Portugal: The Cookbook

Phaidon Global Cookbooks

by Leandro Carreira

Celebrate Portugal’s vibrant, globally-influenced and highly influential food culture via more than 550 classic and contemporary recipes from the acclaimed chef Leandro Carreira

With its diverse cuisine and intriguing culinary history, Portugal is a top travel destination for food lovers worldwide. Portugal: The Cookbook gathers together dishes from every region of the country, including fish and shellfish dishes from the Algarve coast, hearty stews from the Douro Valley, and the famous and beloved pastries of Lisbon. Acclaimed chef Leandro Carreira has researched more than 550 traditional recipes for home cooks that encapsulate the breadth and diversity of the food of Portugal, a country whose immense culinary influence has spread far beyond its borders.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Reference, Nonfiction

448 pages, Hardcover

First published May 4, 2022

Reviews

[Bruno Espadana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the years, there have been a few great compendiums of Portuguese cuisine - the classic 'Cozinha Tradicional Portugesa' by Maria de Lourdes Modesto or the excellent volumes of regional cuisine by Alfredo Saramago, for instance -, but I have always felt like there was space for a book that gathered the Portuguese culinary richness with modern design, good photos and, more importantly, clear and detailed recipes. A comprehensive but approachable book that would make our cuisine appealing to those that are not quite familiar with it.
When I found this book in a local book store this weekend, I was very surprised - I had no idea this had come out (it was published at the start of the month) - and, as I browsed through its pages, I realised this is finally the book I was hoping for.
Phaidon already has a strong collection of food compendiums of several countries - The Silver Spoon, for Italian cuisine, Japan - The Cookbook, India - The Cookbook... It's great for Portugal to be present in this collection with such a quality book. Chef Leandro Carreira did his work well, with a thorough and extensive gathering of recipes from all the main regions of the country, all presented clearly and with detailed steps.
Hopefully this book will be a success and will help to make our food a bit more well known. I know I will be trying a lot of recipes from here - I can only hope the same will be true for people who might never have tried to tackle some of our amazing dishes.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very comprehensive, including all the regions of Portugal.

Some recipes have the history behind them, which I personally wish was included more often, also beware, not many recipes have photos. Those which do are pretty though, but a lot of people enjoy seeing the dish before making and that book won't cater to those.

[Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly in depth collection of Portuguese cuisine. It is probably the best cookbook from Portugal I have read. I especially liked the chapters on bread and bread dishes, and rice dishes and savory cakes. Unfortunately (for me) the Portuguese eat a lot of meat and i am a vegetarian. If I ate meat I'm sure i would have appreciated the chapter on goat and mutton. Alas.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the introduction and history! Made 2 recipes already. Good recipes and ideas.

[Aasinathena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book by Phaidon, love their work!

[Christa · Rating 4 out of 5]

We traveled to Portugal when I was a teenager and I was trying to find recipes to recreate that wonderful food. Lovely photos.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those curious about the Portuguese approach to flavor – both its history and its many variations – this volume is unparalleled.
Departures

[Tera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the cover for the Portuguese tiles! But it ended up being quite big, and many recipes were similar with regional differences or variations. I did learn a few new recipes.

2024 update: I visited Portugal for the first time! I stayed mainly in the Central and Northern regions, so I thought I'd look at this book again to see if I could recognize any of the meals I had eaten while there. Sadly, while there are so many regional variations represented in this book, there weren't a lot that represented what I did eat.