Sweet Rice (Rice Pudding)

This is one of the favourites, especially in the cold months and particularly at Christmas time. Curiously, this delicatessen has Turkish or Arab origins and is appreciated all over the world. Here is (one of) the Portuguese version.

250gr rice
0,75 lt milk
250gr sugar
3 egg yolks
lemon peel (to taste)
1 cinnamon stick
Ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Heat the milk in a pot and when it starts to boil add the sugar, the rice, the salt, the lemon peel and the cinnamon stick. As soon as the rice is cooked, take off the heat and let cool a bit. On the side, beat the egg yolks and incorporate in the rice. Get the pot on a low burner to cook the yolks. Serve in a large dish or in individual dishes sprinkled with the ground cinnamon.

Bom apetite.

Rabanadas

This dessert is traditionally served at Christmas time but is great any time of year. Especially in the colder months accompanied by a glass of port wine.
It's basically slices of bread soaked in milk then fried. There's more to them then that, though. But they are delicious and one of my favourite desserts. Here is how to make them.

Ingredients
1,2 lt milk
8 slices of bread
6 eggs
6 table spoons of sugar
Skin of half a lemon
2 cinnamon sticks
Vegetable oil
Ground cinnamon and sugar to taste

Bring the milk to a boil with the cinnamon sticks and the lemon skin. Let it cool down. Beat the eggs until well beaten. Pour the milk into a deep plate so that it's easier to soak the bread slices in the milk. Be careful not to let them soak for too long as they will break and we don't want that. Do this and then pass the slices through the beaten eggs. Next, fry the slices in hot oil until they are golden brown.Turn them over as necessary. Place them over kitchen paper so that the excess oil may be lost, then place in the serving platter. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Enjoy.

Bacalhau

One of Portugal's favourite ingredient is Bacalhau. For those who don't know what this is, it's a fish. Cod, to be more precise. But in Portugal, cod isn't consumed fresh. The cod that is preferred has been salted and dried. To cook it, it has to be rehidrated and this is what I'll be explaining next.

To rehidrate the cod, it has to be cut into pieces as shown in this image  

These pieces are then to be soaked in cold water for 24 to 48 hours, depending on the size of the fish, taking care to change this water every 6 to 8 hours. If the water isn't changed, it will start to smell bad and ruin the fish. This process serves, not only to rehidrtae the fish, but also, to extract the excess salt. If the fish hasn't soaked for enough time, it'll be too salty and will ultimately ruin the dish. If soaked for too long, it's easier to remedy - just add salt to the dish. After the fish has been soaked, it is ready do be cooked, or frozen right away.

The higher pieces are ideal for cooking over the grill or in the oven. The medium ones are usually used for dishes where the fish is cooked in stews and the lower pieces are used for recipes where they are broken down into strands.

I hope this was a compreehensive explanation of one of Portugal's favourite fish.