|  |  Chef Manny’s BlogArchive for March 2010
posted on March 31st, 2010 by Manny Lopes|
"tempura style vegetables", "Peixinhos da horta", Tempura was introduced to Japan in the mid-sixteenth century by early Portuguese missionaries and traders. Tokugawa Leyasu, founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, reportedly loved tempura.
In Portugal, a very popular dish called "Peixinhos da horta" or "little fishies from the garden" are still made. They are called that because they usually fry large green string beans that when dipped & fried look like little batter dipped green fish. A popular dish in the summer months when the green beens are plentiful.
The ingredients..
1 cup flour
1 cup cold water or beer
1 egg
mix all ingredients into a creamy consistancy
Cut your choice of vegetables into small thinish pieces & dip into the batter.
I'm using broccoli, onions and mushrooms (only because that is what I had available. You can use peppers, carrots, string beans, just about anything.
heat some vegetable oil in a skillet & place the vegetables in cooking one side, (a few minutes) and then turning them to cook the other side.
Place on paper towel to drain. Tags: Peixinhos da horta, tempura style vegetables
Posted in General Info, share recipes | 2 Comments » |
posted on March 24th, 2010 by Manny Lopes|
Hearts of Palm are very traditional in Brazil and served many different ways. They are very nutritious & have no cholesterol. They are an excellent choice as to add to any meal. They are available packed in cans or jars & can be eaten right out as is, or cooked. When cooked they soften up a little, I finished them off in the same saute pan that I used to make these great marinated Pork Chops and fried potato chips & onions.
The marinade for the pork chops is a take-off of the traditional Portuguese marinade Vinho-de alho, (wine & garlic). Place the pork chops in a bowl or dish & cover with some olive oil blended with a little hot sauce of your choice, sprinkle some sea salt, paprika and some diced garlic and a bay leave. Cover with plastic or lid and place in the refrigerator for a few hours. (Note: I didn't add any wine, instead I'll be using it to deglaze the pan)
The cooking process is simple, in a covered skillet add the marinade and the Pork Chops into the skillet on medium- high heat and cover, let cook for about 10 minutes with the lid on,... Tags: Hearts of Palm & Pork Chops
Posted in General Info | No Comments » |
posted on March 22nd, 2010 by Manny Lopes|
If you've been to Portugal or to a Portuguese restaurant, you've had the pleasure of tasting delicious thinly sliced potatoes that are deep fried. A thick fresh potato chip , that is served with so many meals. They are fairly easy to make & always a hit. Included in this dish are some thinly sliced & crispy fried onion and mushrooms.
Serve this as a side with just about any dish, steak, pork, or fish.
You don't need a deep fryer to make these, I put a thin layer of oil in a large skillet and add the potato slices frying them on one side & turning them over to do the other side. You do the same with the onions, but they take a little longer to get to the crispy stage. Place them on a paper towel to absorb some of the excess Tags: batatas fritas, Portuguese potato chips
Posted in General Info | No Comments » |
posted on March 21st, 2010 by Manny Lopes|
I thought I'd try another Portuguese omelet, with bacalhau (salt cod) with some Portuguese cheese & mushrooms.
dice up a little bachalhau (pick some without any bones), a couple mushrooms, and a little cheese of your choice and a couple eggs. I'm having it in a croissant this morning.
saute' the mushrooms & the bacalhau in a drizzle of olive oil, (just a couple of minutes)
remove them from the skillet & add the eggs into the skillet. The skillet needs to be hot, swirl the eggs around the pan to make a thin layer of egg around the whole pan.
add the cheese, the mushrooms & bacalhau and gently fold the ends over the mixture.
serve with or without the croissant, makes an egg-cellent breakfast sandwich.. Tags: bacalhau, cheese & Mushroom omelet
Posted in General Info, share recipes | No Comments » |
posted on March 17th, 2010 by Manny Lopes|
What do Portuguese & Irish have in common?
Muscles,,, of course...
2 Ibs of mussels
light olive oil
6 cloves diced garlic
chives
cilantro
2 bay leaves
Guinness
Add the olive oil into a skillet along with the diced chives, garlic and bay leaves & get it hot,
add the muscles & cover for about 5 minutes to get the muscles to open.
add about 1/3 bottle of Guinness and cover again for another 5 minutes.
add the cilantro and some uncooked chives,, enjoy,, St Patrick surel be smilin new..
