Rabbit stew with figs/Coelho estufado com figos

Small traditional “quinta” across Portugal commonly have a rabbit hatch to supply a meat treat for the family. This guarantees high quality home-bred rabbit meat which features in a number of traditional dishes. The most famous, “cabidela”, being a wet risotto to which rabbit blood mixed with vinegar is added towards the end of the cooking. This achieves an extremely rich, nutritious and contorting one pot meal.

This recipe is a basic rabbit stew with a flavour twist provided by the sweet and complex aroma of dried figs. Rabbit has a relatively subtle flavour and the figs here add a layer of fruitiness which makes for a unique combination. As with all good stews, any left overs should be deboned and make it into small home made pies (empadas)!

Pheasant Pies/Empadas de Faisão

“Empadas” (pies) are a common snack in cafes all over Portugal and part of portuguese culinary tradition for centuries (royal chef Domingos Rodrigues dedicates 41 recipes to empadas in his “Arte de Cozinha” from 1680, the first Portuguese cookbook). Today, you are mostly likely to find them filled with chicken, roast piglet or perhaps salted cod. This is a recipe that takes advantage of the dense taste of pheasant to provide an absolutely moorish filing for this exquisite finger food. Shortcrust pastry is ideal for this as it is light enough to let the filling shine but you could experiment with puff pastry as well. Perfect as a snack, light lunch or for a picnic. Can be served hot or cold but much, much better hot out of the oven…

Portuguese Chicken Pies/Empadas de Frango

Empadas are small savoury pies that adorn the vitrines of cafés and snack bars throughout Portugal. Typically eaten as a snack they are also a favourite of those just grabbing a quick light lunch; I’m not sure about how many Portuguese fall in that category though… Certainly a must for picnics, these small flavourful pies are an easy to make finger food which can be filled with a variety of stewed meat or fish. This recipe uses leftovers from the chicken in beer recipe (this can be replaced by any boned stewed chicken) and pre rolled puff pastry (shortcrust or bread dough also works well). Empadas can be eaten warm or cold and kept for a couple of days in the fridge thought it is the kind of food that tends to disappear fairly quickly…

Empadas

Chicken in Beer/Frango com Cerveja

This is a common domestic recipe which produces a tasty and hearty chicken stew often served with boiled white rice or potato purée. Using jointed chicken with pieces on the bone adds to the taste but you can use breast pieces though only cook them for 15 minutes in the sauce after browned. Needless to say that you should use the best chicken you can afford for best results. A potato and celeriac purée complements the sweetness of this dish perfectly. Almost as good as the dish itself are the leftovers of boned chicken pieces which can be used to make excellent chicken pies (empadas de frango)!

Chicken in Beer

Chorizo Rolls / Pão com chouriço

A small round version of the popular pão com chouriço found in bakeries across Portugal… This is easy finger food, great for a party or picnic and delicious hot or cold. The richness of the taste will greatly depend on the quality of the chorizo.

Chorizo Rolls

Devils on Horseback/Rolinhos de ameixa e bacon

Not exactly a Portuguese tradition and perhaps a bit Christmassy… Still a great hot starter for a party which is easy to prepare in advance in large quantities and get ready in 15 minutes in a hot oven.

Devils on Horseback

Portuguese Pot au Feu/Cozido à Portuguesa

Classic one pot (well, almost one pot) hearty dish using a variety of meats, charcuterie and vegetables to create a rich broth. This dish will vary considerably depending on which part of Portugal it comes from. Each region will introduce their own sausages, chouriços, pig’s ear and trotter, chicken, blood sausage (morcela) etc. There is really no rule on what to include or leave out but cooking time for each ingredient is crucial so that the dish doesn’t turn into undifferentiated mash… This recipe is a guide on how to time the various types of ingredients.

Barriga assada à Leitão/Pork Belly Leitão Style

This recipe uses a classic mix used in the sauce for roast suckling pig (leitão) made up of crushed garlic, lard and a very generous amount of black pepper. Suckling pig is a speciality of the Bairrada region in the centre of Portugal where the combination of rearing techniques, roasting skills and constant demand makes for one of the hot spots of Portuguese cuisine. The tenderness achieved by slowly roasting pork belly together with the garlic and black pepper seasoning almost achieves the unique leitão taste…

Pork Belly

From deer to rillettes…/rillettes de veado

After a considerable amount of organisation a whole fallow deer arrives from Fermanagh! Cleaned, skinned and hanging for three days, the job of butchering was remarkably quick (2 hours) and produced an array of extraordinary roast cuts and sirloin for steaks. There is very little waste and off cuts in a deer but I was determined to keep some meat for sausages and for rillettes. This is a recipe for a slightly unusual approach to rillettes using venison neck and duck fat.

Venison Rillettes

Goose Broth/Canja de Ganso

Canja is the generic name for a soup consisting of a light poultry stock, typically chicken. The soup is given some substance with either rice or small pasta and makes for an excellent heart-warming starter. This recipe uses goose rather than chicken which makes for a richer, creamier dish and is great use for a roast carcass. You can keep some shredded goose meat to add to the soup at the end. For the stock simply boil the carcass in salted water at moderate heat for 1 hour.

Goose Broth/Canja de Ganso