‘The Passionate Foodie’
A weekly column
So far in our quest for indigenous dishes brought by the many ethnic people from all over the world that live on St. Maarten, we have covered Arawaks, Caribs, Dutch, Spanish, English, French, Africans and now we move on to the Portuguese.
The Dutch have been on (and off) Saint Martin/St. Maarten since the 1620s. It was here that Peter Stuyvesant lost his leg, earning the nickname Peg Leg, while unsuccessfully attacking the then controlling Portuguese forces. The scene of the battle was Little Bay Hill and legend has it that Stuyvesant landed his ships in the bay beyond Cay Bay then led his men up Cay Bay Hill in a surprise attack on the Portuguese at Fort Amsterdam.
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country in south-eastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, and a number of other African countries along her other borders. The area was colonized by Portugal in 1505. The country was named Moçambique by the Portuguese after the Island of Mozambique.
Why do I mention these two countries in one article? Well, slaves were taken from across the Africa Continent and there could well have been some taken from Mozambique, certainly they were taken from other Portuguese territories as well. So I will offer some old Mozambique recipes for you, dear readers, to try as well as some from Portugal and hope you enjoy trying them out.
The islands of Cape Verde and the territories of Portuguese Guinea on the northwest coast of Africa, Angola on the southwest coast and Mozambique on the southeast are provinces of Portugal. There is great similarity in their foods with cornmeal, millet, rice, and hot stews being mainstays in the diets of these regions. Portuguese Africa offers outstanding and unique dishes. The Portuguese influence is also evident in the use of wine. Dishes such as Matata, where clams are cooked in port wine with finely chopped peanuts and tender young greens, and “Frango a Cafrial”, which are peppery hot dishes like “Chicken, the African way”, where chickens are rubbed with the wee “piri-piri” chilli pepper and roasted over a wood fire. These piri-piris are extremely hot. Then there is another dish that shows off the Portuguese love of tomatoes “Chicken, the Portuguese way”, made with tomatoes and wine.
Here is a sauce to use that is very delicious but very hot; be careful when using any chilli peppers.
PIRI-PIRI - Hot pepper sauce
Ingredients:
Combine the following:
4 tbs lemon juice
4 tbs olive oil
4 tbs coarsely chopped small red chilli peppers (the Thai bird chilli is a good substitute)
1 tbs salt
1 tsp minced garlic
Chicken pieces or use chickens that have been cut in half.
Directions:
Macerate in a small bowl. Marinate the chicken in the piri-piri sauce for an hour and roast over the coals BUT be careful, as it is hot. Better yet, serve with a tiny spoon to use sparingly over roasted or BBQ chicken.
CALDO VERDE: Portuguese Kale Soup
(This is a wonderful healthy soup)
Ingredients:
¼ cup olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, diced
2 cloves garlic minced
10 ounces chorizo sausage, diced
6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
8 cups cold water
1 pound kale or collard greens, cut into very fine julienne
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are translucent. Add the garlic and half the chorizo and cook for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cover everything with the water, bring to a boil and lower the heat, simmer until the potatoes are almost done, about 15 minutes. When the soup is cool enough to handle, puree it in the food processor and return to the pot. Add the greens, bring everything back to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes, season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with the remaining cubes of chorizo.
PORTUGUESE CHICKEN
Ingredients:
2 frying chickens, boned and cut into chunks
5 large tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 large onion, sliced
1 each red, green and yellow pepper, sliced
1 four-oz. can black olives, pitted
3 cloves garlic minced
Fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
The juice of one lemon
2 cups water
Directions:
Brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Set aside.
Soften the onions and peppers till golden.
Place all the ingredients in a baking dish.
Bake for 40 minutes, uncovered at 350.
Enjoy. Bon Appetit!
A weekly column
So far in our quest for indigenous dishes brought by the many ethnic people from all over the world that live on St. Maarten, we have covered Arawaks, Caribs, Dutch, Spanish, English, French, Africans and now we move on to the Portuguese.
The Dutch have been on (and off) Saint Martin/St. Maarten since the 1620s. It was here that Peter Stuyvesant lost his leg, earning the nickname Peg Leg, while unsuccessfully attacking the then controlling Portuguese forces. The scene of the battle was Little Bay Hill and legend has it that Stuyvesant landed his ships in the bay beyond Cay Bay then led his men up Cay Bay Hill in a surprise attack on the Portuguese at Fort Amsterdam.
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country in south-eastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, and a number of other African countries along her other borders. The area was colonized by Portugal in 1505. The country was named Moçambique by the Portuguese after the Island of Mozambique.
Why do I mention these two countries in one article? Well, slaves were taken from across the Africa Continent and there could well have been some taken from Mozambique, certainly they were taken from other Portuguese territories as well. So I will offer some old Mozambique recipes for you, dear readers, to try as well as some from Portugal and hope you enjoy trying them out.
The islands of Cape Verde and the territories of Portuguese Guinea on the northwest coast of Africa, Angola on the southwest coast and Mozambique on the southeast are provinces of Portugal. There is great similarity in their foods with cornmeal, millet, rice, and hot stews being mainstays in the diets of these regions. Portuguese Africa offers outstanding and unique dishes. The Portuguese influence is also evident in the use of wine. Dishes such as Matata, where clams are cooked in port wine with finely chopped peanuts and tender young greens, and “Frango a Cafrial”, which are peppery hot dishes like “Chicken, the African way”, where chickens are rubbed with the wee “piri-piri” chilli pepper and roasted over a wood fire. These piri-piris are extremely hot. Then there is another dish that shows off the Portuguese love of tomatoes “Chicken, the Portuguese way”, made with tomatoes and wine.
Here is a sauce to use that is very delicious but very hot; be careful when using any chilli peppers.
PIRI-PIRI - Hot pepper sauce
Ingredients:
Combine the following:
4 tbs lemon juice
4 tbs olive oil
4 tbs coarsely chopped small red chilli peppers (the Thai bird chilli is a good substitute)
1 tbs salt
1 tsp minced garlic
Chicken pieces or use chickens that have been cut in half.
Directions:
Macerate in a small bowl. Marinate the chicken in the piri-piri sauce for an hour and roast over the coals BUT be careful, as it is hot. Better yet, serve with a tiny spoon to use sparingly over roasted or BBQ chicken.
CALDO VERDE: Portuguese Kale Soup
(This is a wonderful healthy soup)
Ingredients:
¼ cup olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, diced
2 cloves garlic minced
10 ounces chorizo sausage, diced
6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
8 cups cold water
1 pound kale or collard greens, cut into very fine julienne
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are translucent. Add the garlic and half the chorizo and cook for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cover everything with the water, bring to a boil and lower the heat, simmer until the potatoes are almost done, about 15 minutes. When the soup is cool enough to handle, puree it in the food processor and return to the pot. Add the greens, bring everything back to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes, season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with the remaining cubes of chorizo.
PORTUGUESE CHICKEN
Ingredients:
2 frying chickens, boned and cut into chunks
5 large tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 large onion, sliced
1 each red, green and yellow pepper, sliced
1 four-oz. can black olives, pitted
3 cloves garlic minced
Fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
The juice of one lemon
2 cups water
Directions:
Brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Set aside.
Soften the onions and peppers till golden.
Place all the ingredients in a baking dish.
Bake for 40 minutes, uncovered at 350.
Enjoy. Bon Appetit!