Portuguese Traditions: Malassadas

The Portuguese have this wonderful little 'Piece of Fried Dough" that we look forward to on any special occasion. A Festa, a Holiday, a Family Party, maybe even just a Great Uncle visiting from Connecticut. Oh, how we looked forward to those visits as they always meant Malassadas.
A Malassada is exactly as I described a delightful little piece of fried dough, but this is the most basic of descriptions for a phenomenal bite into heaven. Let's say this.. Have you ever gone to fair? A fair where your Mom bought you an "Elephant Ear" or maybe a "Doughboy", well that might tease you into thinking that this could be a quick substitute for a Malassada. It's fried dough but it's a fried Bread dough. Malassadas are a fried "Sweetbread Dough". It's like comparing Sliced white bread to Hawaiian bread (hallah, cinnamon roll dough) Not the same, right? Right! Here is the Ultimate in a puff of Heaven, that will forever make you think that "doughboy" is just a poor substitute for the real thing.

Now, every Azorean Household has their own recipe. The recipe for Malassadas differs as much as an Italian family's recipe for "Sauce". This one is a passed on generation to generation recipe from my family. If you find a different one, don't be afraid to try it, It's as different or as the same as the last marinara sauce (gravy) recipe you tried. Just love doing it! That's the best secret ingredient in Everything you make!

Malassadas

4 Cups Flour                 1 Cup Sugar (+1 tsp)           2 Cups Milk

6 Eggs

1 packet Yeast (2 1/4 tsp instant yeast but don/t dissolve) 

1/2 cup Water (100° - 110°)  (water is for the pkg yeast only)

1 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Butter (1/2 stick, melted)

Vegetable Oil for Frying

Put Yeast in 1/2 cup Water with 1 teaspoon Sugar. Let rise (become foamy)

In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter on low temp until butter has melted.

Remove from heat to cool to room temp

Beat Eggs, add Sugar and beat to combine.

Add Warm Butter and Milk, combine well.

Add Yeast combine through.

Add Flour and Salt.

Using paddle attachment or hands; Mix (fold) until well combined and smooth.

Cover with a plastic wrap & cloth and allow to rise to double in size.

(If your kitchen is cold, warm oven to 200° and turn off. Place dough in warmed oven to rise)

To Fry: Use a Deep fryer at 350°f or use a Deep Pan and warm 4-5 cups Vegetable Oil to 350° on Medium high heat (8 on electric stove)

Take pieces of risen dough and stretch to desired size. Place piece of dough in oil and allow to fry for 5-7 minutes. *If dough sticks to your hands wipe hands with a tbsp oil and it wont stick* 

Watch for color, you want a golden brown. If they get color too quickly the center will be raw.

Turn your oil down to Medium Heat. (5 or 6 on electric stove)

Repeat for all of the dough.

Once dough is fried place in a paper bag and coat with Sugar

 (may add cinnamon, although not traditional)

Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and keep warm in 200° oven.

Most of all Enjoy!!! 

***If on a weeknight, you'd like to make the substitute ones...grab a ball of pizza dough at the market or your local pizzeria and fry it up as you would the Malassada dough. Dredge in Sugar and you have a quick and easy substitute, good enough for a weeknight or a quick Sunday morning :)

Comforting Traditional Dishes: Portuguese Stew

This is a page from the Grandmother's Unwritten Cookbook.

Readers you will be tasting my heritage and genuine spirit in this dish.

When preparing it, I thought about how different it is when looking at my normal "Comfort Food" Dishes. While I truly love this dish, I know there are readers who will question the ability of the ingredients to meld into a true Entree.
Please believe me when I say it does and it does WELL!!

My Grandparents came from the Azores. A group of islands off of coast of Portugal. 

