Food Sparks: Portuguese Homecooking

We tasted some delicious Portuguese homecooking last night and it's hard to let it go by without sharing it. The highlight for me was the cod cakes. My hostess made this for us several years ago and I have yet to taste any cod cakes that tasted better, not even in Newfoundland, the Canadian home of cod cakes.

The Portuguese cod cakes (Bolinhos de bacalhau) were made from dried salted cod fish (soaked in water for at least two days) and potatoes. The proportion of cod to potatoes is the key to the tasty treat. It's likely that the cod cakes we had in most restaurants had more potatoes than cod due to the cost factor so we have never been able to taste anything like the flaky homemade cod cakes our hostess pan fried in a minimum amount of oil. The starch from the potatoes together with some eggs enabled the browning of the cakes without a batter. Onions, garlic and parsley enhanced the flavour. It was served as an appetizer although we would have been perfectly happy gobbling up all the cod cakes had we not been held back by the thought of more food to come. (Recipe)

And indeed there were, as you can see below. Chicken and four different kinds of Portuguese sausages, including blood sausage. Cabbage greens, edoes (or taros), potatoes and carrots complemented the meat. Our hostess drizzled everything on her plate with vinegar and olive oil (that's how it was done in Portugal). I tried it, it certainly added a tang to the food.

Our hostess made the "No knead bread" made famous by the New York Times and it tasted so good we had to restrain ourselves - the texture of the bread was unbelievable. I will have to try making it myself!

We finished with Portuguese egg tarts. These do not have the flaky crusts that we are used to getting in Chinese bakeries. But according to my hostess, both are authentic Portuguese. They are both very good. But this one, without the crust, is healthier.