As with most prawn and shrimp dishes, the secret is to extract as much flavour as possible from the shells and heads. To cook with shelled shrimp meat is no more than a allusive reference to the unique taste of this remarkable seafood. Frozen at sea prawns are the most practical way of guaranteeing good results as sourcing fresh prawns is usually rather tricky. This recipe achieves its richness and flavour through the preparation of a stock used to cook the rice. The same stock can be used as a basis for a prawn velouté soup (creme de camarão).

Prawn Rice/Arroz de Camarão

400gr of medium prawns (raw, shells and heads on)

1 cup of long grain rice

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup of dry white wine

1 tsp tomato paste

Dried chilli flakes (optional)

3 tbsp chopped coriander

Serves 4

1. Shel and devein the prawns. Rinse thoroughly with cold water and salt the prawn meat.

2. In a large pot, fry the shells in hot butter for 3 or 4 minutes then add the wine and reduce. Add 2 cups of water, salt and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. In the meantime gently fry the onions in the olive oil until translucent, add the garlic, chilli flakes if using and a couple of minutes later the tomato paste.

4. Blend the shell mixture with a hand blender or food processor and strain, pressing on the shells to release all juices. You should get a rich flavourful orange liquid.

5. Add the stock to the onions, blend and bring to a boil. Add water to make 3 cups of liquid.

6. Add the rice and cook at medium heat sitting occasionally, add more stock or water if necessary. Just before the rice is cooked and you achieve a rich creamy consistence add the prawns and cook for another minute. Check seasoning, add the coriander, stir gently and serve immediately.

This recipe is a basic rabbit stew with a flavour twist provided by the sweet and complex aroma of dried figs. Rabbit has a relatively subtle flavour and the figs here add a layer of fruitiness which makes for a unique combination. As with all good stews, any left overs should be deboned and make it into small home made pies (empadas)!

Serves 4-6

1 Rabbit

1 Cup of dry white wine

12 Dried figs

1 cup of cubed pancetta

1 Onion (cut in thin slices)

1 Bouquet garni

2 Cloves of garlic (minced)

2 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

1. Rinse the figs and soak in cold water for 10 minutes.

2. Joint the rabbit (or ask your butcher to do it) into individual portions (legs, thighs, chunks of saddle), lightly season with sea salt and pepper and set aside.

3. In a casserole or oven proof deep pan, fry the finely chopped onion until translucent then add the pancetta. Cook until fat from the pancetta is rendered and add garlic. Cook for another couple of minutes and then add the rabbit. With a wooden spoon mix so that all pieces of rabbit brown slightly.

4. Add the white, cook for a couple of minutes at high heat then add bouquet garni cover, the drained figs and put in a medium high oven. Cook for an hour mixing, occasionally. If the stew becomes dry, add more wine or a mix of wine and water.

5. Check seasoning and serve hot with, potatoes, white rice or polenta.

The Algarve region in the south of Portugal is renowned for guaranteed good weather, high levels of tourism but also excellent sea food, especially if one avoids restaurants serving chips with everything… This is an extremely simple recipe for small squid which brings out their natural salty taste and soft texture. Like with all squid cooking, timing is everything!

Serve with simple boiled potatoes and greens.

750gr small cleaned squid (frozen works fine)

1 large bunch of fresh coriander roughly chopped

5 cloves of garlic (minced to a paste – see note below)

3 tbsp olive oil

2 bay leaves

Serves 4

1. Rinse and thoroughly dry the squid. It is critical that there is as little water as possible in the squid as they will release their own moisture. Carefully tap dry with paper towels several times.

2. In a large skillet heat up the olive oil, add the garlic and bay leaves and stir for a minute being careful not to brown.

3. Add the squid and fry for 5 minutes stirring and turning occasionally. Finally add the coriander, mix and serve hot.

Note: to achieve a smooth garlic paste, finely chop then add a tea spoon of table salt and crush with the blade of the knife against your chopping board. Do this several times until you achieve a paste consistency.

Makes 12 small empadas

For the filling 

1 Pheasant

1 cup of cider

2 shallots (finely chopped)

1 cup of smoked bacon cubes

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp allspice

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp tomato paste

12 pitted black olives

Salt and pepper

For the shortcrust pastry

Use your favourite shortcrust recipe but here’s one based on Escoffier’s bible “Le Guide Culinaire”!

250 gr sifted flour

5 g salt

125 butter

1 dl water

1 egg yolk

Method for the filling

1. Debone the pheasant so that you end up with meat from breast and thighs (no skin).

2. Heat the olive oil in a medium sized pan and add the finely chopped shallots.

3. Cook the shallots for a couple of minutes at medium heat and then add the bacon. Fry until most of the bacon fat is rendered (take care not to burn the shallots).

4. Add the pheasant (chopped into small cubes), fry and stir for a couple of minutes then add the flour and keep stirring.

5. Add cider, let alcohol evaporate then add tomato paste and keep stirring. You should achieve a smooth slightly thickened  sauce enveloping the pieces of pheasant and bacon. Set aside.

Method for the pastry

1. Make a well in the flour and place the salt, butter and water in the centre.

2. Mix until (with fingertips) until it forms a paste.

3. Mix for a moment then knead it twice, form into a ball and keep in the fridge wrapped in cling film.

(For those of you with a Thermomix, the basic shortcrust pastry recipe in the TM book is easy to make and works perfectly for these pies though you might need a double recipe)

Final assemblage

1. Generously butter small pie moulds (muffin moulds).

2. Roll pastry to about 3 mm thickness on a floured surface and cut to fit the base and sides of your mould.

3. Cut circles with a pastry cutter or glass/cup to cover the tops.

4. Place pastry on the moulds, fill up to 3/4 with the pheasant, add a pitted olive and cover with a circle of pastry, wetting the edge with water beforehand for sealing.