To most in the Northeaster US,  the Azores is what they think of when they say they are "Portuguese". When I moved to South Florida, I quickly realized that "being Portuguese" did not necessarily mean the Azores. I now for the first time in my adult life, have to differentiate myself by saying I am an Azoreana. In South Florida there are an abundance of cultures who identify themselves "Portuguese". Mainland Portuguese, Brazilian, some Argentinian and Cape Verdean are just the beginning of the melting pot that is "Portuguese" here.

So now when I speak about food, I can no longer assume someone of Brazilian descent, knows the dishes I am referring to. While the flavors and bold tones may be similar, the products, ingredients and preparations can be very different. I can only distinguish my Portuguese "Traditional" dishes as what I have learned them to be. The handed down to me versions I received from my Azorean Grandmother.

Now, the "Comforting" factor of these dishes, comes from eating (always eating) in my VoVo's kitchen any chance I could get. To her, cooking was her expression of love.

 "Ah mi vida, mi coração, o que tu quer comer? Que você comeu? Vir aqui e comer." LOL

 Translated looseley: "My life, my heart, What do you want to eat? Did you eat? Come here and eat."
She would say all 3 of those sentences as if they were one. There was no answering, and even if you did, she was making something or putting out a plate. even before you could mutter out a word.

Those memories play in mind every single time I prepare something that even remotely resembles her food. The warmth, the hugs, the great big Smile whenever I entered the room, were all the beginning of a very beautiful life of love. She really knew how to make someone feel loved.
I was truly Blessed.

Today I share with you a recipe that is very traditional.

It's called "Cozida Portugues" or Portuguese Stew.

While I went away from the "stewing" part of the recipe. I kept the ingredients fairly the same and made it my own. I decided to Roast it rather than stew it. The reasoning behind this is because I never liked the idea of drowning my Chourico in tomato sauce. I just didn't like the texture.

Roasting everything brings out the flavors so separately that each ingredient can be well identified and contributes it's own merit to the dish! 

Portuguese Stew

3-4 Medium to Large White Potatoes (large dice) May sub (8-10) baby red bliss potatoes

Olive Oil for bottom of pan (2-3 tbsp)

1 lg Yellow Onion Sliced (Cut onion in half then slice and separate.

1/2 Green Pepper diced small

2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Black Pepper

3 tbsp Garlic chopped

2 tbsp Red Crushed Pepper (Sub: 2 tsp Dry Red Pepper flakes)

*Garlic and Red Pepper together before adding.

1 lb Linguica or Chouriço (can sub Good Italian Sausage or Polish Sausage)

1 lb Fresh Green Beans (cleaned and ends cut) *important, do not use canned beans too mushy.

3/4 cup Chicken Stock (or White Wine or Beer)

1/2 cup Tomato Sauce (or leftover marinara sauce)

Heat oven to 400°f

In a Baking dish add 2 -3 tbsp Olive oil to coat bottom.

Add Potatoes, Onion & Green Peppers.

Sprinkle with the Salt and Pepper.

Top with  1 lb Chouriço or Linguiça 

Cut into bite size pieces.
(remember it shrinks so not too small)
You want the Chouriço / Sausage on top of the potatoes, because as it roasts, the juices from the sausage with drip down over the potatoes flavoring them. Yum!!

Dot the whole mixture with dabs of the Garlic and Red Pepper mixture.

Oven Roast at 400° for 30-35 minutes.

Add: 1 lb FRESH Green Beans

Combine:

3/4 cup Chicken Stock (or Beer or White Whine, your preference)

1/2 cup Tomato Sauce (can sub leftover marinara)

Pour over top .

Toss everything together. Combine as best as you can.

Top with 2 tsp Cilantro chopped or Flat Leaf Parsley chopped (Your preference)

Roast for additional 30 minutes or until Beans and potatoes are Fork Tender.

Serve with crusty bread and ENJOY!!!

A Perfect Friday Meal: Caldeirada Bacalhau (Codfish Stew)

Friday's of my childhood were always Fish Fridays. Well into my adulthood I kept with the tradition. I love Fish on Fridays for whatever reason. Maybe because it's what I'm used to but if it's Friday and I'm not eating fish, it's just doesn't seem like Friday.

