• Eat Your Books

  This cookbook was listed in Publisher Weekly’s Best Food Books of 2009.

  This cookbook was listed in Cooking With Amy's Best Cookbooks of 2009.

  See Recipe Girl's Recipe Girl's review of this cookbook. And check out sample recipes for Green olive dip and Orange cake.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Orange cake (Bolo de laranja)

  • sgump on July 06, 2011

    Olive oil should be listed as an ingredient, since it's a key component. The Portuguese name is "bolo de laranja"; it's properly styled an orange-olive oil cake. Looks delicious!

  • yassoma on September 16, 2016

    This was very delicious and moist, but the flavor got boring fast. I've made this months ago, and usually when I like something, I remake it, but with this cake... I suppose the olive oil/orange flavor is quite novel to me.

• White gazpacho with crab salad (Gaspacho branco com salada de caranguejo)

  • L.Nightshade on March 25, 2018

    I’ve made this twice now, once as written and once with substitutes for the crab salad. The original version: The gazpacho is ladled around a little pile of greens, and a salad of crabmeat, minced carrot, chopped celery, piri-piri sauce, brandy, and milk mayonnaise (due to time constraints, I just used Sir Kensington avocado oil and lime mayonnaise, which is the only type of store-bought mayo I can stand, but I need to try the milk mayonnaise one day). Dee-licious! The altered version: For our anniversary dinner I made this gazpacho again, but garnished it with slices of smoked salmon and salmon roe atop the baby greens. Also wonderful! The flavors of the gazpacho are subtle, but enticing. Don’t be tempted to go low-fat and omit the olive oil; I tasted it before and after the addition, and it adds a world of richness and really brings out the other flavors.

• Sea bass with fennel and orange (Robalo com funcho e laranja)

  • L.Nightshade on November 04, 2013

    No sea bass here, so I substituted halibut. This sauce is so lovely, I'm sure it would work on other white fish too. The proportions of the sauce are perfect; it's really a great combination of flavors. It comes together so quickly, then comes out so pretty! Perfect for any night of the week. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=468444083270695&l=a354d70dc1

  • Zosia on March 12, 2016

    Easy enough for a weeknight meal, this light and bright tasting dish would make excellent company fare also.

• Cheese-stuffed pork tenderloin (Lombinho de porco recheado com queijo)

  • L.Nightshade on November 04, 2013

    We use a knife steel down the center to make a nice round tunnel. The recipe calls for stuffing the tunnel with firm grated cheese, but I chose instead to push in alternating cubes of pecorino and manchego. It just seemed like easier stuffing. I did my best to cut my tenderloin at the "jaunty angle" Leite prescribed, then drizzled the meat with the sauce, and topped it with a little chopped parsley. If there is anything that outshines the compelling smell of the amped up red pepper paste as the tenderloin hits the skillet, it's got to be the taste of the pork, with the sauce on the outside and the cheese on the inside. I served roasted carrots and turnips on the plate, and a green salad on the side. A complete winner for the senses and a worthwhile dinner party dish, to be sure.

• Grilled chicken breasts with spicy coconut sauce (Frango naufragado)

  • L.Nightshade on October 09, 2013

    I started marinating the chicken breasts the night before, so they were in over 24 hours. Mr. NS grilled them in the big egg. The coconut milk we purchased for the marinade and the sauce was like no other I've ever used. It was 100% solid, no liquid at all. Consequently, the sauce was a bit thick, and not very attractive. But the taste was wonderful! With the long marinade, the chicken really absorbed the flavors. For a side, I cooked some peas with leeks and saffron. We had some leftover chicken without the sauce, and Mr. "I hate leftovers" Nightshade remarked on how delicious it was the next day. I have to say that this dish wasn't what I imagined to be Portuguese flavors. We certainly see Portuguese influence in dishes from around the world, and it only makes sense that there would also be some cross-pollination.

• Skate with leeks in saffron broth (Raia com alho francês e caldo de açafrāo)

  • L.Nightshade on November 04, 2013

    I used rock cod and red peppers. Our vintage propane stove was being a bit finicky, and didn't want to provide anything but a raging flame or a little sputter. I chose the sputter, and my sauce took much longer to reduce than the 10 minutes mentioned. No complaints, as the saffron had all the extra time to infuse. Although the taste remained delicate, it was rich and pronounced. Leeks, shallots, and then bell pepper, are sautéed separately. The fish is dredged in flour and seared in oil. Each bowl gets a scoop of the vegetables, a ladle of the broth, then a piece of fish. This would have been a fairly quick dish, if our stove hadn't been so stubborn. It was certainly delicious, and dinner-party worthy. Definitely goes into the do-again list. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=473371382777965&l=8e3d419d60

• Grilled shrimp with piri-piri sauce (Camarões grelhados com piri-piri)

