Cuisines of Portuguese Encounters

I bought this book out of curiosity and I am glad I bought it. It's the sheer variety of food, cuisine styles, ingredients. They come from all continents and latitudes. Most ingredients are easily available from large supermarkets or specialist shops. There is a list of mail-order sources, but they are in the United States. The glossary helps in more than one way. I couldn't find morcela but the glossary suggested black pudding as a replacement. The book has an average of one recipe each page, in a total of more than 330, in a combination of flavours from around the world. Something else I like is the section on Suggested Menus. It is excellent if you want to throw a themed party like a Brazilian Party Buffet or a Christmas Eve Supper as they do in Portugal.

This is an excellent cookery book with a lot of variety, not much can be missing. In all the places where I have been in Portugal all the cake shops have these delicious egg and cream tartlets with sugar and cinnamon on top they call pasteis de nata. Now you can buy them in the UK, where they are known by the abbreviated name PANATAS. Some supermarket chains stock them but not near where I live. When I saw a recipe for pasteis de natas, I mean PANATAS, in this book I bought it straight away. I can now have PANATAS any time. The recipe works quite well.

I had never seen such a happy combination of food and history. I have tried quite a few recipes in the book. They are all delicious. The cooking instructions are quite straightforward, and work. But that's not all. With these recipes you travel around the world, with the Portuguese in their 16th century travels. That's great. Another thing I enjoy in the book is that you get to know how the different ingredients came together in past centuries to make these delicious dishes, cakes, you name it, of today. This is a five star job!

I just found a great new cookbook. In the 16th century the Portuguese developed one of history's greatest empires. The Portuguese empire, in turn, created a diverse cuisine that was influenced by the local crops and recipes of many different nations, with a strong emphasis on seafood. Cuisines of Portuguese Encounters by Cherie Hamilton is filled with fantastic, easy-to-follow recipes that capture these amazing and unusual combinations of flavors. One evening I made fish curry from Goa (p 174), a stew of whitefish and grated coconut seasoned with cumin, coriander, ginger, onions, and green chiles. As a salad I made a delicious creamy mmixture of avocado and dates (p 59), pureed and served in the avocado shells, from the windward island of Sao Vincente. This venture was such a success with my family that I next made a fish ragout from Southern Angola (p 172), that is a marvelous blend of fish and okra. The side dish for this meal was rice with split peas cooked in coconut milk (p 144), a creamy preparation from Zambesia in central Mozambique. Urged on by the praises of my family, this past weekend I made Caranguejo em Cosquinha (stuffed crab), a dish tht has traveled from Goa to Brazil (p 206). It consists of a saute of crabmeat, green and white onions, curry, and black olives in a pastry shell. Along with this, we had a fantastic Arroz de Tomate (tomato rice), a popular way to prepare rice in Portugal (p 146), which is rice prepared with tomatoes, garlic, and onions. Each of these recipes was easy and fun to prepare, with wonderfully unusual combinations of flavors. Highly recommended!!

Contrary to the other review written, I found the recipes easy to make and the ingredients easy to find. I also felt the insight to Portuguese history an added bonus - perfect amount for a cookbook. Obviously not meant to be done textbook style! I highly recommend this cookbook!