Portuguese Codfish Stew

Ingredients:

1lb to 1.5 lb Salted Cod 

*I used the boxed kind, but your Seafood guy may have something else. Now, if you;d like to use a sturdy "white" fish (haddock, tilapia etc...that works too, just add salt to the broth to accommodate)

*2 Nights before preparing the dish: Take Cod from it's packaging and place in a shallow dish that give it room (not too tight fitting. 

Add enough water to the dish to completely submerge the fish.

Soak the fish for 2 days. (changing water at least twice per day. I do it 3 times, but I don't work outside the home)

On the day of prep : drain the water from the fish if the water is still cloudy rinse the fish again, and soak it until ready to prepare.

Remaining Ingredients:

Olive Oil (for bottom of the pan)

1 Small Onion (diced small)

1 Large Onion (preferably spanish onion) Sliced in "strands"

(Cut the onion in half, then slice the onion in slices and separate the pieces into strands)

3 cloves Garlic (chopped finely) (or 2 tbsp already chopped garlic)

2 tbsp Red Pepper

 (I use Pimenta Moida or wet crushed red pepper. You can use 1 tbsp dry pepper flakes if it's what you have)  

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp Paprika (I use "Saffroa" in the same amount)

2 (10oz) Cans of Diced Tomatoes

1 cup White Wine

1 cup Seafood Stock (may substitute 4 oz Clam juice and 4 oz water)

2 lbs Potatoes (peeled and sliced)

( I used 3 medium russet potatoes)

1 tsp Parsley

Instructions:

In a large heated Pot, add the olive oil, "diced" Onion, Garlic, Red Pepper and Paprika. Saute until the onion is translucent. Once translucent, add the slices of the Large Onion, the Tomatoes and the Vinegar. Simmer over medium heat until all comes to a boil. Add Wine and Stock, bring to simmer again. 

Taste. Does it need salt, pepper? Anything? If so, add it now.

Add the Potatoes. Arrange evenly around the pot. so it looks like a layer of potatoes floating in the sauce.

Add Cod on top of Potatoes. Be sure there is stock enough to just cover the fish. If not, add water to the stock.

Cover and simmer on medium to medium low heat for 40 mins.

Once potatoes are cooked through, the dish is done.

The Cod should be flaking and ready, add the parsley & stir through. Leave in the covered pot, on a warm stove until ready to serve.

Serve Family Style with Crusty Bread to soak up that seafood juicy goodness.

This is a very traditional dish for Azoreans and very close to my heart. 

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did sharing it with you.

If you have any questions at all, let me know here or on Facebook.

And if you just Love it please Pin it for your friends!

Quick and Tasty Chourico & Peppers Quesadilla

I love Friday evenings. It's a quick and easy night. Although i try to make what I post quick and easy, sometimes there are just those that stand out more than others. This will be a Faster than you can imagine meal that will get you raves in the kitchen! These quesadillas have 5 ingredients and couldn't be quicker and full of flavor. A Portuguese version of a Mexican classic. A classic Quesadilla with a spicy Portuguese sausage. The Chourico contains its own spices, such as garlic and smoked paprika. This is a recipe you can save for football, soccer, baseball, afterschool, or a busy Friday evening as I did. It's also great the next day to tote for lunch!

Enjoy!

Chourico & Peppers Quesadilla

Ingredients:

1 Stick Chourico (Portuguese sausage)

½ Green Pepper sliced in strips

½ cup onion chopped

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese

2 Medium Tortillas

Instructions:

In a sauté Pan

Saute Chourico until browned.

Add peppers and onion.

Saute mixture until peppers and onions are translucent.

Set aside.

Warm a non-stick skillet over medium heat.

Lay Tortilla in skillet, flat.

Sprinkle ¼ cup cheese on one side of tortilla.