5. Once pies are assembled brush top with an egg wash (egg yolk mixed with a tso of water) and put in a 180C oven for about 20 minutes.

Mexilhões à Bulhão Pato/Mussels Bulhão Pato

A variation of the classic clam dish, this works equally as well with mussels. This recipe based be used as a base for preparing mussels vinaigrette.

500gr fresh (live) clams

1 cup roughly chopped coriander

2 finely chopped cloves garlic

3 whole dried chillies (optional)

1 juiced lemon

3 tbsp olive oil

1. Wash the mussels in fresh water to remove “beard”.

2. Heat up the olive oil in a large pot, add chillies, garlic and stir for a minute (do not overcook).

3. Add mussels at high heat and close pot, shaking occasionally until clams are cooked (i.e. until the shells open).

4. Add lemon juice and coriander. Toss and serve immediately with fresh white bread or toasted bread.

Bacalhau à lagareiro

1 tranche of salted cod
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic (sliced)
1 bay leaf or fresh rosemary
400 gr small new potatoes
Sea salt
Servers 2 people

1. Soak the cod for 2-3 days, depending on thickness, changing the water twice a day. Use cold water in a large container and follow protocol by placing the cod tranche always skin up. You can make small knife incisions through the sides to let water infiltrate the fish and speed up the process.

2. Wash the potatoes and keeping the skin on, place on oven tray with plenty of sea salt. Roast at 180C for 40-50 minutes turning occasionally. The skins should be crispy and the inside soft.

3. While the potatoes are roasting infuse the olive oil by keeping a container in a warm place with the oil, garlic and bay leaf or rosemary.

4. Grill the cod on the bbq or electric grill for about 10 minutes each side, making sure it is not getting too dry.

5. Serve by placing a potatoes on the plate and gently punching them so that they open and get ready to soak up the infused oil (better do this with a tea towel if your inexperienced as you can burn yourself rather easily…). Cut the cod tranche into half, removing the large bone, place on plate with potatoes and pour the olive oil with some of the slices of garlic. The dish can be served with a simple green salad or steamed greens.

Olive oil infusing with garlic and rosemary

This absolutely exquisite combination of creamy and flavourful cheese with a delicate yet tangy quince jam is a real treat!

The cheese comes from the “Serra”, the highest mountain in Portugal and the home of the pastures that provide the conditions for this unique sheep’s milk cheese. Little known outside Portugal and with a history going back to the 12th century, good quality Serra da Estrela cheese is up there with the best artisan french cheeses. The cheese is produced during the cold months between November and March and produced with milk from the local “Bordaleiras Serra da Estrela” or “Churra Mondegueira” breeds. It can be eaten in a fresh buttery state (“amanteigado”) or cured into a hard flavourful cheese (“curado”). This unique produce from remote rural Portugal has been granted Protected Geographical Status by the European Union (which is ok as long as the key criteria is the quality of the cheese itself…). As is the cheese was not a good enough, the introduction of another unique local delicacy into this “roll” makes this worth dwelling on…

“Marmelada” (quince jam) is a common preserve across most of Portugal. By taking the rather bitter but flavourful “marmelo” (quince) through a jamming process and letting it set until it can be cut with a knife, we get a firm yet delicate fruity contribution to the table.

As this post comes short of providing an actual recipe, if you are lucky enough to come across both of these exquisite ingredients do follow these rules:

1. Open a soft (“amanteigado”) Serra da Estrela cheese with a circular incision on the top

2. Cut thin slices of quince jam (“marmelada”)

3. Pour a spoon of cheese onto the slice of jam

4. Roll, appreciate the beauty for a moment and try to resist the temptation…

5. Go back to step 2…

As for how you get the ingredients… Queijo da Serra is widely available in Portugal though quality can vary. The best cheese comes from relatively small “quintas”. The closer you get to the “serra” the more likely you are to get a good cheese… The Quinta da Lagoa and the Quinta de São Cosme are particularly nice but if you’re in the right place touch it for softness, and even better, try it! Marmelada is a way of preserving locally grown quince fruit which is now industrialised and widely commercialised. Quince is a tangy pear-like fruit which once stewed in sugar reveals its most rich and flavoursome qualitites. As I have been lucky enough to have eaten homemade “marmelada” all my life I cannot recommend a particular source but I’m certainly happy to receive suggestions…

1 cup of long white rice
2 cups of finely chopped broccoli
1 cup of finely chopped onion
1 finely chopped clove of garlic
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups of boiling water
Salt

1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a medium pot, add the onion and fry gently until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

2. Add the rice, stir to coat with the oil and then add the water and salt. Cover and cook for 7 minutes stirring occasionally.

3. When the rice is just about cooked, add the broccoli and mix well. Cook for another couple of minutes, stirring with a fork to keep the rice fluffy.

Empadas

250 gr rolled puff pastry
3 cups of boned and shredded stewed chicken (Chicken in Beer)
12 olives
1 tbsp butter
1 egg yolk

Makes 8-10 depending on the size of the molds.

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the pastry moulds with a little butter. You can use cup cake moulds, small pie moulds or even a muffin tray.
2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut a circle the size of your mould. The pastry should come up to the edge of the mould. The cut a smaller circle for the top.
3. Line the mould with the larger circle, fill with the chicken, making sure you have a little sauce. Add one olive and cover with the smaller circle. Unite the two parts of the pastry by pinching along the edge with wet fingers.
4. Once you have all your empadas filled and covered mix the egg yolk with 1 tsp of water and brush the pastry lightly.
5. Bake the empadas for around 15 minutes in the middle of the oven. The top should a nice golden brown colour.
6. Enjoy hot or cold with a salad… If you’re packing for a picnic, let the empadas cool down first.