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Bolo de arroz

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Bolo de arroz (rice cake) is a simple rice-flour cake with a cylinder shape and a crusty top. It goes great with coffee and is perfect for times when we need some extra sweetness in our lives.

Manuel Ferreira’s 1933 treatise, A Cozinha Ideal, includes recipes for all the classic Portuguese cakes and pastries. There’s usually one recipe per item; in a few cases, two or three variants. But, when it comes to the bolo de arroz, Ferreira took no chances and wrote down four recipes. So, whether hot or cold, rain or shine, Portuguese pastry shops can always make this indispensable pick-me-up.

Pure chocolate

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ClaudioCoralo

Claudio Corallo is an Italian who, in the 1970s, moved to the former Portuguese islands of São Tomé and Principe to make chocolate. He uses the original cocoa plants brought from South America which have low yields but produce perfect beans. Corallo roasts these beans with great care, so they never burn. He then breaks them by hand to remove the germ that makes other chocolates taste bitter. The result is pure chocolate that tastes delicious without the addition of milk or vanilla.

We are lucky that Claudio married Bettina, a Portuguese because their sons came back to Lisbon. They opened a coffee and chocolate shop that serves as the unofficial meeting point for all the gourmets in the city.

The bonbons are amazing, the tablets unforgettable, the sorbet indescribable. They make us realize that all the other chocolates were youthful indiscretions, passing flings. Corallo is the one.

Corallo’s store is in the Principe Real neighborhood, on Rua Escola Politécnica, 4, tel. 21 386 2158.

Summer feasts

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CavalhadasIn the 17th century, the Viseu region depended on the waters of the Pavia river to irrigate the farmland and power the watermills. In 1652, after a terrible drought, farmers built dykes that reduced the river flow to a trickle. As a result, the watermills in the village of Vildemoinhos stopped working. The millers clashed with the farmers over water rights until, in 1653, the royal court resolved the case with a verdict favorable to the millers.

To show their appreciation for this life-saving decision, the millers organized a cavalcade called Cavalhada through the city of Viseu. The Cavalhada was so successful that it became an annual event. It is held on June 24 (St. John’s day). Farmers sell pots of wild basil and children feast on Viriatos, a local sweet. There are marching bands, traditional dancing troupes, groups of drummers, and giant paper-machê dolls.

This Cavalhada is one of the many Summer feasts organized everywhere across the country. If you see a sign for Festa Popular (popular feast), be sure to stop by. They’re always fun events. And they celebrate the ancient traditions that make Portugal more than just a pretty landscape.

Sweet indecisions

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Every time we enter a Portuguese café, we have to decide between a large and a small “pastel de nata.” It’s not an easy choice.

Large pasteis have more filling than crust, so they leave a pronounced sweet lemony aftertaste. Eating them requires our full attention. Where do we start? Where should we place our next bite? How should we hold the pastry so we lose none of its precious filling? These pressing issues empty our mind of its usual chatter and we feel the inner peace of a yoga master.

Small pasteis de nata are crunchier. And you can do magic with them. Hold one in your hand and, when no one is looking, pop it into your mouth. Now you see it, now you don’t; all that’s left is an irrepressible smile.

So, what’s the right choice? Magic or inner peace? A crunchy bite or a lemony aftertaste? More research is required before we can render a final verdict.

The poet’s choice

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Camões

Artists often quip that they have to die before they can make a living. The great 16th century poet Luis de Camões died poor. Here’s how the influential Encyclopedia of Diderot & d’Alembert, published in Paris in 1765, describes his life:

“The famous Camões has done eternal honor to his homeland with his epic poem the Lusíadas. His life and misfortune are well known. Born in Lisbon in 1524 or thereabouts, he took up arms and lost an eye in combat against the Moors. He traveled to the Indies in 1553, offended the Viceroy, and was exiled. He left Goa and took refuge in a deserted corner of the world on the Chinese border. It was there that he composed his poem; the subject is the discovery of a new land of which he himself had been a witness. […]

It is said that he nearly lost this fruit of his genius while traveling to Macau. His ship went down during the crossing, but Camões, imitating Caesar, had the presence of mind to preserve his manuscript by holding it in one hand above the water while he swam with the other. Upon return to Lisbon in 1569, he spent ten unhappy years and finished his life in a hospital in 1579. Such was the fate of the Portuguese Virgil.”