Lower the heat to Medium-Low.

Add Chourico and peppers mixture on top of cheese.

Add additional ¼ cup cheese on top of Chourico and Peppers mixture.

Fold tortilla over to cover meat and cheese mixture.

Turn tortilla to ensure brown on both sides.

Keep on heat until cheese appears to ooze out of seams.

Remove from heat

Place on cutting board.

Let rest 1 minute.

Cut tortilla with a “V” to retrieve 3 triangles.

Serve.

Quesadillas can be served alone or with salsa, guacamole, sour cream etc…

Play with it…Enjoy!

**A note about the “Chourico”.

There is also a Spanish Sausage called “Chorizo” it can be substituted here.

Any protein really can be used here. A precooked Rotisserie chicken is Great in this.

Play with it. Make it your own!

Portuguese Braised Favas

An enchanting recipe steeped in tradition in my family is Favas. It is a little bean (actually big bean) that is lovingly braised for hours and hours in an Azorean customary marinade. This marinade is the base for thousands of Azorean dishes.

Vinho de Alhos is a delightful and smart combination of spice, acid, and olive oil that can compliment anything from a heavy Pot Roast to the lightest of Cod Fish. It's a cook's "liquid gold".

Vinho de Alhos consists of a few tablespoons of a good olive oil (portuguese or spanish). One with a very fragrant tone. To that you add minced or chopped onion and garlic (depending on the texture of the dish), a tsp or so of Saffroa (portuguese equivalent of saffron. Extracted from Safflowers, instead of crocus) a tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar. The combination of the sweet from the apple and the acid of the vinegar permeates the protein and breaks it down to tender, but doesn't macerate to where it's bitter. The Pièce de résistance ingredient is a wet red hot pepper marmalade or paste called "pimenta moída". This is Vinho de Alhos.

The combination of flavors when sauteeing in a pan will automatically send you to an Azorean seaside.

Once you have mastered Vinho de Alhos. You can master almost any Portuguese (Azorean) dish. Let's make Braised Favas!

Braised Favas

Ingredients:

1 lb Dried or Fresh Fava Beans

3 tblsp Olive Oil

1/4 lb Chourico diced (optional)

1 Onion (yellow, halved and sliced)

3 Garlic cloves (chopped)

1 tsp Pimenta Muida (may sub 1 tsp dry red pepper flakes)

1 tsp Saffroa (may sub Paprika or 1/2 amt of Saffron)

1 Tblsp Tomato Paste

Salt & Pepper to taste

2 cups Chicken Stock

2 cups Red Wine

Instructions:

If using Dry Favas: Soak favas in water overnight before braising.

If using Fresh Favas: Peel and remove outer shell revealing whole beans.

On day of preparation: 

Heat 3 Tblsp Olive Oil in Large Dutch Oven.

Add chourico. 

Saute chourico, until golden brown and renderings release their flavor.

Remove chourico, set aside.

Add onion. Saute until translucent. 

Add garlic, pimenta muida, vinegar and saffroa.

Stir until combined.

Add back chourico.

Add favas.

Saute until favas well seasoned.

Add Wine. 

Scrape bottom of pan to deglaze.

Add tomato paste. Stir until combined.

Add Chicken Stock.

Cover and Braise for 3 hours, or until beans are tender.

As liquid evaporates, add 2 cups of water to maintain liquid level.

The finished product is a fantastic side dish or buffet nosh. You can even add it to a catering menu as a very Rustic Appetizer. It is served with a crusty bread as seen above. Absolutely delicious! Comfort Food Heaven!

Queijadas, Portuguese Crustless Custard Tartlets

Queijadas

A delightful little Mediterranean bite. A Portuguese pastry that is steeped in Azorean Tradition. A smooth, sweet mouthful you will find yourself making for parties and gatherings because they are easy to make and have a short ingredient list. Enjoy!

Grab the super Easy Recipe from our New Website!