Revamped Article:
Expanding Your Palate: Exploring Porto's Delights
Exploring the distinctive flavor profile of a port wine.
By Heidi Driesner
Welcome, food enthusiasts! Here's an enticing guide to tantalize your taste buds and add a bit of spice to your travel plans. Ever thought about taking a trip to Porto? With 16 million vacationers flocking to Portugal each year, sideswiping Porto alongside the Algarve and Lisbon, you're bound to find a culinary adventure that hits the spot.
How about a cookbook that offers more than just recipes? A perfect example is Sylvie Da Silva's latest offering, "Porto". With the intriguing subtitle "Authentic Recipes and Impressions from Portugal's Fascinating Port City", this Southwest Verlag publication catches your attention right from its Azulejos-adorned hardcover. Inside, you'll find over 200 pages of history, culture, restaurant recommendations, shopping tips, tradition and modern dishes, wine info, and many more scrumptious goodies. Bonus points: it includes a mini gastronomic vocabulary, as well as the stress-free "Ola" greeting. Breathtaking color photos pepper the text, making you curious about the enchanting Porto at the Douro's mouth.
Something for Every Taste Bud: Simple to Complex
Sylvie Da Silva, an expert who was born to Portuguese parents in France's Champagne region, invites you to explore the vibrant culinary scene of Porto's ancient, UNESCO-designated city center. She refers to the city as "fascinating, lovable, and a bit rugged." Her passion for cooking deepened with her global travels and intensified upon discovering diverse international cuisines as she settled in Paris. Interwoven with the recipes, you'll find compelling tales of the land and its people. Vino and vineyards naturally take center stage, along with fish, fruits, and vegetables—incidentally, at Matosinhos' bustling market hall. You'll even learn the ins and outs of reaching this destination for a thrilling day trip via subway or bus.
Drop by Porto during June 24th for an unforgettable experience. Come 2025 or 2026, you'll be invited to join in the city's St. John's Day celebration, complete with sardine grilling, Broa corn bread, Port wine, and cake. Yes, that's all in a day's work!
Porto offers a dizzying variety of eateries—from street cafes to sleek Art Deco establishments or cozy sailor taverns. Even the high-end food scene aficionados will find their fix, as Sylvie Da Silva showcases trendsetting "new" chefs and their creative interpretations of Porto's beloved cuisine. Get ready for culinary surprises on the book's final pages, where the author shares her must-visit restaurant, pasty shop, deli, and wine bar recommendations—home to the largest selection of Port wines. "Embark on a journey of flavors and simplicity" with Sylvie Da Silva's book.
A Love Letter to Food
Portuguese people adore food—it's the center of their world, and every occasion calls for a meal. From chatting at cafes to family gatherings or religious holiday sweets, the cuisine demands respect and brings shared joy. Discard any preconceived notions—fried, greasy, mass-produced cod. Instead, expect elegant, unique, and delightfully familiar dishes that impress with their clear flavors, premium ingredients, and skilled cooking techniques. Portuguese cuisine boasts a wide appeal, winning over gourmets with its homey, uncomplicated charm.
So, don't let cod's traditional status fool you—Portuguese cuisine offers so much more! Yet, cod still plays a starring role in many classic dishes, such as the 365 recipes said to exist for its preparation (one for each day of the year). You might find purchasing cod challenging in Germany, but city-dwellers have a better shot thanks to Asian, Greek, Spanish, or Portuguese stores carrying dried fish—often in the form of frozen products. Online shopping is also an option for residents outside major cities.
Savor the sweet side of Portuguese cuisine, which originated in the monastery kitchens. You can find baked goods on every corner, with the iconic Pastéis de nata—delicate puff-pastry tarts filled with creamy lemon custard—reigning supreme in Porto and beyond. The legacy of these delectable nuns' creations dates back to the 19th century and lives on in household cooking and small artisan businesses. Curious names like "Heaven's Bacon," "Nun's Belly," and "Angel's Throat" are a nod to their divine origins.
