Originally, a method employed by Venetian fisherman and land lubbers alike, by which to lengthen a sardine´s shelf-life in pre-refrigeration times. The preparation of saor had the added advantage with it´s sweet and sour overtones of perfectly complementing this most humble of fatty fish.
​Basically, a marinade of onions sweated in olive oil and vinegar in which the fried fish are steeped for at least a day. But Venice, it´s geographical position, trading status and reputation for all things exotic had access to ingredients and spices whilst Northern Europe was dining on hedgehogs and mud. Pine nuts and raisins are normal additions but recipes utilising cinnamon, cloves, chillies, bay leaves and sugar are not uncommon.
​Bending the rules a little, I have used mackerel and browned the onions for additional sweetness and I think the result is just as good. You may judge for yourself.
​
2 tbsp of raisins
125 ml of dry white wine
2 large or 4 small mackerel, filleted and pin bones removed
2 tbsp of plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
100 ml of extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, peeled, halved and finely sliced
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick, broken into a few pieces
2 tbsp of blanched almonds, roughly chopped
2 tbsp of white wine vinegar
2 tbsp of granulated sugar

• soak the raisins in the wine for 15 minutes
• depending on the size of the fillets cut each into 2 or 3 equal pieces. Coat the fish on both sides with the seasoned flour and tap off any excess.
• heat a third of the olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat and fry the fish for 3-4  minutes, turning once. Lay the fish, skin side down in a shallow dish.
• give the pan a wipe and reduce the temperature to low to medium. Heat the remaining olive oil, add the onions, bay leaves and cinnamon and fry for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You’re looking to get the onions to a good, golden brown colour, so adjust the time and heat accordingly.
• add the almonds and allow them to brown slightly, which should take no more than a couple of minutes.
• add the soaked raisins, wine, vinegar and sugar, bring to the boil and allow the liquid to reduce by approx two-thirds. Remove from the heat and spoon the marinade over the fish. Allow to cool before refrigerating for at least a day.

Fresh borlotti beans (feijao madura) are available at the moment and last night we served them alongside stewed and crispy fried pork neck, nice. I was lucky enough to have some fresh sage, not easy to find here and this small bunch came all the way from South Wales.
​Posting the recipe was a (day)-after-thought and the (left-overs) image accurately reflects my inability to take decent photos. None the less, the beans were delicious.

750 g borlotti beans, in their pods
1 bay leaf
​1 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 stick celery, diced
​extra virgin olive oil
10-15 sage leaves, finely sliced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
good handful of cherry tomatoes, roasted for a few minutes and skinned
1 ½ tbsp of red wine vinegar
good handful of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

• Hull the beans and cook them in water together with the bay leaf for approx 25 minutes (the cooking time may vary according to the age and freshness of the beans, so check for doneness now and again)
• In the meantime, fry the onion, carrot and celery in a good glug of olive oil for 15 minutes, let them caramelise a little. Add the sage and garlic and after 3 minutes the tomatoes.
• Remove from the heat and combine with the cooked and drained beans. Add the vinegar, parsley, season with salt and pepper and a little extra olive oil.

Gave our first cookery workshop this week. The venue was a house on Tavira island. The participants; a small, enthusiastic group of friends, partners and family, all the way from Germany.
​
The menu     
Toasts with muxama, queijo fresco and red pepper coulis
Mackerel and goats´ cheese tartare with ginger and soy
Seared picanha with watercress and walnut pesto
Cuttlefish done two ways
Mango tart
Almond, rosemary and lemon cake
    

With thanks to Veronika, Hannah and all who took part.

Seared picanha (rump-cap) with watercress, walnut pesto
Serves - 6 - 8
 
Ingredients:
1 piece of rump cap (picanha) approx. 1 kg
Olive oil
Thyme
 
35 g walnuts
100 g watercress
35 g parmesan
75 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 - 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Red wine vinegar to taste
 
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Season the meat with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Rub the meat all over with a little olive oil. Heat a frying pan over a high flame until very hot. Brown the meat on all sides.
Place the meat in the oven and according to your own taste, remove when done.
Sprinkle the meat with chopped thyme leaves and allow to cool.
To make the pesto, roughly chop the walnuts and watercress and grate the parmesan. Place them together with the olive oil and garlic into a blender or large pestle and mortar and blend/grind to a rough paste.
Season with salt and pepper and add a little vinegar to taste.
When the meat is cold, slice very thinly, arrange on plates and serve with the pesto.
​

Whilst at the beach a couple of weeks ago, I was curious to see a snorkeller exiting the water with a handful of rocks which, upon enquiry turned out to be oysters.

I knew that oyster farming took place in the Ria Formosa but was none the less suprised to find that they could be readily harvested from the sand, at high tide.

The chap kindly gave me a few after insisting I take an oath of secrecy as to their whereabouts, somehwere near Olhao or Fuzeta.

By no means giants, we shucked and ate them raw and they were good, briny yet with a sweet aftertaste.

I fished out my snorkel, which last saw action at Whitby’s pearl diving Olympics, and have been going at it like an aquatic rabbit ever since.

One of the best ways to enjoy oysters is by eating them raw from the naked body of a virgin, with a squeeze of lemon and some thinly sliced rye bread, apparently.

Barring that and as a good introduction for oyster new-comers is a dish served in The Golden Chopsticks chinese restaurant in Amsterdam, a version of which is below.

Make a dressing using 3 tbsp of good quality light soy sauce / 1 tbsp of mirin / 1 tsp of very finely chopped ginger / 1 small clove of very finely chopped garlic / 2 finely sliced spring onions / a good twist of black pepper.

Steam a dozen oysters (best to do this in a large covered pan with a little boiling water) until they open, should take a couple of minutes. Discard the top shell, cut the oyster loose, spoon over a little dressing and serve.

 

Been quiet the last few months due to cooking in Mesa do Cume. But happy to announce that the second print of the book (just a few spelling mistakes and apostrophe errors corrected) is in and that it's available to purchase online at
http://www.casadasportas.com/.