Are you far from home and missing Portuguese home cooking? Do you find yourself longing for a hearty 'sopa de legumes' – thick vegetable soup? Do you dream of 'porco alentejano' – a stew of pork with clams and small roast potato chunks? Or maybe you are yearning for 'caldeirada – a fish stew like bouillabaisse using up all the odd fish brought back in the nets by fishermen? Perhaps it's a creamy goat's milk cheese from Beira Baixa, the province between the Serra da Estrela and Spain, which pops into your mind, making you salivate with nostalgia? Well if you're in Britain now you might just be in luck.
Picture courtesy of Adriano Carapeto'
To read the rest of the atory, click here
Remember the Portuguese custard tart that brought back memories of long past sunny days in Lisbon? (See Pasteis de nata for the story.) Well, I saw that tart together with Beira Baixan cheese and Casal Garcia 'vinho verde' - lightly sparkling young wine from the north of Portugal - in a corner of St Sampson's Square during York's annual food festival.
It's not long since I was last in the Minho and I shall be there again soon as I know the plans of our house (see the archive for the story of our house near Ponte de Lima) are now with the local council for approval but all the same, standing there in the middle of my home city of York, I felt a sudden pang of nostalgia for some nourishing Portuguese peasant food. Don't feel insulted by the word peasant; as in France, good, frugal, sustaining food has always been cooked in the countryside for the people who are the backbone of Portugal.
So, you may ask, where did this Portuguese feast come from? Step forward Adriano Carapeto.
Terragourmet stall - courtesy of Adriano Carapeto
Sr Adriano previously of Loule but latterly of Liverpool is a man of many parts. After studying law in Lisbon, he spent five years in the army followed by a stint working in the department of investigation in the Criminal Police Force. After that he spent ten years as an estate agent with an office in Quinta do Lago in the Algarve.
Two years ago, Sr Adriano and his partner Diane, who is from Liverpool, began to ask themselves why it was that the British friends who visited them in the Algarve would rave about Portuguese food but were unable to find it anywhere in England – with the possible exception of London.
Picture of Portuguese cheeses courtesy of Adeiano Carapeto
So if the weather is cold and dank and you are stuck in Britain while the summer holidays seem a long way away, why not 'matar saudades de Portugal' by visiting the Terragourmet stall when it comes to town? My husband for one is thrilled at the idea of being able to buy 'presunto' , the Portuguese equivalent of Parma ham, when we are here in Britain. He's addicted to it and lunch in Portugal is often crusty bread with presunto and cheese followed by fruit and coffee.
Carving presunto - picture courtesy of Adriano Carapeto
For more information about Portuguese food in the north of England why not look at the Terragourmet web site? www.terragourmet.net
What do you miss most about Portugal when you are away? Write in and tell us.
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Living the dream: it's what most of us plan to do at some time in our lives, isn't it? That is, we tell ourselves we'll do it when we retire or if and when we can afford it without disadvantaging the family or... well you get the drift. Actually putting the theory into practice, though, takes real dedication and lots of us chicken out. We make excuses about being too old – "My knees are not what they were..."; no longer having the energy- "Just look at those young folk! How I envy them their get up and go!" Or just needing to be sure we can access healthcare.... and so on.
Above you can see someone who, along with her husband, has had the courage of her convictions and taken the plunge. To see more of L and R's adventure and to investigate what the locals do during the grape harvest in the Minho, click here.
We first visited the Paço de Giela more than ten years ago. In spite of its status as a national monument this modest cross between a castle and a manor house was then crumbling into decay and we were, as far as we could tell, among its few visitors.
To find out how the Paço de Giela received a second lease of life and the renactment of Portugal's early history, click here.
That title is an odd mixture of words, phrases and ideas, isn't it? Have a look at this photo of a dragon outside a house on the way to the Peneda Geres National Park and see if you can tell why I've used it.
The dragon has its tail wrapped round a ball and seems to be giving a V for Victory sign. Don't you think that is unusual? So, what is going on? It has nothing to do with the boy wizard of children's literature nor with the bloody struggles for supremacy in mythical kingdoms so recently a TV hit. Nothing indeed like that. Think about famous institutions in northern Portugal and see if you can divine why the dragon is there.
To find out – if you haven't already guessed – why this family has chosen dragons to tell the world what matters to them, click here.
Let's suppose that you don't have a swimming pool – after all most people don't, do they? Nor do the majority of hotels and AirBnBs. So, when it is hot in the Minho, what do you do?
"Ah but..." I hear you cry before I have a chance to explain, "We're talking about the north of Portugal. Surely it doesn't get hot there?"
Well, you'd be surprised. Despite the mistrustful opinions of prominent climate deniers, global warming seems to be affecting the north of Portugal just as much as elsewhere and it can get pretty hot. So, when the temperature is in the high 30s and you are sweltering, where can you go to cool down? Clearly from my picture you can hope it's a cloudy day in Vila Praia de Âncora and go there!
To find out more about this seaside town, and to see a more encouraging picture, click here.
To read more about the Serra da Estrela, its inhabitants and their traditional woolen material, burel, click here.
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