The Idea and Staple Ingredients

The Idea for attempting this book

The idea to collect family recipes have been on my mind for a while. It has always been a goal to pass on family tried and true recipes, as well as authentic recipes of ancestoral origins to the younger generations; something that belongs to them, that they in turn could add to and pass on to their children. Many times my nieces would text or call asking how to make a family favorite. This pushed me further to bring this project to fruition. I also will include favorite recipes from my husbands side of the family that bring memories of his matriarchs. I will include the country of origin of my children’s ancestors Portugal, USA, Sweden and Germany. This booklet will be set up with a list of staple ingredients below followed by the 3 main meals traditionally shared, breakfast (café da manhã), lunch (almoço) and dinner;(jantar) along with some sweets (doces) and cakes (bolos). I intend to continue adding content to this book with the help of family by sharing of favorite yummy recipes. We begin with this 1st volume.

Staple Ingredients to the Portuguese household pantry.

Bay leaves -

and are also popular as a fresh herb. Cheese: São Jorge Cheese and Mild goats cheeses are the most popular in Portuguese cooking. Chourico: a rich red colour. It is smoked and can be bought fresh or dried. A traditional way of heating and serving it is in an asador. This is a terra-cotta dish where the chourico sits on a rack and

sausage. Paprika:Paprika is known as colorau in Portuguese and is without doubt the most widely used spice in Portuguese cooking. Sweet smoked paprika rather than the hot version is used. Piri piri sauce: Piri piri sauce was introduced from African Portuguese colonies. This sauce has now become a widely used sauce in Australia, particularly with Portuguese charcoal chicken.

Quince paste: Quince paste is a staple in every home and is often served with a mild cheese. Children eat it on sandwiches and it’s regarded by some as the Portuguese equivalent to Vegemite.

Calda De Pimenta: recipe on next page. Portuguese hot red pepper sauce (pimenta moida) is used throughout Portugal, although it is most typically used in the Azores. It’s a great mari-

onto a chicken or a roast before roasting. Olives and olive oil: The olive growing area in Portugal is of 352 000 ha, of which 23% is irrigated while the rest is rain-fed. The largest olive tree domains are found in the Alentejo region, which accounts for 50% of the total olive growing area, followed by Tras-os-Montes (22%), Centro (18%); Ribatejo (7.7 %) and Algarve( 2.3%).

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