Rice with Chicken, Farinheira and Chorizo / Arroz de Frango, Farinheira (e chouriço).

“Enchidos” is the Portuguese word for our (many) varieties of cured and/or, dried sausages.

Different kinds of Chorizos, Alheiras and (my favourite of them all), Farinheiras, they all belong to the very ancient and cultural Portuguese tradition of cured or dried sausages and they’re mostly the reason why I can’t, ever! be a pure vegetarian.

Farinheira is a Portuguese smoked sausage made mainly from wheat flour, pork fat and seasonings.

It has a yellow/brown colour and it was invented by Portuguese Jews, in order to have "something" hanging on their smokehouses (faking the consumption of pork), to save them from the Inquisition. It is made with flour, which gives it its name, red pepper paste, paprika, wine and, nowadays, pork fat!

If you never tried a "Farinheira" before, you should run to your nearest Portuguese delicatessen and buy one but, you have to try a very good quality one, like the one I used in this rice, or else, you’ll be disappointed...

One of the things we can't ever leave behind, is any kind of "enchido" and, almost all of our traditional Portuguese dishes include some kind of "enchido" or cured meat.

I'm not complaining. I'm a true lover of this kind of food and all kinds of chorizo, "enchidos", bacon, prosciutto and relatives, they're all on top of the list for my "desert Island food"...

We (Portuguese), we love our "enchidos" as much as we love our rice and, you think of any combination using rice, you name it, and I bet, we will have a traditional recipe for it. From duck rice, shellfish rice, razor clams rice, octopus rice, to salted cod rice, we have them all covered and in a very delicious and traditional way.

"Prato do Dia - Dish of the Day" is the debut cook book from our most beloved Portuguese celebrity cook Filipa Gomes.

Prato do Dia, the name given to the book, is also the name of one the most popular cooking shows in Portugal (24Kitchen - Fox TV) and Filipa Gomes is its hostess.

Her straightforward, flavourful and delicious recipes are a success and her unpretentious way of life and approach to food, are absolutely inspirational.

I’ve had the honour to receive an advanced and signed (by the author herself), copy of the book and honestly, I'm totally in love with it.

Simple, divided in chapters like, Starters and Snacks, Fish and Shellfish, Meat and Desserts, the book is a delight to flick through and full of mouthwatering, simple and easy recipes for every day of the week.

I’m so honored and delighted to have a signed copy of Filipa's book and so thrilled to cook from it!

The recipe I'm sharing today, is the first recipe, tried and totally approved from the book and, as it is so full of Portuguese references and so special and close to my heart, it got to be cooked in one of my beloved "black clay" dishes. A very ancient, manual and traditional, Portuguese pottery from Bisalhães, a village in the North of Portugal.

Scrambled eggs with farinheira and crostini / Ovos mexidos com farinheira e pão torrado.

When food bloggers meet is mainly to talk about food and eat right?

Well, that's what we did last October when I met with this girl and this girl and we add a fantastic day in Lisbon.

We add lunch at Mercado da Ribeira, a fabulous foodie spot to visit and where you can have fabulous food and buy some of our portuguese fantastic produces. Then we went up to Chiado and we add a fabulous afternoon snack at the Tartine, a charming and very pretty café, just before ending the day at Santini's for one of the most delicious ice creams you can get. It was a fabulous day and I wish we can do it again one day. Just the 3 of us!!

Having that fabulous day in mind, I tried to recreate the delicious scrambled eggs with farinheira crostini that we add at the Tartine and I made this fabulous José Avillez recipe.

Farinheira is a unique portuguese kind of smoked sausage and if you can get hold of it, you should try this very traditional portuguese speciallity.

ingredients (serves 4):

1 farinheira

6 eggs

crusty bread, thinly sliced

50g shallots, finely chopped

1 tsp thyme leaves

olive oil, for the toasts and for frying

salt and freshly ground pepper

sea salt flakes, to finish

method:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Cook the farinheira in water until tender. Drain and allow it to cool a bit before taking it out of the case and mashing the inside with a fork. Discard the case.

Put the sliced bread on a baking tray. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 5 minutes or until the bread is golden and crunchy.

Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the mashed farinheira and the thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the olive oil in a non stick frying pan. Add the shallots and cook, over a medium low heat, until softened but not coloured.

Turn the heat up and add the egg mixture to the frying pan whisking all the times until the eggs are cooked but not completely set. Turn off the heat and keep whisking.

Sprinkle the scrambled eggs with a pinch of sea salt flakes and serve with the toasted bread.

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Quando food bloggers se encontram, normalmente, ou é para falar de comida, ou comer, certo?

Pois foi isso mesmo que aconteceu num belo Sábado de Outubro passado aquando da minha visita a Lisboa, em que me encontrei com estas duas espectaculares meninas (esta e esta).

Passámos um dia fabuloso juntas, a comer e a falar de comida claro...

Almoçámos no Mercado da Ribeira, depois subimos ao Chiado apreciando a paisagem, tagarelando e aproveitando o dia fabuloso de Sol que se fazia sentir.

Fomos lanchar à Tartine, tendo depois terminado o nosso périplo culinário com um absolutamente divino gelado na  Santini.

Foi um dia espectacular que espero e desejo, poder repetir outra vez, com estas mesmas DUAS bem dispostas e divertidas meninas!!

Dito isto e nostalgias à parte, as saudades de bons momentos batem à porta quando menos esperamos e não tendo nem as meninas nem os locais por perto, recriei na minha cozinha, a fabulosa tartine de ovos mexidos com farinheira que comemos nesse dia na Tartine.

Utilizei uma receita de um dos meus Chefs portugueses preferidos, o José Avillez, e de repente foi como se estivesse de novo em Lisboa, a lanchar e a rir com a Helena e com a Marmita...

ingredientes (para 4 pessoas):

1 farinheira

6 ovos

pão alentejano, finamente fatiado

50g chalotas, picadas

1 colher chá folhas de tomilho fresco

azeite para as tostas e para a frigideira

sal e pimenta preta moída na altura

flor de sal, para polvilhar

preparação:

Aquecer o forno a 180ºC.

Cozer a farinheira em água até estar macia.

Escorrer a farinheira, descartar a pele e esmagar o interior com um garfo.

Colocar o pão fatiado num tabuleiro, polvilhar com sal e pimenta e regar com um fio de azeite.

Levar ao forno por 5 minutos, ou até o pão estar douradinho e crocante.

Numa taça, bater os ovos com varas de arame. Adicionar a farinheira esmagada e as folhas de tomilho. Temperar de sal e pimenta a gosto.

Aquecer o azeite numa frigideira. Adicionar as chalotas e cozinhar, em lume médio a baixo, até estas estarem macias mas sem ganharem cor.

Aumentar o lume e adicionar a mistura dos ovos, mexendo energicamente o tempo todo.

Quando os ovos estiverem quase cozidos, mas ainda moles, retirar do lume, continuando a mexer. Os ovos querem-se húmidos, portanto cuidado neste passo para não os deixar secar.

Salpicar os ovos com flor de sal e servir com as tostas.

Recipe / Receita: