
Vitor Sobral
Chef dishes

Codfish in Olive Oil and Garlic
In the book “My Codfish Recipes”, chef Vítor Sobral presents 500 ways to cook cod. This Codfish Confitado in Olive Oil and Garlic is one of them and one that will shine on any occasion.

Octopus and apricots
Octopus and apricots? Yes, they match perfectly! See Chef Vitor Sobral’s recipe in the video below, and enjoy!

Sardines with tomato and cherry rice
A recipe made with 100% national and seasonal ingredients, with chef Vitor Sobral’s signature, to taste at Tasca da Esquina or make at home! The Art of Tasting Portugal, all together around this great table that is Portugal.

Vítor Sobral cooking tuna
From the imposing Ponta dos Rosais to the mystical Fajã de Santo Cristo, the Poça de Simão Dias and the pictoresque village of Velas, we wandered around São Jorge in chef Vitor Sobral’s company. On his way around the island, the chef took some time to visit Santa Catarina Indústria Conserveira SA to work his magic on a tuna. And then? And then we had the pleasure of watching the chef turn this and other wonders of the Azorean sea into dishes that we won’t forget. And if these dishes remain in our tastebuds’ memory, the moment we shared at the table will also stay in our mind. It is not every day that moments like these are savoured in a place as unique as the cosy Quinta da Magnólia, with the island of Pico lurking on the horizon. To toast to all of this, a Verdelho from the neighbouring island of Pico. Here’s to you, São Jorge!
Products used

Codfish
He is the king and lord of Portuguese recipes, and so you must keep the following tips with great care and remember them when choosing codfish.
Good cod is from the Atlantic (Gadus morhua), with thick fillets that splinter perfectly after cooking, unlike Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus). Opt for a very dry and uniformly coloured piece, buy it whole and ask the various parts to be cut – loins, fillets, flaps and tail. To determine whether the cod was salted in the high seas, check if the part where the head was is flat. To soak your cod, use chef Vítor Sobral’s tips, an expert in the technique: “The process of soaking cod is what makes it regain the level of water it lost during drying; you must follow certain precautions. First of all, rinse the cod under running water to remove excess salt. Then, place the cod in a container with cold water with the skin facing up (so that the skin does not prevent the salt from coming out) covered with water. This should always be done with cold water and in the refrigerator. The water should be changed twice a day. Soaking time depends on the type of cut: the loins will take longer than the finer cuts; it is best to soak them separately. The loins, the cut that we will use in this week’s recipe, can take up to 4 to 5 days to be properly soaked. Be careful not to oversoak it; cod should always be slightly salty, with the flavour the Portuguese love so much!”

Sardines
Here they are, the delicious sardines!
June would not be a month without them. Saint Peter, Saint John, and Saint Anthony would not know what to do without the “beautiful sardine” on a slice of bread, full of Omega 3, served with roasted pepper salad and baked potatoes. On the grill, in a stew, fried with tomato rice or marinated, the sardine is one of the “girlfriends of Portugal”, as far as popularity is concerned. Originally from Sardinia, in the Mediterranean, these little fishes swam thousands of kilometres and spread worldwide. But no one takes the Portuguese’s title of Europe’s biggest sardine consumers. Watch the video and find out how to choose it.

Fundão Cherries
The month of May is when we see many good things back on the market stalls: radishes, strawberries, … and if the first thing that came to your mind were the Fundão cherries, you’re one of us!
At The Art of Tasting Portugal, we know the best products by heart. They say that cherries are like conversations. As a rule, they come in pairs – which proves the veracity of this proverb. Red and fleshy, they are an explosion of flavour that we cannot dissociate from the arrival of warm weather or from the beautiful fields of blossoming cherry trees that motivate so many walks at this time of the year. Rich in anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory, they are excellent from the nutritional point of view, perfect for sweet and savoury flavours.

Tuna
Skipjack is the smallest. Bluefin is the biggest.
Skipjack is the smallest. Bluefin is the biggest. Other than these, you can also find the yellowfin, bigeye, and albacore in the tepid Azorean waters. Tuna fishing in the Azores is quite an example. The “pole and Line” artisanal method is sustainable and doesn’t jeopardize the species. Tuna fishing requires patience, time, and technique, pretty much like chess. You can also call it art.

Octopus
One of the oceans‘ most fascinating creatures is also one of the most versatile ingredients in Portuguese gastronomy!
Cooked since the Bronze Age, it is also a fascinating ingredient from a cultural and nutritional point of view. According to the Portuguese Programme for Healthy Eating Habits, octopus is low in calories but rich in protein, iron, and fatty acids.
Regions

Center
The centre of Portugal is proof that virtue (or, in this case, the virtues) is in the middle. From the highest mountain in mainland Portugal to the world’s biggest waves, there is a little bit of everything, without forgetting priceless monumental and human heritage. Schist villages, castles that look like they have emerged from fairy tales, one of the oldest universities in Europe, and even a Portuguese-style Venice.

Azores
Made up of lagoons, volcanoes, hydrangeas and fajãs, pastures, ferns, craters and basalt, this island, of a thousand and one charms, is known for its cheese, a strong Cheddar, as well as for its beauty and its people. Its fajãs, coastal plains that lie between 400 and 700 meters high, were considered UNESCO Biosphere Heritage.

Algarve
The Algarve tastes of the sea, but it is much more than the beaches with warm and crystal-clear waters that make the cover of a travel magazine. It is also the mountains with a view of the sea, the rivers where migratory birds come to drink in the summer, the hidden fishing villages that appear to have stopped in time.