Helena Out and About

The beautiful city of Oporto or Porto as we call it, home of one of the most famous wines is the world, has a special article on foodism magazine issue 036. Three pages dedicated to this warm welcoming city, and one of Portuguese people favourites to eat! Porto is well known among us for the quality  and generous portions of  it’s food! Check the articule in pages 112-114.

G inginha is the name we give to liquor made of bitter cherries that is traditional from Alcobaça and Óbidos in Portugal. It has been produced in an artisanal way for many years and is one of the most famous Portuguese drinks. It is said that the original recipe was created by the local monks, to make use of the huge amounts of fruit that grew in the area, and later, the inhabitants of the city adapted their recipe. The basic ingredients are fresh Ginja (sour cherries), sugar and aguardente (fire water), but some people also aromatize it with cinnamon bark or vanilla pods, but I remember my mother doing it with cinnamon and sometimes just the simple way. I also remember my mom asking what happened to the big pot of ginja that use to be full, and then suddenly was just half full… I said she didn’t close the lid properly so it evaporated, but the truth is that I drunk it with my friends. Ginja needs to macerate for at least 3 months in the sugar and aguardente , but ...

A s a Portuguese I love Fado , I always have my eyes peeled to find concerts in London as l istening Fado is one of the ways to be close to home. Usually I find one event a year. So far I have only managed to see Ana Moura, one of the most cherished Portuguese Fado singers. She captivated Mick Jagger and Price with her wonderful voice and they both invited her to perform with them. I’ve seen her at the Barbican and also at The Roundhouse. Both times I have taken English friends with me and they absolutely loved her. I just remember everyone clapping and dancing to the sound of Dia de Folga sound(day off).

F ado was born in the humble neighbourhoods of Lisbon like Mouraria and Alfama, and they are many theories about its origins. It`s status was very different from now a days. It was sang in doubtful reputation bars, were regular customers where prostitutes and sailors. Fado has a melancholic melody and dramatic singing, but there are many different types of Fado like: Fado de Coimbra, Fado vadio, Desgarrada and also cheerful Fado as for example Sr. Vinho by Amália, our greatest Fado Queen. The singer ( Fadista , is normally accompanied by a Portuguese guitar,that sounds like a guitar crying ( trinar de uma guitarra), and during many years lady Fado singers used a black cape around their shoulders. Usually songs speak about lost loves, sadness and saudade, the Portuguese word without direct translation but meaning something like nostalgia. Fado is part of Portuguese identity and it has a very distinctive character. In the 90 became part of the circuit ...

I must say that CAFÉ DE NATA in London, makes some of the best pasteis de nata (custard tarts) I ever had. They have created some new versions, of the traditional one, like coconut or strawberry, but I always go for the traditional/plain. Maybe I should try one of the others sometime, but feels a bit wired. Usually, when you buy them in Portugal, you tell the seller if you want queimadinho, literally translated to little burn (dark) or clarinho , literally translated as little light (light). I always ask for mine warm and queimadinho and then I add sugar and cinnamon. They Have shops in South Kensington, Soho and Hammersmith. By the end of the day they reduce the price so everything must go. Unfortunately, I never manage to make nice ones at home, but luckily, or maybe not, I live near Café de Nata!

L eituras 2019 a todo o gás! Um livro estranho sobre uma pessoa “estranha”. Keiko, uma mulher de 36 anos que não corresponde às espectativas de ninguém. O livro aborda a questão daquilo que, em sociedade, de uma forma ou de outra, nos vai sendo imposto como ideal de vida feliz e bem-sucedida.   Um livro que se lê de uma assentada. Parece uma história simples mas a mensagem está para lá do óbvio. Ficamos com o livro na cabeça durante algum tempo.

L ittle cheerful book full of insights about life in Venice. It goes through lots of aspects of daily life, from past to present, provides answers to some curiosities such as roots of the masks, names of streets, traditions etc. The book is divided in chapters, with  some of them named after a different part of the body where it describes what Venice cause to each of them: legs, ears, nose, face etc. I don’t want to be a spoiler but I just want to register the three Venetian dishes suggestion by the author: 1.   Bigoli – paste with Sardines 2.   Sarde in Saór – Fried sardines with onions and vinegar, this reminds me very much of the Portuguese dish: sardinhas de escabeche 3.   Figà a la venessiana - Calve´s liver cook to the point with onions. I wish I had read it before the trip so I could pay more attention to some details. Worth reading.

Bola the Berlim is fried sweet dough, filled with egg cream that became part of the Portuguese culinary tradition. Our favourite place to it, is on the beach! The Portuguese recipe is an adaptation of the original Berliner. The original was brought to Portugal during WWII, when Jewish German families took refuge in Portugal. The originals were filled with red berries jam. But the Portuguese most popular version is filled with egg cream, more in line with our taste and traditions. We love egg sweets in Portugal. We also use just normal sugar to dust it, rather than powder sugar. There are plenty of versions around the world, but I love the Portuguese recipe. You can find this Bolas de Berlim in any pastelaria (bakery with coffee shop), but our favourite place to eat them, no doubt, is on the beach. That’s when they taste out of this world. It is a Portuguese tradition and I don't know any portuguese who doesn't have memories eating them on the ...

Now that I have some free time, I have decided to start cooking some of the recipes from my cookbook collection. Today I have chosen a Greek snack from the book: World Food GREECE from M&S. Walnuts and feta cheese biscuits. What else can one ask… Perfect with a drink before a meal or just a little treat in the afternoon. They turned out really well. Delicious, light and melt in the mouth. I have done just half of the portion. With some of the dough, instead of cutting it in circle biscuits, I have dome small balls and added a pine kernel on the top. Not bad at all! What’s the point of collecting lots of books and not having the time to enjoy it!?  See the recipe below.

This year I have discovered the photos of Sevruguin and I it was one of the best discoveries I have made. I saw his book: Sevruguin and the Persian Image, photographs of Iran, 1870-1930 and I couldn’t be more fascinated. His photos of daily life scenes are absolutely fantastic. I love this photo that shows an ice cream seller with his cart. “ … The ice cream seller early in the morning pours milk into a tall cylindrical tin bucket, which he has place in a larger vat of ice. Using a long wooden spatula he continuously stirs the milk, which slowly thickness, He may add a touch or rosewater and some cream…” In Sevruguin and the Persian Image p73.

I f you are not sure if you should go, I am telling you: You must go! Doesn’t matter if is winter or summer, cold or hot, if you have a lot of money to spend or if you are on a budget, for sure you will love it. And all what is said about bad food, being packed and expensive, forget! There are plenty of lovely places to eat and for all pockets. Amazing places to visit, that are no packed, and lots of sympathy and hard work from all Venetians, that do an amazing job looking after so many people. I can only say amazing things!