combination is an herb and spice paste made with garlic mashed and blended with coarse salt, crumbled bay leaf, sweet red pepper paste, parsley, olive oil and freshly ground pepper. The Massa de Pimentao is a paste of sweet red peppers cured in coarse salt. If you can’t find it at a specialty store, you can use paprika.

All of the fresh catch did not get eaten at that first fish meal, so Joao treated us to a very traditional Portuguese dish, fish cakes with dipping sauce called Molhanga or Molhu cru (raw sauce). It is a common marinade and dipping sauce sometimes poured over both fish and boiled potatoes if they are served. Joao used no recipe and had to make do with utensils and ingredients in his host’s kitchen but the results were wonderful and can be made easily by any of us; however the fish itself will be hard to duplicate in Red Wing or anyplace in the Midwest. Nevertheless, I believe you’ll really enjoy the Portuguese version of fish cakes:

2 cups (approximately) cooked fish, flaked
2 Tbsp. parsley (flat leaf, if possible), chopped coarsely
1 large potato, peeled, cooked and mashed with a fork to a puree
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
¼ cup Port wine
2 eggs
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and white pepper to taste

Heat vegetable oil in deep saucepan about 4 inches deep for frying. Mix together the rest of the ingredients. Shape with 2 spoons into oval croquettes and deep fry until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels and keep warm while making Molhanga.

Molhanga
1 tsp. cumin seed or ¼ tsp. cumin powder
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp. coarse salt
¾ tsp. paprika
¼ tsp sugar
1 tsp hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
3 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley (flat leaf)
1 Tbsp. olive oil (or can use leftover oil from frying fish)
¼ cup water
¾ cup wine vinegar

Using mortar and pestle or blender, combine cumin, garlic, salt, paprika, pepper and sugar. Follow with hot pepper sauce and parsley. Transfer to bowl. Stir in water and vinegar and whisk in olive oil. Pour over cooked fish or serve on the side for dipping.

Our starters were simple—just right to whet our appetites for the main course—grapes and bruschetta. The vegetables served on the side were very simply prepared and delicious. Fresh sliced cucumbers with coarse salt and vinegar; grated carrots with olive oil, salt and pepper and a touch of sugar. What a wonderful meal.