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Shopping in Spain
An unusual title perhaps for a post on a blog about Portuguese food and wine, but many Portuguese residents live close to the border with Spain and therefore popping over to do food (and other) shopping there is an option.
Last week we visited Seville (see www.movingtoportugal.org for more details.) On our way back we decided to stop in the town of Huelva to visit a large Carrefour hypermarket to see
Iberico Ham
what it had to offer us compared to the supermarkets back over the border in Portugal.
First up: Iberico ham – the main thing that pulled me into the place! This is available in Portugal but not in the quantity and variety we found it here. We found almost an entire supermarket aisle of entire iberico ham legs – giving off a heady odour as you walk past.
As someone who is addicted to this rich ham, made from pigs who feast on acorns, I can reliably say the few kinds we tried did taste better than the stuff I usually buy in Portugal. Whether my taste buds were heightened because of being on holiday, or whether the Spanish keep the better stuff for them I could not possibly say….
We spent a good couple of hours exploring the supermarket and, as a general rule, found most things to be approximately 20% cheaper than just over the border in Portugal. This makes shopping here worthwhile on occasion if you are close enough to the border.
Other surprises? The favourite for me was a green wine-style bottle labelled “Sidra Natural.” This was strong, still Spanish cider tasting of apples and resembling true Cornish cider – for someone who really misses cider, this was a serious result, not to mention a result costing only €1.50 – I only wish I had purchased more than one bottle.
We did buy a couple of cheeses but nothing that compared to the huge variety we have available to us in Portugal. I am fully prepared for comments telling me of wonderful Spanish cheeses, and look forward to them so I can choose better next time!
American BBQ Sauce
We found an aisle of imported products, so know where to come for bisto if we are ever in Spain again. More interesting to us were the Mexican products – tortillas and similar, at low prices (these things are truly extortionate in Portugal,) and imported barbeque sauces and salad dressings from America (it may just be me but there is something particularly pleasing about those jumbo-sized bottles of American BBQ sauce.)
Wine-wise, I have to say I am more of a fan of Portuguese wine than Spanish, in fact we had a couple of bottles of Spanish rose while there which we used to really enjoy in England but they didn’t seem to compare to our current Portuguese favourite, Monsaraz. We must be starting to “go native!”
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Tags: bbq sauce, food shopping, iberico ham, monsaraz, portuguese wine, shopping in spain, spanish wine | 
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Portugal’s Seasonal Produce
Not a lot of time to post today as we are off for a short break (see my other blog www.movingtoportugal.org ) but I did want to briefly write about all of the wonderful new produce available in the markets, and even the supermarkets.
As we are still in our first year in Portugal, every month brings surprises for food lovers like us and enjoying the seasonality of the locally available food is proving a serious pleasure as
Tomatoes - on the way
we approach the abundance of summer.
I have been known to whinge in the past on this and my other blog about the poor selection and lack of availability of key items in our local big supermarket, Continente, but at this time of year, even the supermarket that I love to hate has a hugely tempting range of fresh produce.
I think I am now starting to understand that Portuguese supermarkets are less inclined to fly fruit and vegetables halfway around the world to satisfy our whims, and I think it did us good to suffer through a winter with little choice in order to fully appreciate everything now on offer to us.
Strawberries that taste like strawberries should (I don’t know what has happened to English strawberries in recent years,) peaches so juicy you have no option but to eat them over the sink, and faultless tomatoes that you can smell as you approach the display.
Things are looking good in the garden too – our lettuces and rocket are now providing a constant crop meaning we don’t have to buy salad leaves and, excitingly for us, we now have an abundance of spring onions, something you just don’t seem to find here. The herb garden is also doing well, and for people who cook regularly, really does save a noticeable amount of money.
We also have the very beginnings of some small tomatoes and peppers on the balcony – a true taste of summer.
Now all we need is a suggestion as to what to do with a glut of kumquats!
Five Fabulous Foods!
In keeping with this week’s theme from my other blog www.movingtoportugal.org – here are five fabulous foodie things that have made us happy this month!
