Cuisines of Portuguese Encounters : Recipes from Angola, Azores, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Goa, Guinea-Bissau, MacAu, Madeira, Malacca, mozambiq

by Cherie Hamilton

In the 16th century, Portuguese navigators circumvented the globe, conquering new lands to build one of history's largest empires, and at the same time carrying and introducing crops, food products and a variety of culinary cultures to all corners of the earth. This fascinating collection of 225 authentic recipes is the first cookbook to encompass the entire Portuguese-speaking world and explains how Portugal and its former colonies influenced each other's culinary traditions. Included are dishes containing Asian, South American, African, and European spices, along with varied ingredients like piripiri pepper, coconut milk, cilantro, manioc root, bananas, dried fish, seafood and meats. The author also explores the impact of Sephardic Jews on the cuisines of Cape Verde, Angola, and Brazil and the influence of the Moors, who brought to the Iberian peninsula rich desserts, which the Portuguese in turn took around the world. The recipes range from appetisers Pastel com o Diabo Dentro (Pastry with the Devil Inside from Cape Verde); to main courses such as Frango a Africana (Grilled Chicken African Style from Mozambique) and Cuscuz de Camarao (Shrimp Couscous from Brazil), to desserts like Pudim de Coc;co (Coconut Pudding from Timor). Menus for religious holidays and festive occasions, a glossary, a brief history of the cuisines and a bilingual index will assist the home chef in creating meals that celebrate the rich, diverse, and delicious culinary legacy of this old empire.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

260 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2001

Reviews

[Karen Witzler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting depiction of the historical process in food pathways products native to Africa, Europe,South America, and Asia mingle and transform. I've tried some of the salads, but am not ready for a banana omelet.

[Roman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid recipes. No pictures, just a proper index of recipes.

There's a few substitutions for certain recipes, for example Pãezinhos de Queijo uses beer instead of polvilho azedo, sour/fermented (tapioca)starch. And some translations are a bit iffy (Quindim is translated as golden cupcakes), but honestly those are completely fine. Have fun finding fermented tapioca starch outside of Brazil, and the index is how you want one.

For a general lusophone cookery book, it's exactly how a cookbook should be.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent cookbook that explores dishes from former Portuguese colonies. Each dish is identified with a specific country, and it includes recipes from countries like Angola, Guinea-Bissau, and East Timor, which do not have entire cookbooks dedicated to their cuisine. It's a great tool if you're trying to plan a country-specific meal.

The recipes are well written and easy to follow. All of the recipes I tried turned out very well, and they were delicious!

There are not very many pictures of the food in the book, so that may be a drawback for some people.

[Laniaho Huang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book which allows you to compare how the same dish can be cooked in various fashions in different cultures. An cultural anthropology of Portuguese foods based on her colonial history.
Most dishes are easy and delicious.

This book has a new edition, but I don't like it. The typesetting of the new edition is worse than the old one, and the pictures added help nothing.

[Yaaresse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe not a "sexy" cookbook in that it doesn't have glossy photos or a famous name, but the recipes are solid and really show how Portuguese food and the food of Portuguese colonies all over the globe influenced each other.