Category: Appetizers

Appetizers / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes / Sauces and Jams

Portuguese Style Baby Back Ribs

 

These ribs are fall off the bone with my spice mix recipe. You can bake them or cook out on the grill using the same technique. Enjoy!

Watch my Portuguese Rib video recipe on Youtube below. Subscribe and follow for the latest videos added.

 

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons my Taste Portugal Spice Mix (regular or spicy blend)

2 racks baby back ribs

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup white wine

My Barbecue Sauce: Optional

1 cup Ketchup

3 tablespoons Brown sugar

1 tablespoon Soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon White Vinegar

Note: If you want to cover with barbecue sauce, mix ingredients in a small bowl and spread over the ribs 15 minutes before end of total cooking time.

Preparation:

Mix seasoning and rub over ribs on both sides. Drizzle with wine and olive oil. Cook at 325 for 2 hours covered with foil.  Cook uncovered for the last 30 minutes to create a crispy top.

When done, cover with foil and place in the oven to keep warm until ready to serve.

Appetizers / Photo Gallery / Recipes / Side Dish

Asparagus Tart – Pastel de Aspargo

This recipe isn’t a traditional Portuguese dish, but my daughter Lisa made it for our Easter appetizer and it was such a big hit, that I had to share it with you. Asparagus in season now so go ahead and try it.

We substituted the marscarpone cheese that is called for in the original recipe with low fat cottage cheese with chives. It was one the easiest appetizers we’ve ever made and so delicious that we’ll be making it more often now! Enjoy it for a light lunch with a salad.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon flour

1 sheet frozen puff pastry 9×9 (approximately)

1 cup low fat cottage cheese with chives

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 large egg, beaten

1 lemon, zest finely grated (about 1 tablespoon)

1 tablespoon chopped dried rosemary

1 pound asparagus

1 tablespoon olive oil

Black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the puff pastry to a 9- by 12-inch rectangle.

Combine the cottage cheese 1 1/4 teaspoons of the salt, the flour, egg and lemon zest, and rosemary. Spread over the pastry leaving a border.

Make small cuts 1 inch apart with a knife.

Toss the asparagus with the olive oil. Lay half of the asparagus over the cheese.

Season with the salt and pepper.

Bake until golden brown and puffed for about 25 minutes. Let tart cool for 10 minutes.

Recipe was adapted from: courtesy Morgan Hass for Food Network Kitchens

Appetizers / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes

Garlicky Boneless Spare Ribs and Roast Potatoes

This one pan dinner is easy to prepare and easy cleanup for your busy weeknights. The sweet and savory carrots complete the dish. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 – 3 pounds of boneless spare ribs

2 pounds of potatoes (peeled and chopped)

3 or 4 large carrots (sliced into quarters)

1 large onion (chopped)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white wine

1 tablespoon salt

3 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoons of paprika

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

2 tablespoons of butter or margarine

Preparation:

Rub the ribs with the wine, half of the salt, garlic and pepper, and let sit for about 10 minutes or you can marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Place the potatoes, carrots, onions and ribs in a roasting pan and pour the olive oil over them.

Sprinkle evenly with the remaining seasonings and toss well to incorporate. Arrange the potatoes and carrots on the bottom of the pan leaving the ribs on top. Cut up the margarine into small chunks and put over the ribs. Shake the pan slightly to spread ingredients evenly. Note: If your ribs are smaller, they may cook quicker, so test them for doneness.

Cook at 350 degrees for about 1 and 1/2 hour.  Shake the pan every 20 minutes and drizzle with pan juices, so the potatoes do not stick to pan. If you to need to toss the potatoes use a flat spatula. If you like the potatoes crispy, cook longer, but remove the ribs and set them aside.

Appetizers / Photo Gallery / Recipes / Side Dish

Presunto and Melon Salad | Presunto com Melão

This mouthwatering salad makes a perfect appetizer for your guests. So easy to prepare and the sweet melon flavors balance the saltiness of the presunto. If you don’t have Portuguese presunto on hand pick up some Prosciutto de Parma, at your local deli! It also makes a great lunch for 2 served with a bottle of Vinho Verde or dry white wine!

