Maria de Lourdes Modesto and our cooking ways...

Remember this:
If you ever would like to know how to make a traditional portuguese recipe, get the Portuguese Traditional Cook book by Maria de Lourdes Modesto.
She has the best recipes from all over Portugal.
Truly, truly portuguese culture and memory.
Portuguese traditional creations in food has practicaly none or little influence from modern french, italian, english or whatever cuisine.
Our recipes go back to Asian, African and Arabian cultures, Portugal was strongly occupied by muslims from south until Douro river, all remixed and adapted to our special tastes in each portuguese region.
Off course that we have some influence from some Iberian cooking culture.
The sweets and special deserts were developed mainly by the monks and nuns from the rich abbeys, seldomly using sugar, eggs and almonds toghether with cinnamon and other spices brought by the portuguese navigators.
Still to be discovered by most of the world of cooks, the Portuguese recipes lack in promotion and adaptation from most of the chefs in Portugal, except for some honorary ones.
To change this, there should be a wider and stronger support from our Ministry of Culture. Promoting our recipes, in lighter versions, presentable ones, according to the nowadays way, considering health and good nurishing habits.

Clams with pork meat, Goat cheese with wild crunchy plants on a broth, shark soup, 'Cataplana', clams and corn mash with fresh herbs, mutton 'ensopado' with mint, river eel cooked with rice using the fish blood and red wine, crusty and flaky pastry cup with a special custard-like filling topped with cinnamon dust that go so well with expresso coffee, to mention a few things that you have probably never heard of.

And our best wines? Considered some of the world's best already, check them out...

Get curious, find out more about it... read M.L.M. She knows...