SENT TO IBERIA
HOW TO GET A TASTE OF PORTUGAL IN 2022
In this extract from his new book, Portugal: The Cookbook, Leandro Carreira explains the history behind the country’s cuisine and gives a recipe for one of its classic sweet treats.
Officially the oldest nation-state in Europe, Portugal has, over centuries of exploration and expansion, brought a global larder of ingredients to its shores — potatoes and sugar from the Americas, and spices from India are all still key to our eating habits today. Added to these, Nordic preservation techniques account for the national tradition of salt-curing fish, especially cod. The scaffold of Portuguese cuisine is built from these influences from abroad, as well as the country’s influence on the rest of the world.
For the most part of our history, we have been a poor country, with limited access to finer ingredients and a populace fed on the things the monarchy and elites rejected: stale bread, bad wine, vegetable trimmings and animal offal (variety meats). But from such limitations, ingenuity inevitably develops, and some of our most appreciated and classic dishes, like Acorda (a sort of bread porridge) and Sarrabulho (pork offal stew) are testament to this deep tradition.
The country was, out of necessity, therefore, an early adopter of “noseto-tail” eating. Cured meats, heads, trotters, tails . . . this is how I grew up, eating fish heads cooked on the grill and boiled, salted pig bones with cornbread.
Despite a history of relative poverty, Portugal has always benefited from a rich and diverse landscape that encompasses fertile, flat farmlands and salt marshes. Just a short drive south from Lisbon, for instance, in the river Sado, rice has been grown since the 1500s.
But the most consumed product in Portugal by far is bacalhau (salt cod), with numbers suggesting an average annual consumption of 6kg per person. It’s no wonder that its nickname is fiel amigo, or “faithful friend”. It is said that there are as many as a thousand different recipes for bacalhau, and although I think this may well be an exaggeration, it cannot be far off the mark.
For years, the only things known to the world that came out of Portugal were port wine from the Douro, pasteis de nata (custard tart) and bacalhau (salt cod). This massive over-simplification has perhaps been standing in the way of a fuller appreciation of the country's many edible delights.
You can find recipes for the many and varied Portuguese dishes — like salt cod, bread porridge, soups, stews, salads and more — in Carreira’s book. But why not start by mastering a classic? Here’s his recipe for pasteis de nata.
Custard tarts Lisbon
In 1982, Maria de Lourdes Modesto said the following of the pastel de nata in her essential cookbook Traditional Portuguese Cooking:
‘These pastries are probably the most important Portuguese speciality ever sold.’ Almost four decades later, they remain the ultimate national symbol of Portugal. Today’s pasteis de nata recipes are adaptations of the original that dates back to the 16th century, when they were made in monasteries and convents all over the country. These palm-sized tarts have a melt-in-the-mouth, fragile, flaky crust and a not-too-sweet custard that is caramelised and darkened in spots. Locals visit their neighbourhood pastry shops in search of the best-tasting pastel de nata. The cake pans used to bake these tarts are not the same as muffin pans — they are smaller and flatter. You can find them online, or use a 10cm round cake pan that is 2cm high.
Preparation time: 3 hours 30 minutes, plus 2 hours 45 minutes resting and overnight chilling Cooking time: 35 minutes
Makes: 35
FOR THE FILLING:
320g caster sugar
50g cornflour
4 egg yolks
600ml whole milk
1 vanilla pod, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
Pared rind of 2 lemons
FOR THE PUFF PASTRY (OR USE READYMADE):
600g plain flour
480g unsalted butter
Sea salt
TO FINISH:
Icing sugar, for dusting Ground cinnamon, for dusting
To make the puff pastry, put the flour into a mound on a work counter. Put 320ml water into a jug or measuring jug and season with a pinch of salt. Make a small well in the middle of the flour and pour in the water. Start mixing the flour into the water to form a smooth dough, then cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
Divide the butter into three equal portions. Lay a large piece of food wrap on a work counter. Cut the first portion of butter into thin slices and lay these on the food wrap in a 20cm square. Put a second piece of food wrap on top of the butter and use a rolling pin to flatten the butter into a thin 20cm square sheet. Repeat with the remaining two portions of butter so that you have three sheets of butter. The butter needs to be cool but pliable when added to the dough, so chill the sheets and remove each one from the fridge only 5 minutes before using it.
Roll the dough out on a floured work counter into a 21cm square. Put a sheet of butter in the centre of the dough, leaving a 5mm border. Fold the dough and butter in half by folding the top half down, then fold in half again by folding from left to right. Roll out into another 21cm square, then transfer to a baking sheet, cover and rest in the fridge for 25 minutes. Repeat with the remaining two sheets of butter. Rest the dough each time you add the butter. When you have used up all the butter, roll the dough into a rectangle 32 x 20cm. Roll the dough tightly into a cylinder, starting from the long edge. Cover the dough in food wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight. If using ready-made puff pastry, roll the pastry out to a rectangle 32 x 20cm. Roll the pastry tightly into a cylinder, cover and rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
To make the filling, put the sugar into a saucepan with 320ml water and heat over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat to medium and boil for 8-10 minutes until it reaches 116C on a thermometer.
Meanwhile, put the cornflour, egg yolks, milk, vanilla pod and seeds and lemon rind into a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Once the sugar has reached temperature, remove the pan from the heat and whisk the syrup into the milk mixture. Mix well, then pour the mixture back into the pan and put over a low heat and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until it thickens. Remove and discard the lemon rind and vanilla pod, then strain through a chinois or sieve into a clean bowl and leave to cool. Cover and chill until needed.
Using a sharp knife, cut slices from the dough cylinder, about 5mm thick, making a downwards cut and not slicing. Each portion should be about 25g, but this will depend on the size of your pans.
Have a bowl of cold water nearby. Arrange all the cake pans on several baking sheets and keep them in the fridge. One at a time, place a circle of pastry in the bottom of each pan, making sure the layers of butter are seen when viewed from above. This ensures the pastry will rise outwards and upwards as it bakes. Wet your thumb in the cold water and press the dough towards the outer edge of the pan, filling up to the rim. Repeat with all the pans, then put them back in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 240C.
Fill the lined pans with the filling, almost to the top. Bake in the oven for 13-15 minutes, or until the filling is almost set with browned spots on the top and the dough is crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and dust with icing sugar and ground cinnamon. Serve warm or cold. These tarts are best eaten on the day they are made.