The serving platter is vintage Portuguese pottery which I love! Enjoy!

Presunto Melon Salad

Ingredients:

3 cups each of Cantaloupe and Honeydew Melon

1/2 – 1 cup of thinly sliced Presunto or (Prosciutto)

1/2 cup of your favorite shaved sharp cheese (I use Azorean Sao Jorge Cheese) 

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Crushed black pepper

Toss the melon with the lemon juice and pepper in a bowl. Arrange on serving platter and top with the presunto and cheese.

 

Appetizers / fish / Photo Gallery / Recipes / Side Dish

Lisbon Cobb Salad – Salada de Atum

 Lisbon Cobb Salad

During lent, it often becomes a challenge to create new and interesting dishes. This is my take on Cobb Salad by making a Lisbon salad.

I use Portuguese tuna fish packed in olive oil, but feel free to substitute with regular tuna and any of your favorite vegetables to create your own version.

Serve it with Portuguese Vinho Verde and fresh crusty bread! Enjoy and bom apetite!

Gourmet Portuguese canned goods

Ingredients:

1 can of Portuguese tuna or sardines packed in olive oil (or any brand canned fish or seafood you prefer)

Green Leaf Lettuce

Tomatoes

Onion

Carrots

Hard boiled eggs

Pickles

Olives (optional)

Dressing:

Olive Oil

White or red wine vinegar

Salt

Pepper

Canned goods image credit: http://www.vascodagama.ca/gourmet-market/conserves-bompetisco-santacatarina

Appetizers / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes / Side Dish

Easy Sliders on Sweet Rolls

I made these slider using King’s Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. The bread tastes like my recipe; classic Portuguese Sweet Bread, so be warned that the rolls are delicious and you’ll eat the whole bag in one day! The bread has it’s beginnings in the 1950’s in Hilo, Hawaii where Robert Taira, the Hawaiian-born son of Japanese immigrants opened his first bakeshop.

Portuguese Sweet Bread is famous in Hawaii, visit this website Kona Historical Society where you’ll find the history of the Portuguese and the sweet bread in Hawaii. Maybe these King’s Hawaiian rolls were inspired by the Portuguese recipe.

 

The sliders were easy to make because instead of making small patties one by one, I simply formed the meat into meatballs and then flattened them with a spatula. They all come out perfectly shaped tiny sliders.

Sliders:

16 Hawaiian buns or Sliders buns

4 hamburgers

Toppings:

Cheese

Lettuce

Onion

Sliced Tomato

Ketchup

Sesame seeds

melted butter 

Cook burgers and cut into fourths. Top with cheese and turn off heat. Set aside and keep warm until ready to assemble sliders.

Appetizers / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes / Side Dish

Crustless Ham with Broccoli Quiche

This crust-less quiche is easy to prepare in only 45 minutes. I make this quiche very often as a side dish when I serve fish or chicken.  It also makes a perfect lunch, snack, or serve it as dinner with a salad.

Make it a vegetarian quiche by substituting the ham with your favorite cooked vegetables.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped ham (optional substitute with any cooked vegetables)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 pound package frozen broccoli spears or fresh (cooked and chopped)

1 small ripe tomato (chopped) (optional)

1/2 small onion (finely chopped)

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter

1 and 1/2 cups half and half (1/2 cream – 1/2 milk)

5 eggs

Pinch of Salt (add pinch more if you omit the ham)

Dash of fresh ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

 


Preparation:

Saute the onion in the oil for a few minutes until the onion is translucent.

Beat eggs until foamy in a medium bowl. Add the milk, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the eggs and mix to incorporate. Add the broccoli, ham, onion, and 1/2 of the cheese. Mix all ingredients.

Heavily grease a deep souffle dish with margarine. Pour the broccoli mixture into the dish and spread evenly. Top with the remaining cheese. Cook at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until golden brown.

