Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #163663 in Books
• Published on: 1994-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Synopsis
Gathers Portuguese-style recipes for appetizers, soups, meats, poultry, fish, shellfish, vegetables, rice, salads, breads, and desserts, and discusses the wines and cuisine of Portugal.

From the Author
My love affair with all things Portuguese.
If I were Shirley Maclaine, I'd say that I'd been Portuguese in an earlier life. Because for me it was love at first sight (or should I say love at first bite?). I made my first trip to Portugal in 1964, having been sent by an American travel magazine to profile Lisbon. I immediately felt at home, not only in Lisbon but wherever I traveled in this colorful little country. I have since made 87 return trips to Portugal and I never fail to discover something new-- a new walled town, a new Roman ruin, a new recipe. After some 20 trips to Portugal, I decided that too few people knew the delicious Portuguese food, which is distinctly different from the Spanish. An editor finally agreed and I set to work, criss-crossing Portugal from North to South, interviewing good home cooks, bakers, butchers, chefs, hotel school professors and Portuguese friends. I spent two years researching the book, testing all the recipes in terms of American equipment and ingredients, and another year writing the book. My efforts were rewarded, for THE FOOD OF PORTUGAL was named "Best Foreign Cookbook of the Year" in the Tastemaker Cookbook Awards. What pleases me even more are the letters of praise I've received from Portuguese men and women now living in this country who use the book because "it reminds them of home." I would urge everyone who does not know this wonderful little country to go there and see (taste) for themselves. Sample the exquisite cheeses, the fine wines, the air-cured hams,the stone-oven breads and fish so fresh it practically swims onto your plate. You won't be disappointed!

Customer Reviews

Informative guide to Portuguese cooking
This author is obviously very fond of Portugal and its people, which gives her book an authentic feel. There are many very useful recipes, mainly written from an American perspective so some ingredients are difficult to find in the UK. Still, it gives plenty of advice about finding alternatives. Some of the recipes are for the sort of dish that would only be found in the more classy establishments and I wish that she had included some recipes for some down to earth Portuguese favourites, such as bitoque, pasteis de massa terra or pasteis de nata. In spite of that little gripe, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and trying out some of the recipes.

The food "of Portugal"?!
This book is thoroughly US-centred, which is annoying since it is sold as Portuguese cooking. The opening sentence reads "You might think that a country no bigger than Alabama would produce few gastronomic surprises, a cuisine of limited scope" It would have never occurred to me to compare Portugal with Alabama, much less to be prejudiced about its food on account of its size! Then the recipes substitute Portuguese ingredients for American ones all the time, which makes you wonder what the point was to write this book...In short, if you are among the 96% of this world who are not American nor live in the US, and if you are really interested in PORTUGUESE cooking, buy another book.

It's the bible of Portuguese cooking
The Food of Portugal is the most complete and authentic Portuguese cookbook I've ever had the pleasure of coming across. Being Portuguese, I was doubtful that anyone could capture the food I grew up eating. But recipe after recipe proved me wrong. Even my mother begrudgingly admitted they were delicious. And that's no small feat.