Frango Assado Do Meu Pai (My Father's Marinated Grilled Chicken)
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 1 free-range chicken (approx. 1 kg)
- Coarse salt
- ½ cup peanut oil
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp paprika powder
- 2 pinches Piri-Piri
Preparation:
- Preheat your grill or oven grill.
- Coat the chicken with coarse salt and let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Combine oil, white wine, garlic, bay leaf, paprika powder, and Piri-Piri in a small pot. Heat over medium heat, upon reaching the verge of boiling, remove from heat and cover to allow the flavors to meld.
- Remove the coarse salt from the chicken. For whole chicken grilling, flatten it out, turn it over, then press it down firmly. Divide the chicken into portions for the oven.
- Oil the grill rack, position the chicken on it, and cook about 20-30 minutes, turning to ensure even cooking. Brush the chicken with the marinade 2-3 times during the cooking process (grill) or until the chicken is golden (oven).
Peixe Assado No Forno Com Batatas (Dentex with Oven Potatoes)
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 4 thick Dentex steaks (or cod)
- 1 tbsp Fleur de Sel
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 12 medium potatoes
- 1 liter water
- 1 handful of coarse salt
- 2 medium onions, peeled
- 3 tomatoes
- 2 green bell peppers
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 6 sprigs of flat parsley
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- Salt, pepper
- ½ glass of dry white wine
Preparation:
- Prepare the oven to 180°C (heat from above and below).
- Season the fish with Fleur de Sel and lemon juice.
- Precook the potatoes with their skin in a pot of water and coarse salt for about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Cut the onions, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, and parsley; halve the bay leaves.
- In a large ovenproof dish, make a bed of onions, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, bay leaves, and parsley; drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place the Dentex steaks on top.
- Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper, then add the white wine. Bake the fish for 30 minutes.
- Halfway through cooking, distribute the potatoes around the fish, basting it with the released juices. If required, add some water to prevent the dish from drying out.
Bolo de Abacaxi da Tia Leta (Tia Leta's Pineapple Cake)
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
- 150g soft butter
- 270g powdered sugar
- 1 packet of vanilla sugar
- 3 eggs
- 150g flour
- 1 packet of baking powder
- 1 can of pineapple slices (8 slices)
- 3 tbsp dark rum
- Juice from the pineapple can
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (heat from above and below).
- Melt the butter, sugar, and vanilla sugar in a large bowl until frothy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix to a smooth batter.
- Melt the remaining sugar in a pan, stirring till it turns golden brown and forms bubbles. Transfer the caramel to a springform pan, coating the bottom. Allow it to cool briefly.
- Arrange the pineapple slices on the caramel layer. Drizzle the batter over the fruit and smooth it out. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the top turns golden.
- While the cake is baking, combine the pineapple juice and rum in a small bowl.
- Immediately upon removing the cake from the oven, remove it from the mold and pour the rum-pineapple juice mixture over it. The cake will soak it all up and become deliciously juicy.
- Enjoy!
Join Heidi Driesner on a tantalizing journey through the flavors and simplicity of Portuguese cuisine—and don't forget to try your hand at these delectable recipes! Happy Cooking!
Source: ntv.de
Portugal | Food & Drink | Travel Tips | Gastropubs | Portuguese Cuisine
- Sylvie Da Silva's cookbook, "Porto", offers not only traditional recipes but also insights into the city's culture, history, and lifestyle, making it a fascinating exploration of food-and-drink, travel, and the French-Portuguese connection.
- As you stroll through Porto's cobblestone streets, immerse yourself in the city's vibrant French influence, seen in its art nouveau architecture, exquisite food, and unique lifestyle.
- Inside Sylvie Da Silva's "Porto" cookbook, one will find an array of modern and traditional Porto recipes that cater to every taste bud, from simple to complex dishes, reflecting the city's food-and-drink scene and French influence.