  • L.Nightshade on November 04, 2013

    Requires piri piri sauce made in advance, and then a marinade time. Aside from that... Well, isn't this the best quick shrimp dish ever! Having made the piri-piri sauce in advance (a couple weeks ago, as directed), I threw the shrimp in in the morning. They went on the grill for a few minutes before dinner, and there we had it! A salad tossed together and dinner was served. I did put a little bowl of piri-piri sauce out, but the shrimp had absorbed so much flavor, it wasn't even touched. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=474429499338820&l=f55a0dff86

• Black olive risotto (Rizoto de azeitonas pretas)

  • L.Nightshade on March 25, 2018

    Page 182. I used Moroccan oil-cured olives (not too salty), homemade stock, parsley from our garden, and grano padano instead of parmesan. While grano padano is a little milder, I think it’s an appropriate substitute. While this had the typical comforting quality of risotto, the mascarpone made it extra creamy, and the olives gave it a bit of piquancy. It was well appreciated as part of our anniversary dinner.

• Grilled beef kebabs with Madeira, bay leaf, and garlic (Espetada)

  • L.Nightshade on November 04, 2013

    We're away for the weekend and didn't bring madeira, so I had to make a substitution. For some reason, we had several bottles of sherry here, and since the recipe called for a dry madeira, I used a mix of fino and oloroso. Sadly, as good as the marinade was, our meat wasn't the best. Supposedly sirloin from the local grocery here, it didn't meet our expectations. Like any dish, the quality of the meat is crucial. I'd like to try this again with madeira and a better piece of meat.

• Scrambled eggs with asparagus and fresh cod (Espargos verdes à brás com bacalhau fresco)

  • L.Nightshade on November 05, 2013

    Creamy eggs with onions, garlic, asparagus, and fried potatoes, are placed atop the spears of asparagus, and make a soft landing for the seared cod. I used the suggested herb oil from page 40, which consisted of a bouquet from the garden heated in Tuscan olive oil for 8 to 10 minutes. This was a very nice addition and I used more of the oil for roasting vegetables at dinner time. All in all, a lovely meal for brunch, or any time.

• Orange salad with pine nuts (Salada com laranja e pinhões)

  • L.Nightshade on March 25, 2018

    Page 164. Because I only had very thinly sliced prosciutto, I crisped it up. This is a fresh, easy salad, with a lovely combinations of flavors. Even though it’s spring now, spring produce isn’t really around yet, and this is a fine salad for winter ingredients.

• Punched potatoes (Batatas a murro)

  • L.Nightshade on November 04, 2013

    We had red potatoes, quite a bit larger than called-for. I sliced them in half and put the sliced side down on a faintly oiled baking dish. Proceeded as written from there. Why are these potatoes so creamy? Leite mentions the creamy texture in the intro to the recipe, but I wasn't expecting anything different from a usual roasted potato. Does the salt on the skin do something? Anyway, I don't know the answer, but I loved these potatoes and the technique.

• Baked custard tarts (Pastéis de nata)

  • thekitchenchronicles on February 02, 2015

    Just fantastic. Not completely 100% authentic but close enough and utterly delicious. Dough is a little fussy to prepare but well worth the effort. Wrote it up on my blog: http://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2015/01/30/portuguese-custard-tarts-pasteis-de-nata/

  • Zosia on March 31, 2016

    This recipe doesn't produce the characteristic blistered surface but infused with lemon, vanilla and cinnamon, the flavour was lovely and I was quite happy to use store-bought puff pastry for the shells.

• Amped-up red pepper paste (Massa de pimentão forte)

  • Zosia on March 31, 2016

    Smoky and garlicky, this paprika-based paste is incredibly flavourful. It's easy to put together and versatile, suitable for all proteins and fabulous on potatoes too. It features prominently in the book's recipe for "Quick Weekday Roast Chicken with Potatoes". The recipe can be found here: http://leitesculinaria.com/83003/recipes-red-pepper-paste.html

  • Stephenn31 on March 11, 2023

    An easy versatile excellent sauce - I used for roast potatoes

• Rice from the pan (Arroz da panela)

  • Zosia on March 31, 2016

    This makes a delicious pot of perfectly cooked and very flavourful rice. I loved the idea of enriching it with the previous day's leftovers; it was particularly good mixed with the book's "black-eyed peas with onions and red pepper". I used Spanish chorizo in place of the serrano ham.

• Corn bread (Broa de milho)

  • Zosia on March 12, 2016

    I ran into a little trouble with this yeast-raised bread - wrong cornmeal, too much flour - so it was quite dry. The flavour was good though (do watch the salt if you're using something other than Diamond Kosher brand) so all was not lost and the book offers several recipes for repurposing the loaves.

• Seared broccoli rabe with garlic (Grelos salteados)

  • Zosia on March 31, 2016

    The vegetable is steamed rather than blanched before searing with good results and fewer dishes to clean since the same pan can be used for both steps.