FROZEN JUMBO PRAWNS (from Pingo Doce.) Filling a large freezer cabinet in the supermarket with a shovel on top, like some wonderful, oversized, fishy pick and mix, I am still
Moscatel Setubal
reeling in shock that these wonderful prawns are only 5 EUROS, yes, 5 EUROS per kilogram. A day to defrost and they are ready to do with what we decide. In the past week these have made a delicious prawn curry and, yesterday, marinated in oil, garlic and piri piri, they were spicy and succulent on the barbeque. These prawns make me happy!
MOSCATEL SETUBAL – Sweet like caramel, this moscatel from the Alentejo rivals the sweet wine you would pay silly money for in London restaurants. It is less than 3 euros per bottle. Unbelievable.
BIFANAS – Available everywhere, a bifana is a thin marinated pork steak, served in a crusty roll. A cheap and popular daytime snack which, most of the time, allows me to forget I can’t get a decent sausage roll anywhere in Portugal!
MINI MELONS – Currently widely available in the local markets, these tiny galia melons are not much bigger than an apple, and are so sweet and scented they also act as a very effective air-freshener while they are in the fruit bowl! They taste incredible.
STRAWBERRIES – I have found English strawberries really disappointing in recent years. Portuguese strawberries are how they USED to taste. Dark red and fragrant, and coloured all the way through rather than white in the middle. We are finding these rather irresistible when we see them on the market so it is a good job they are cheap and plentiful. Interestingly, even though Spain is only twenty miles away, the strawberries from there are generally disappointing – not really sure why.
If anyone else has any fabulous food suggestions for us to try, please leave a comment!
Posted in articles | Tags: bifana, melons, moscatel, pingo doce, prawns, strawberries, sweet wine | 3 Comments »
Apology, update and salads.
Firstly, an apology for allowing this blog to lie dormant for a little while. Life has been a little complicated of late, as readers of my other blog www.movingtoportugal.org will be aware. Have a look at the other blog to find out more, but in brief, food poisoning, moving house and having to pop back to the UK to do some work which earns actual money has meant that until today I haven’t had time to log on here and talk food and wine.
Following on from our food poisoning, we had a trip back to the UK and embraced stodgy English cuisine to the full for a few days. We returned to Portugal at the same time as the sunshine so my thoughts have turned to simple, sunny food. Our diet since returning has consisted of lots of cheese, presunto, olives, bread and salads, as well as some simple grilled food on my new Weber Q200 gas barbeque, which is possibly the most exciting gadget I have ever invested in – I already love it dearly!
Melon, Rocket and Presunto
Seeking inspiration for some lunchtime salads, I turned to Nigel Slater, author of some of my favourite cookery books. I love the way the Nigel Slater provides real inspiration in his cookery books rather than just recipes – a quick flick through one of his books and I have usually decided exactly what I am going to cook for the next week. A trip to the local market had resulted in a full salad drawer and vegetable rack, so I needed some ideas for salads and in the last couple of days I have had two of the simplest yet memorable lunches on our new sunny balcony, which I would like to share.
GOATS CHEESE AND FRUIT SALAD: A handful of strawberry pieces, a handful of melon pieces and a ripe rocha pear cut into chunks. I tossed all of this fruit in a dressing of olive oil, walnut oil, lemon juice, balsamic, salt and pepper. I thought it sounded odd but it really wasn’t! I then grilled some thick Portuguese bread on one side, sprinkled with olive oil. I then turned over my bread and added a thick slice of goats cheese to the uncooked side (I used a fat Chevre Blanc sliced in two down the middle,) and grilled it until warm and bubbling. Crispy bread, melting goats cheese and the freshest of fruit. I wasn’t convinced it would work, but it was wonderful. In fact I want some more right now!
MELON, PRESUNTO AND ROCKET: The simplest of things is so often the best. Small balls of melon, peppery rocket and shredded Portuguese presunto (like parma ham,) in the simplest of dressings – white wine vinegar, olive oil, black pepper and the juice from the melon. A classic combination, but it took a flick through the book to make me think to eat it. A delicious salad that just felt like eating good health!
I look forward to working through some more of Nigel Slater’s salad ideas and would love to hear some suggestions from any readers of the blog!
There are links below to the fantastic “30 Minute Cook” by Nigel Slater, and also to my new Weber barbeque – two items which have made my week so far and I heartily recommend!