You many need to cook longer if your souffle dish is deep. Cut into the center of the quiche it should be firm and not runny. Enjoy!

Appetizers / Photo Gallery / Side Dish

Tuna with Black Eyed Bean Salad – Salada de Feijão Frade com Atum

A fan from Portugal; Sofia Vieira-touristic Guide, who does cooking classes in Évora, Portugal with many North American tourists, sent me this recipe.

It’s a great quick salad for your meatless days, a quick lunch and even as a side dish. It’s protein packed and the beans are slow digesting carbs that are good for you!

“The Alentejo is a great place to eat. It was really poor that’s why people had to be creative and yes, there are lots of recipes from the convents and palaces, and also the adaptations of these recipes from the servants  that worked for them. Bom Apetite.”  She says!

Ingredients:


1 can of cooked black-eyed beans

1 can of Portuguese tuna or any good tuna packed in olive oil

1 small onion (finely minced)

2 cloves garlic ( finely minced)

Sea salt

Black pepper

1 tablespoon Olive oil or more to taste

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar or more to taste

Cilantro (finely chopped)

2 hard boiled eggs (optional)

Instructions:

Place the beans into a small bowl, add the onion and garlic and mix well. Add the flaked tuna, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss gently. Add Cilantro and toss. Add chopped hard boiled eggs if desired and stir into the salad.

Sofia Vieira-touristic Guide

Top image credit: https://whyiamnotskinny.wordpress.com

Appetizers / Holiday Recipes / Photo Gallery / Recipes

Spicy Hot Piri Piri Shrimp Dip

Piri Piri is a hot sauce with Portuguese origins since it was the explorers who introduced the peppers to Africa. The name of the pepper derives form Swahili for “pepper pepper”, also know as peri peri, African birdseye Chili, or African Devil.  Curry was created in India by the influence of the Portuguese who brought the peppers to the Goa region.

There are many recipes for the hot sauce but common ingredients are chilli peppers, olive oil, garlic, salt and lemon. It is a relative to the Tabasco chile. In this recipe, you can spice it up using either piri piri or tabasco sauce.

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups of small cooked shrimp (finely chopped)

one 8 oz package cream cheese (soft)

1 small stalk of celery (chopped)

1 scallion  or 1/4 cup chopped onion (finely chopped)

2/3 cup of mayonnaise

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 to 2  teaspoons piri piri sauce or any sauce

pinch of salt

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Preparation:

Place all ingredients except the cheese and the shrimp in a blender and pulse a few times until the vegetables are finely minced.

Add the shrimp, mix well, taste and add more hot sauce if desired.  Place in a small oven proof dish, spread cheese over the dip and cook at 375 for about 10-15 until the cheese is melted.

Serve with vegetables or any favorite crackers.

 


 

Appetizers / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Side Dish

Chourico Omelet


Chourico and egg omelet is a classic Portuguese go to dish often served for breakfast, lunch, snack or even dinner. When my family and I arrived in America, lunch coolers and ice packs weren’t invented yet, so my mother would make my father omelets for his lunch break at work.  I can still smell the aroma of the chourico or presunto cooking at 6 O’clock on those mornings! It’s funny the things that remain in our memories.

I served my omelet with the Batatas a Rodelas. Here’s the easy recipe.

Video:

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 teaspoon water

1/2 small chourico (or about 1 cup) (sliced very thin)

2 tablespoons onion (finely minced optional)

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 oz of your favorite shredded cheese (optional)

parsley for garnish

salt

pepper

Instructions:

Saute the onion in a medium skillet in the olive oil until golden brown. Add the Chourico sausage and cook for a few minutes until it becomes slightly crispy.

Beat the eggs with water until foamy and add to the chourio. Cook the eggs on low medium heat while slightly moving the edges toward the center.

Let the omelet cook for about 2 minutes. Place a flat plat over the omelet and flip it over uncooked side down into the pan.

Spread the tomato over the omelet followed by the cheese. Cover and cook for about 2 minutes on low heat.

Add parsley, salt and pepper as desired and garnish with parsley.