Sqala: mise en bouche

  The Kemia Mauresque, were actually a selection of cooked vegetables that the waiter told us were Moroccan salads. All served cold. Artichoke (farthest away) with tomato was delicately spicy. Tender artichokes. Seemed generally typical of Mediterranean cuisine, something the southern Italians might do. The sautéed spinach with candied lemon (2nd farthest away) was much…

Oysters, foie gras and truffles…one bite

Next was something sort of inspired by Stephane Léger of Le Chassagne in Chassagne Montrachet. He put oysters and foie gras together. So why not try it with truffles? The foie gras was cooked and cold, slightly spicy but with no traces of Port or Cognac. The oysters was raw, Number 3 from the Grand…

Douro Valley tasting: Senhora Do Convento

About a 30-minute ride from the town of Pinhao on very windy roads, this exquisite 45-hectare estate was recently purchased by Patrick Landanger (owner of Domaine de La Pousse d’Or in Burgundy.) He has built a spectacular state of the art new winery that he will use for the first time with the 2008 harvest….

Recipes for Port Salt cod fish with baby potatoes, strawberry/beetroot purée and coconut milk with spices

  Saltcod with potatoes, sweet onions and strawberry sauce    I actually OD-ed on Salt Cod while we were in Portugal, but to be true to the Portuguese traditional ingredients, we decided that we had to do at least one recipe that included salt cod, quite literally, their national food stuff. We de-salted the cod (it…

Recipes for Port: Tuna steak with black Italian rice, spices and cherry/beetroot sauce

    We cooked the black rice* with salt and pepper and then incorporated curcuma, cinnamon and mild curry.  Into the rice we also added some cherry/beetroot purée that we had made (just pitted cherries, cooked beetroot and a little water to thin it out). We pan seared the tuna with salt and ample black…

Recipes for Port: Pork bellies (Rillons) and potatoes with strawberry/beetroot sauce and coconut milk

  Rillons are a Loire Valley specialty but resemble some of the pork dishes that the Portuguese seem very fond of.  We bought a cooked (boiled, not fried) chunk (2 inches long, 2 inches tall, 1,5 inches wide) and cut it into small pieces. In retrospect, we thought it would be even better to use lardons-smoked…

Recipes for Port: Boudin Noir with apples and beetroot sautéed with cinnamon and curcuma

  Boudin Noir (also known as black pudding or blood sausage) is very easy to find in any butcher shop in France. We tried it on its own with the port and the combination was already close to perfect. The butchers often automatically put a lot of cinnamon in boudin. In France it is traditional…

Recipes for Port: Pan fried Calves liver with cherry and beetroot sauce

    We pan fried small portions of calves’ liver with salt, pepper and olive oil. We kept the heat high enough to get the outside of the liver crispy (bitterness) on the outside and keep a soft rare center (sweetness). We took the liver out of the pan and deglazed the pan with old…

Recipes for Port: Salad on a spoon: Sardines, melon and cherries

    Sounds wild, I know. But it works like a charm. The sardines are a tribute to Portuguese tradition. (And they do grow a lot of cherries in Portugal, I don’t know about melons…) Fresh sardine fillets cut into 1inch/1 inch squares pan fried with ample amounts of salt and pepper. They should be…

Recipes for Port:Sautéed chicken gizzards with baby spring potatoes and boiled beets

            Gésiers with potato and beet Use either confit gizzards or  gizzards that have been cooked for a long time. The gizzards must be really soft and really cooked so that their sweetness comes out. The spices we used were: Cinnamon, cumin, ginger powder, curcuma, mild curry, salt and pepper. The key to the recipe…

Spoon Recipes to accompany Port: Why

What inspired us to create these recipes? 1.     We found that even the Portuguese do not actually ‘drink’ a lot of Port. They sometimes have it as an aperitif, but even that is rare. 2.     Port is rich, both in alcohol and tannins, making it hard go through a full meal with only Port.  That…

Douro Valley Tastings: Quinta do Infantado

  Upper valley After a bumpy ride down to this discretely located Quinta, we were received by Oenologist Fatima Riba and owner/winemaker Joao Roseira at Quinta do Infantado. The cellar was built in 1816, and is stillin-tact. Despite the relatively large size (46ha), this Quinta is still family run. Getting that human dimension was comforting…

Douro Valley Tastings: Sandeman Quinta do Seixo

The most impressive thing about a visit to Sandeman’s Quinta do Seixo estate is the drive up to a culminating point above the Douro with practically a 360° view of terraced vines! The drive is not for the faint hearted (or those who tend to get car sick!), but it is absolutely spectacular! The visit…

Douro Valley Tastings: Quinta do Portal

 Douro River Valley After taking the train from Porto (Sao Bento station) and riding for most of the journey along the banks of the Douro to the town of Pinhao, we were greeted by some friends who know the Douro Valley well and had arranged several cellar visits for us. Our first stop was  Quinta…

Portuguese cuisine: a little disappointing but has potential…

Accras de Morue (deep fat-fried: salt cod-fish dumplings)   I realize that I cannot judge a country’s cuisine after only 4 days and only visiting one region, but I must say I was disappointed with the Portuguese cuisine.  I may not have been to the finest establishments in the country, but visited a variety of…