Oporto and North products

Alheira de Barroso-Montalegre

In the cold region of Barroso-Montalegre, smoked sausages and meats prevail.

Farinhota, sangueira, pernil, barriga, chouriços; the list is extensive and includes the much appreciated Alheira de Barroso-Montalegre. A PGI product (Protected Geographical Indication), this sausage is made from Bísaro pig meat with small amounts of poultry meat, game, bread, extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, and hot spices. Another characteristic of this sausage is that it is smoked indirectly since local houses, with their fireplaces always lit, provide the perfect environment for its slow and smooth smoking process, with local wood imparting its aroma. The legend goes that alheira was invented by the Jews who, expelled from Castela in the 15th century, took refuge in Trás-os-Montes. To hide their identity, they created a sausage made entirely of bread and chicken instead of pork meat. Later, Trás-os-Montes people transformed the original recipe by adding pork to it. It may or not be true, but it is still an interesting story about alheira.

Broa de Avintes

Not many people know the secret behind this particular cornbread called Broa de Avintes, but plenty of us recognise its immense gastronomical and patrimonial value!

Butelo de Vinhais

Trás-os-Montes is famous for its sausages and smoked meat, and this week‘s product is one of its most dazzling stars.

Butelo de Vinhais (PGI) – also known as Bucho de Vinhais or Chouriço de Ossos de Vinhais – is known for its unique flavour that comes from four fundamental factors: the pigs‘ feed, the production method used, slow smoking that allows for sealing its aromas and the cure in a fresh, dry environment. How is this sausage made? It‘s simple (or not): “bone-in meat and cartilage (from the pig‘s vertebrae and ribs) are cut into small pieces and placed in a container to be seasoned. This mixture – known as “adoba“ – rests for one to three days. After the last adjustments to the seasoning comes the filling, in a large intestine, stomach, or bladder, previously sewn or tied with cotton thread at one end, the other being tied after the “meats“ are well compacted inside. Next comes the smoking over low heat, with oak or chestnut wood, for at least 15 days, followed by a curing period, in a cool place“.

Carne Maronesa

This week we present the Maronesa mountain bovine breed, bread in a traditional farming system, between the Marão, Alvão and Padrela mountains.

It is distinguished by a dark brown to black coat and lighter hair on the top of their heads, and its meat, which has particular white to ivory-toned fat and dark red to pink meat, depending on the animal’s age. Its singular features earned it the prize of “World’s best meat “. Find out more at Agrupamento de Produtores de Carne Maronesa.

Lamprey

Its appearance may not be the most attractive, but it pays off in flavour, assure lamprey connoisseurs.

The cyclostome lives in rivers and seas and is captured when the spawning season begins in the first months of the year. Lima and Minho are two rivers where lamprey fishing is intense, and Minho is perhaps the region where this delicacy has more tradition. The season runs from January to April and is responsible for actual pilgrimages by connoisseurs to the most typical restaurants for a snack.

Mushroom

From the most common Parisian (or white) variety to the very rare white truffles, and not forgetting the shitake, oyster mushrooms or portobello, these are all part of the immense family of fungi we know as mushrooms.

There are about ten thousand known mushrooms, of which only about a thousand can be safely consumed and, of that part, only a small portion is sold. Mushrooms are highly appreciated not only for their flavour and versatility in cooking but also for their therapeutic and nutritional qualities. Essentially made up of water (about 90%), they are a great source of proteins, rich in antioxidants, they have generous amounts of vitamins (especially the B complex) and minerals (phosphorus, selenium, copper, potassium).

Onion

If you flip through a Portuguese recipe book, you’ll find some key ingredients common to almost all of them, this being one of the more prominent ones.

White, red, Valenciana and garrafal are just some of the numerous varieties of onions, our featured product of the week. At first glance (and first bite), it may look like a shallot, but it is an onion from Vale do Sousa, a variety appreciated, above all, for its low acidity. The main product of traditional late summer fairs in Penafiel and São Bartolomeu since the old days, it is a favourite of several chefs – especially those from the north of Portugal! The ones we show here come from H2Douro. This small family business runs a “modern, efficient and sustainable”, production of vegetables, fruits, aromatics and microgreens, “both from an economic and environmental point of view”.

Persimmon

Recognised for its astringency and sweetness, the persimmon is a very versatile fruit, which lends itself to a series of gastronomic uses ranging from juices to cakes, without forgetting casseroles.

The leaves of the persimmon can be used in infusions to strengthen the circulatory system or its extract for beauty products – in China, the persimmon is known as the “beauty tree”. It is precisely in East Asia that the tree originated, having spread a little throughout Europe, where it has found optimal conditions to develop. This autumnal fruit, which is in season from October to December, posses a handful of health benefits as it is rich in potassium, vitamin A and carotenoids that make it a powerful antioxidant.

Potato

Of the many good things that come from the fertile soils of Trás os Montes, the potato is perhaps the most special.

Its enjoyable and characteristic flavour results from the particular conditions of the soil, relief and climate of the region, and “the warm bed provided by the well dug and manured land”. Slightly sweet with a pleasant aroma, the Trás-os-Montes potato is a Protected Geographical Indication product. It is appreciated for its aforementioned “sweet taste, resulting from the truly exceptional sugar/starch ratio and ideal texture to ‘absorb’ the taste of sauces in dishes with fatty meats (pork), which are the base of the region’s gastronomy”.

Raspberry

The fruit of the raspberry tree is delicious when eaten raw and natural, but it also lends itself to a series of recipes: sweet or savory, anything goes!

Small, fresh, colourful, aromatic and very tasty; there is no lack of adjectives for qualifying the raspberry. The fruit of the raspberry tree (a tree native to Europe and North Asia) is delicious when eaten raw and natural, but it also lends itself to a series of recipes: sweet or savory, anything goes! Did you know that the delicate and juicy berries need at least 700 hours per year of exposure to temperatures below 7ºC?

Roosterfish

This fish is renowned for its tasty meat.

In Portugal, dory fish is “called rooster” fish because of the shape of its fins, which resembles the crest of a rooster. This fish is renowned for its tasty meat and the quantity and quality of its roe.

Strawberry

Much appreciated for their light and unique flavor, they are versatile and take the leading role, especially in desserts: ice cream, mousses, jams; the list is as long as it is delicious.

As soon as they hit market stands, we get a taste of summer. Can you guess what we‘re talking about? If you answered strawberries, you hit the bullseye. The king of red fruits is grown from north to south of Portugal, and in Trás-os-Montes, in the small village of São Pedro Velho, in the municipality of Mirandela, there is an expressive production that, some say, has the sweetest strawberries in the country.

Yellow chicken

Also known as Minho chicken, it owes its name to the yellowish color of its plumage.

The yellow chicken, an autochthonous species that the people from Minho have saved from oblivion (and extinction). Also known as Minho chicken, it owes its name to the yellowish color of its plumage and is recognized, among other attributes, for the quality of its meat and eggs. Therefore, it is better suited for traditional recipes such as giblet rice, folares and sponge cake.