• Black-eyed peas with onions and red pepper (Feijão frade com cebolas e pimento vermelho)

  • Zosia on March 12, 2016

    Simple but delicious side dish that highlighted the inherent sweetness of the black-eyed peas. Soaking, then cooking in stock added an extra layer of flavour. This was delicious as is, tossed with greens and lemon juice, and mixed into some leftover rice.

• Spinach with toasted bread crumbs (Migas de espinafres)

  • Zosia on March 12, 2016

    My corn bread (recipe from this book) may not have turned out perfectly, but toasted, the flavour and texture were phenomenal and added a new and delicious twist to some garlicky sauteed spinach.

• Mini salt cod sandwiches (O McSilva)

  • Zosia on March 31, 2016

    This is a fun take on McDonald's Filet-o-fish made with a tasty patty of salt cod bound by a pancake-like batter that included some of the cod's cooking water. The patty was very crisp and firm but moist with a not too fishy flavour. I used the book's remarkable "milk mayonnaise" for the tartar sauce. Will definitely make this again.

• Quick weekday roast chicken with potatoes (Frango assado com batatas)

  • Zosia on March 31, 2016

    With a paste to make and a 90min. roasting time, I wouldn't describe this as quick or something I would consider making on one of my typical weeknights but with some advanced preparation and a spatchcocked bird, it was doable. The book's recipe for "amped-up red pepper paste", a smoky, paprika-based rub, was responsible for the incredible flavour of the chicken and potatoes and the success of this dish.

  • Stephenn31 on March 11, 2023

    Only did the potatoes as a side to a spicy pork dish from the same book but they were excellent and a nice change from usual roasted potatoes - though a bit less crispy which was maybe due to being in the lower rack for the first part of the cooking period

• Trout and presunto Napoleons (Trutas à moda moderna de Bragança)

  • Zosia on August 23, 2018

    Lots of flavour with very little effort. It was a quick weeknight meal for family so there were no stacked fish napoleons here but it still looked very appealing and was a big hit so will be made again. This dish is featured on the book's cover.

• Lemon-mint chicken soup (Canja de galinha)

  • Zosia on August 24, 2018

    Delicious soup that was quite quick to make. Poaching the chicken pieces in broth deepened the soup's chicken flavour and the lemon and mint added brightness and freshness. Not everyone appreciated the crunchy carrots - I liked them - so I would consider adding them earlier with the pasta.

  • lkgrover on May 26, 2017

    Great flavor!

• Green soup (Caldo verde)

  • Zosia on March 12, 2016

    Little touches - sauteed onions and garlic, chicken stock in place of water and a drizzle of fried chourico pan drippings - add lots of flavour to this classic soup.

• Pumpkin soup with spicy seeds (Sopa de abóbora com pevides picantes)

  • Zosia on March 12, 2016

    Very flavourful thanks to the first step of roasting all of the vegetables. It's worth it to put the pureed soup through a sieve for a perfectly smooth and velvety texture. The spiced seeds added great texture and were a delicious snack on their own.

• Milk "mayonnaise" (Maionese de leite)

  • Zosia on March 31, 2016

    An egg-free milk and oil emulsion, it's not quite as flavourful as a basic mayonnaise and is a little looser as well, but it is a great canvas for whatever flavours you would like to add. I used an immersion blender and actually started to despair that the thin, frothy mixture would ever thicken but it finally did with the addition of the last few tablespoons of oil. The recipe can be found here: http://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/1347389/milk-mayonnaise

• Broccoli rabe with toasted bread crumbs (Migas de grelos)

  • lkgrover on March 18, 2020

    I made this with broccolini. The toasted breadcrumbs give an interesting flavor & crunch. Will make again, with broccolini & adapted for other vegetables.

• Smoked paprika oil (Azeite em infusão de colorau fumado)

  • lawrencecharcuterie on March 19, 2021

    A very nice oil to have on hand for fried eggs, sauteed veggies, etc. Easy to make. Also a good technique for making other flavored oils

• Olive oil-poached fresh cod with roasted tomato sauce (Confitado de bacalhau fresco com tomatada assada)

  • Kduncan on October 22, 2019

    Really easy recipe, but a bit time intensive. Served with rice. Overall good for the time/energy it takes.

• Spicy Azorean garlic-roasted pork (Torresmos Açoreanos)

  • Stephenn31 on March 11, 2023

    I only had time to marinate from the same morning but it turned out well. Lots of paprika so it was good I was using some that had to be used up anyway

• Sweet-sour carrots (Conserva de cenoura)

  • Stephenn31 on March 11, 2023

    Excellent and easy side dish

• Fine Cooking

  He spotlights this new Portuguese fare and rounds out his recipe collection with plenty of classic family favorites, like spicy Grilled Shrimp with Piri-Piri Sauce, a Portuguese beach shack standard.

  Full review