10 Portuguese food discoveries
As well as trying new recipes, living here has brought us many pleasing day-to-day food discoveries. Moving to another country for a foodie is a bit like being reborn – along with the new dishes you discover you also find lots of little things in the shops to try – all the way from different cuts of meat to the kind of junk food the locals love. Here are ten of those discoveries:
1. Porco Preto: This “black pork” is, I believe, unique to Portugal. With a darker colour and richer flavour it is almost like discovering a different meat. It tastes exactly how pork should taste. We have devoured many different cuts of this delicacy from small tasty ribs (cooked in nothing but oil, salt and pepper – you wouldn’t want to waste the flavour,) to “secreto porco preto” – I have no idea what cut this actually is but it is succulent and delicious, marbled with fat. Perhaps someone could tell me what cut this actually is?
2. Chicken - Yes, I had tried chicken before, but Portuguese chicken does seem to be the perfect prototype which all other chicken tries to emulate.
Chicken marinading in teriyaki
Cheap and plentiful, every piece of chicken you buy seems to taste like the very best freerange, cornfed, organic chicken we used to pay a fortune for in Waitrose in the UK. From the classic piri-piri, to our current favourite, marinated in teriyaki, pepper and sesame seeds, every chicken-based meal in Portugal is a treat.
3. Fruit and Vegetables – You almost have to re-train yourself in produce when you move here from the UK. It is sometimes hard to get used to the fact that what you buy here isn’t perfect in terms of shape and colour and/or genetically modified to within an inch of its life.
There is also no guarantee that the supermarket will have always flown exactly what you are looking for thousands of miles across the world for your convenience. You are, however, left with tomatoes that taste like tomatoes and potatoes that, although looking quite ropey some of the time, taste sweet and perfect and seem to make the best jacket potatoes in the world.
Then there are the sweet carrots and onions that seem to find their way into almost every Portuguese meal, not to mention the local citrus fruits, figs, and creamy tasting walnuts from the Alentejo.
With all this in the winter, I very much look forward to the coming seasons!
4. Cockles - No, not the chewy things in vinegar – fresh cockles in their shells, cooked in oil, lemon, wine and garlic. Incredible. (Unless you get them from the restaurant we tried on the Isla De Tavira that had failed to purge them of sand – not good at all!)
5. Coffee – OK, not really a discovery, we already knew that Portugal’s long term links with Brazil ensure some of the finest coffee in the world, but this HAS to go on the list. Rich, creamy and rocket-fuel strong. It makes all other coffee taste crap. Oh yes, and it only costs about 60cents.
6. Brigadeiro – Cakes here are very very special, but it wouldn’t be imaginative to list Pastel De Nata – most people know the Portuguese make amazing custard tarts. These rich chocolate creations look like large rum truffles, probably contain half a days worth of calories, and along with a Portuguese “bica” espresso can cancel out the effects of too much wine after dinner. An absolute must for anyone with a sweet tooth.
7. Bacalhau A Bras – Bacalhau – dried salted cod – an essential Portuguese ingredient with a reported 365 ways to prepare it. I have to confess we were initially a little dubious about this recipe – salt cod, shredded potatoes, onions, olives and scrambled egg. We now eat this at least once a week. Real comfort food, with a texture which seems to us to be halfway between a chow mein and a special fried rice. Beautiful.
8. Bollycao – mass produced junk-food cake things in packets – these seem to be hugely popular and taste far better that you would expect them to.
Assorted Portuguese junk-food
9. Linguas De Gato – “Cat’s tongue” biscuits. Available in huge packets, these are hugely moreish sweet biscuits with, I think, a slightly orangey edge. As well as tasting great they smell like biscuits used to smell. Great with hot drinks too.
10. Iberico Presunto – I had tasted iberico ham before (like parma ham but made from pigs fed on a diet of acorns,) but it was, at best, an annual treat due to the extreme cost. Well, here in Portugal a small tray is only 2 euros and I think I am developing an addiction. A rich flavour that develops as you chew it, it is almost impossible to describe the deliciousness of this delicacy. I suggest you try some for yourself.
Posted in articles | Tags: bacalhau, bollycao, Brigadeiro, chicken, cockles, coffee, iberico ham, junkfood, porco preto, portuguese food, presunto, waitrose | 10 Comments »
