Suckling pig Bairrada style

This has to be one the most known and appreciated dish and was nominated one of the seven wonders of Portuguese cuisine. Originally from the region of Bairrada, some 70km south of Oporto, people flock here to appreciate both this typical dish and the excellent wines this region produces.
The oldest document that refers this delicacy dates back from 1743, being a recipe from a convent.
With it's golden brown crispy skin and tender meat, the sucking pig with a month to a month and a half of age and at about 6 to 8 kilos, becomes an experience for the senses.

You'll need:
1 suckling pig
Crushed garlic cloves
Sea salt
Pepper (plenty)
Lard
Parsley

Push a rod through the pig and rub the mixture of the lard, the crushed garlic, the salt and the pepper through the inside of the pig, using up all of this mixture.
While the wood oven is heating up, sew the pig with needle and kitchen thread so that it's closed.
Put the pig in the oven, placing a platter underneath so that the juices are collected here.
Every half hour, take out the pig and "clean" the skin with a cloth to remove the excess fat. By removing the pig from the oven to clean, this provokes a thermal shock which will make the skin crispier.
It takes between an hour and a half to two hours for the pig to cook. When it's done, take out the rod and serve on a platter.
Serve with fried potatoes and a sparkling red wine.

Bom apetite.

Duck Fricasse with cinnamon

Fricasse is one of the most popular dishes in Portugal. One can make fricasse from almost anything, being the most common chicken fricasse. The secret of the portuguese fricasse is in the creamy sauce which has as a core ingredient egg yolks and the acidic touch of the lemon, both mandatory in the recipe. So here goes the recipe natural to the north of Portugal.

Ingredients:
1 duck
2 table spoons of butter
1 onion
1 table spoon olive oil
3 egg yolks
2 small lemons
parsley
1/2 a coffee spoon of cinnamon
salt
pepper
cabbage

Break the duck into pieces and season with salt and the juice on 1 lemon.
After some time (an hour or two) grease the duck pieces with the butter and put them in a platter. Cover the platter with greased paper and the cabbage leaves and cook in the oven.
On the side, cook the onion and the olive oil until the onion becomes transparent. Add a little bit of water and let boil. Add the duck and all the juices from the platter and let boil.
On the side prepare the fricasse. In a bowl mix the yolks with the lemon juice and a little of the duck juices. Add the chopped parsley, the cinnamon and pepper. Mix all this. Add this mixture to the duck in the pot at low heat to cook the eggs.
Serve with white rice.
Personally I'd prefer a white wine, or a light red wine to go this dish.

Bom apetite.

Baba de Camelo

Today I bring you a recipe of a dessert which doesn't have the most appealing name. Translated it means camel drool. Hehehe. I can imagine you face right now. This is actually quite delicious but does have a strong taste. It's one of the easiest and fastest recipes to make. So here goes,

Ingredients
1 can of condensed milk
6 eggs
1/2 lemon

Cook the can of condensed milk in the pressure cooker for 45 minutes. After letting it cool down, add the egg yolks and beat. Add the juice of the 1/2 lemon. Beat the egg whites until firm and incorporate into the previous mixture with a fork. If you wish you may make individual servings or place in a bowl. Let this sit in the fridge for some time and serve cold.
Decorate with chopped toasted almonds if desired, or to taste.

Bom apetite

Lamb Chanfana

Chanfana is a traditional portuguese dish. The most accurate version of the origin of this dish takes us to the history of Portugal and the French invasion of 1810, when they entered the northeast of Portugal coming across the border in August 1810. On September 1810 they suffered a major defeat at the battle of Bussaco. Regrouping their troops, the French military forces push the Luso-British south, who remain in that region for about three years. During these three years of occupation, the French military looted the people around their barracks which were located in the regions of Penacova, Vila Nova de Poiares. The French plundered everything when they could, getting their hands on grains and animals, excluding older animals, which were too tough to eat. Thus were born the first lanpatana and chanfana recipes (in this area north of Mortágua Buçaco with the difference that instead of goat old sheep was used).

There are, ofcourse, many variations of this dish, varying from on region to another. Today I bring you one of those versions. Enjoy :-)

Ingredients:
2kg Lamb
1 head of garlic
2 bay leafs
1 green pepper
paprika
salt
red wine
black pepper
1 bunch coriander
vegetable margarine
olive oil
1 onion

We need to season the meat, chopped into pieces, the day before. In a baking pan, place the meat and add the salt, the ground pepper, the chopped garlic, the bay leafs, the chopped green pepper and the chopped onion. Then we place the bunch of coriander over the top, chopped finely. Finally, pour the wine into the pan until the meat is covered, adding in a drizzle of olive oil. Mix all this together and let rest until the next day (24h). 
Before placing the pan into the heated oven, pour enough wine until the meat covered to compensate for the wine absorbed by the meat and add 3 to 4 table spoons of margarine. Mix everything again, cover the pan (if you don't have a lid big enough, you can use tin foil. Place in the oven and let cook at low heat. It should take about 2 hours to cook. Every now and then, stir the meat to prevent it from becoming dry. You should tell that the meat is cooked when it starts to come off the bone.


To accompany this delicious meat, some baked potatoes will go really nicely. Or you may prefer rice with saffron and raisins. 


A bodied red wine will go very well with this dish. 


Bom apetite