Camões knew from classical Greek literature that there are two choices: to live an ordinary life and be forgotten, or struggle for greatness and have a chance of immortality. The mythical Achilles sacrificed his life at Troy, but his fame lives forever.

Camões gave his life to the Portuguese language. Every year, on June 10, we celebrate his immortality.

Driving in Portugal

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Lisboa_206-EditF
Lisbon in the rear view mirror, Maria Rebelo, digital print file, 2012.

Portugal has one of the world’s best highway systems, so it is easy to drive around the country’s 36,000 square miles. But driving in the two largest cities, Lisbon and Oporto, is a different story.

Lisbon has wide avenues, built after the 1755 earthquake, as well as many new tunnels and overpasses. But, whenever the Lisbon soccer teams lose, drivers are irritated and drive in aggressive, erratic ways. Since the Oporto soccer team wins most of the championships, it’s a bad idea to drive in Lisbon. It is much better to use public transportation, the subway, buses, trams, and taxis.

In Oporto, drivers enjoy the serenity afforded by their soccer victories. But the medieval streets in the center of Oporto were designed for vehicles with only one horse power. Driving a car requires constant care and attention. Here too, the subway, trams, buses and taxis will take you reliably everywhere.

There’s another reason why city driving is a bad idea. Every moment focused on traffic lights and road lanes, can be better spent contemplating the aristocratic beauty of Lisbon and Oporto.

The art of the suffix

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O Malhadinhas

The Portuguese love to use the suffixes “inho” (pronounced eeño) and “zinho” (zeeño). They change the meaning of words in subtle, endearing ways. Instead of calling your friend Pedro, you call him Pedrinho. It means little Pedro, dear Pedro. It says you care about him.

If the gender of the word is feminine, you use “inha” (eeña ) or “zinha” (zeeña ). To greet your friend Maria you say “olá Mariazinha,” and Maria is guaranteed to smile.

These suffixes don’t apply only to proper names. To ask for a favor, ask for a “favorzinho,” and you’re more likely to see it granted. “Obrigado” means thank you, but to say a special thank you, you say “obrigadinho.”

In the 16th century, the Portuguese arrived in Japan where “obrigado,” became “arrigato.” But we didn’t stay for long, so the Japanese never learned to say “arrigatinho.”

In contrast, the Portuguese stayed in Brazil time enough for Brazilians to learn the ways of the “inho.” That’s why Brazil has been blessed with talented soccer players like Ronaldinho and brilliant bossa nova musicians like Toquinho.

Would the Japanese play beautiful soccer and sing bossa nova if they had mastered the art of the “inho”? You bet.

Cherishing the mackerel

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RBD_desenho-cavala
A cavala, Rui Barreiros Duarte, ink on paper, 2012.

Fernand Point’s famous cookbook, Ma Gastronomie, includes two mackerel recipes. But in Portugal this fish, known as “cavala,” has never been popular. When fish mongers find mackerel mixed with other fish, they often give it away.

We worry that our national indifference toward the mackerel might make it swim to France in search of recognition. Luckily, chef José Avillez decided to pay tribute to this wonderful fish at his restaurant, Belcanto.  His recipe starts with a traditional “salmoura”: the fish is soaked in water, salt and sugar. It is then sliced and marinated in an infusion of rice vinegar and green apples. Finally, the mackerel is seared and served with delicately pickled vegetables.

If you go to Belcanto, please order this delicious dish. Help us keep the mackerel on the Portuguese coast!

Cavala Belcanto

Belcanto is located at Largo de S. Carlos, 10 in Lisbon. Tel. 213-420-607.

A sweet inheritance

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Morgadinho

When we eat lunch at the Palace Hotel in Bussaco, we feel like a character in a 19th-century novel. There is a serenity, an ability to enjoy the passage of time that is absent from modern life.

The items on the menu are variations on traditional recipes, prepared with care and served with elegance. When the dessert cart arrives, the waitress recommends without hesitation the “Morgado do Bussaco.” It is a perfect dessert, made with only nuts and honey. Morgado means young heir. We’re lucky that Bussaco inherited this old recipe and shared it with us.