Tags: Irish Muscles, Muscles, mussels
Posted in General Info, share recipes | 1 Comment » |
posted on March 7th, 2010 by Manny Lopes|
The winter finally broke today and it was a great day to be outside. After some yard work I made a fire & had some great coals to cook on. The first outside barbeque and what better than some vegetables.
some onions, red green and yellow peppers and some zuchini. Sliced and arrange them on a grate.
they don't take long to cook up 5-10 minutes on each side, I like them a little burnt..
Drizzle some olive oil, white wine vinegar & sprinkle with sea salt and some crushed basil.
Make a delicious vegetarian sandwich, cut open a very ripe avocado and spread it on the grilled bread instead of butter, sanduíche vegetal Tags: Barbecued vegetables, sanduíche vegetal, vegetarian sandwich
Posted in General Info, share recipes | 4 Comments » |
posted on March 6th, 2010 by Manny Lopes|
"Black pudding sausage" or blood sausage and morcela, is an interesting tasty treat now and again. I'm complementing it with the Portuguese "aguardente" a white marc brandy. This is a "petisco" or tapa type to dish to enjoy by yourself or with some friends.. I'm using morcela de arroz, (blood sausage with rice)
I de-skinned the morcela and sauteed them with mushrooms and peppers in a skilet with some spiced olive oil & finished them with a drizzle of white wine
slice and toast some bread into very thin slices, place on a dish & drizzle some olive oil on them. Place the morcella, peppers & mushrooms over the bread & drizzle some aguardente over them with a teaspoon.
Serve with some cold salted cucumber & olives, a short glass of agardente on the side or a Jeropiga..
bom apetite
Tags: Black pudding, blood sausage, Morcela de arroz
Posted in General Info, share recipes | No Comments » |
posted on March 4th, 2010 by Manny Lopes|
Trying to translate types of fish is pretty tricky, every culture seems to have their own names and then there are many similar types of fish. Cherne, is translated in to English as striped sea bass", here roasted together with shrimp and cubed potatoes.
in a skillet saute one diced onion two cloves of garlic with 1/5 cup of olive oil. Add the cubes of potatoes (2 potatoes), one tablespoon salt. Cover & cook for 15-20 minutes, then add the fish and one tablespoon diced parsley ad the shrimp. Cover & continue cooking for 15-20 more minutes until fish is tender & flakey.
Tags: cherne, grouper, shrimp
Posted in General Info | 1 Comment » |
posted on March 4th, 2010 by Manny Lopes|
Rice has been a food staple sustaining life for centuries around the world with origins in Asia and was one of the foods that were brought back to Portugal by the early explorations to the east by the Portuguese navigators. Here we are serving the rice in an original and traditional clay pot that was used as the measuring "scoop" for grains in Portugal.
Rice with peas or (Arroz com ervilhas in Portuguese) is a great side dish to compliment just about any meal. Everyone seems to have a different preference on how they like their rice and the types of rice will make a difference on the end result. Sticky or fluffy, for tender, fluffy rice with separate grains, choose long grain white rice.
The general rule to make rice is 2 part water to 1 part rice.
1 cup rice use 2 cups of water,
Place rice in a bowl of cold water & let sit for 5-10 minutes & drian. This cleans the rice & the grains start absorbing some water.
Bring to a boil 2 cups of water, add 1 tspn salt (you can add chicken bullion for flavor, if you do no salt is needed)
Add the 1 cup of drained rice, stir,... Tags: Arroz com ervilhas, Rice with peas
Posted in General Info, share recipes | No Comments » |
posted on March 3rd, 2010 by Manny Lopes|
Puré de batata com alho, or "garlic mashed potatoes", is a great side dish to compliment just about any meal. If your making any kind of roast in the oven, include this as the side. Great with beef, poultry or fish and easy as 1, 2, 3....
Garnish with olives or sprinkle some diced parsley or basil for a great looking presentation.
1, peel and boil 4 medium size potatoes until soft
2, peel dice and saute', 4 cloves of garlic with 1/4 cup olive oil
3, Drain the potatoes, add 3TBSN of butter, 1 TSPN salt, 1/4 cup milk or light cream. Mash or blend to a creamy consistency adding the olive oil-garlic mix, save a bit to put over the top, put in an oven casserole dish & broil in the oven just enough to get a golden color. Posted in General Info | 2 Comments » |
|
|
|
