May 14 | Portugal

We didn’t have a particular place in mind for this Around the World in Quarantine dinner, so I pulled together all of the previous suggestions from everyone and used a spin wheel to make the selection. It landed on Portugal, and I was immediately excited to put this dinner together. Thank you to those who continue to make recommendations of where we should “travel” to. Keep sending them our way!

Color Scheme: Pink and Maroon

Tablescape

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Menu

First Course: Olives, Sardines and Conserva de cenouras (Pickled Carrots)

In Portugal, small plates are called petiscos. I decided to start out dinner with a few petiscos. I used left over olives from Around the World in Quarantine: Dominican Republic. I found a recipe for pickled carrots that were very flavorful. I made them one day in advance, so I anticipate them being even better today and tomorrow. While researching Portuguese cuisine, I found out that sardines are a delicacy in Portugal. I was a bit apprehensive to add them to the menu because I assumed I didn’t even like sardines. Then, I came across the brand Nuri, a sardine brand that uses artisan methods in canning sardines. After watching a youtube video on the brand, I had to go find them and try them. It was amazing to see this family business employing generations of people to can fresh sardines on the same day they receive them. They’re simply made with love. Now, I don’t know if I would eat any other kind of sardine, but these were delicious. Donnell was not a fan. They weren’t as fishy as I expected, and the tomato sauce was a great addition to the fish. From my understanding, these sardines are also larger than typical sardines. I would highly recommend them.

Second Course: Caldo Verde (Green Soup)

Caldo Verde is an interesting potato-based soup with collard greens and chorizo. Instead of chorizo, I used a Lightlife Plant-based Italian Sausage. It felt like comfort food that I would enjoy on a fall night. It was really good. Donnell and I both really enjoyed it.

Third Course: Camarão a Moçambique (Shrimp Mozambique) and Arroz de Tomate (Tomato Rice)

This may look like just shrimp and rice, but it is so much more than that. There was so much flavor in each of these recipes, and when paired together, they were absolutely delicious. When I came across Shrimp Mozambique, I was a bit confused. I know Mozambique is in Africa, so I was unsure of how it was connected to Portugal. I found the connection in the recipe is the peri-peri, an important part of Mozambique’s history. I used Nando’s Peri Peri sauce, and it was the right amount of heat. The recipe calls for the shrimp to have the shell on, but I used the shrimp I already had that only had the tails on. I’m sure if the shells were on the shrimp would absorb even more flavor. Nonetheless, they were still good. The rice was also full of flavor with the addition of onions, garlic, olive oil and ripe tomato. Yum!

Fourth Course: Serradura (Sawdust Pudding)

I’ve mentioned before that Donnell does not have a sweet tooth. However, he does like chocolate chip cookies and banana pudding. I chose this recipe because it’s similar to banana pudding without the bananas, and he LOVED it! It was an easy recipe with only four ingredients. It was definitely a good choice.

Beverages: Vinho Verde, Lemonade and Tawny Port

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To begin dinner, we drank the Casal Garcia Vinho Verde. It was crisp and refreshing. We also had Portuguese lemonade was very interesting. For this recipe, a lemon and a lime were blended whole and strained with sugar and water. It gave a unique tartness that was so good. The tawny port was enjoyed at the end of dinner. When I had my first taste, I was hit by the 19% alcohol content and the taste of chocolate. It was so so good, and I may have overindulged a little. Oops!

Final Reflection:

Portugal was delicious! Portugal’s cuisine is another that’s full of flavor. I enjoyed every single recipe and would make them all again. I would give it a 9/10.