Lol Curry

Quick one. One of my favourite dishes in that it uses up leftovers and it's damn tasty.

I call it lol curry, not because it's funny but because of it's main ingredient; left over lamb. This is the remnants of Sunday's shoulder of lamb that I left in the oven for 5 hours on 140 degrees with a few litres of chicken stock and a glass of red wine while I went out for a few beers with my old mate Bobbo who was visiting from Spain.

Anyway, I've covered the recipe before, more or less, here http://blokeinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2011/03/lovely-leftovers.html so I won't bore you with it again.

Come to think of it, the main point of this post was really just to say that I'm using the first of my home-grown chillies tonight in place of the dried chilli mentioned in the recipe (which I generally only use because I'm very lazy).

Anyway, must go. Curry to eat!

The Bloke

A Brief Round-up

Sunday, 31st July - Tuesday, 2nd August.

Right, the weather's taken a bit of a turn in the last few days and the food hasn't really been up to much either but we have found other stuff to occupy us though.

First, Sunday. The weather here in São Martinho was pretty rubbish so we headed off to Lisbon Zoo. The weather was unexpectedly fabulous in the capital and we had a great day. It's a nice zoo but, as is often the case, the food was nothing to shout about although it was nice to see McDonalds are branching out.

I didn't try the crocodile burgers though. I'm joking, of course but the sight of crocs basking beneath the Golden Arches did make me wonder.

Monday saw the weather worsen and, buoyed by finding better weather on our travels the day before, we headed out along the coast to nearby Foz do Arelho. Last time we visited Foz it was the middle of winter and the place was deserted. Turned out the weather was actually even worse in August so, after a (very) brief walk, we promptly got back in the car and headed back to São Martinho, only to find the weather had brightened up a little.

Still not nice enough to head to the beach (although it didn't deter some people), we took a walk along the prom, over the boardwalk that spans the sand dunes from São Martinho to neighbouring Salir do Porto and up the huge sand dune at the mouth of the Rio Alfeizerão.

It started raining on the way back and was still raining later on when we headed out for dinner at Restaurante Carvalho - a place Pooky had chosen after we'd had lunch at a place next door earlier in the holiday.

There we shared another enormous sea bass which, as with the one we'd had on our first night out, was butterflied and grilled, dressed with olive oil and capers and served with the usual boiled potatoes and vegetables. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. It certainly wasn't as bad as the review I read on Foursquare, which I only read after we'd eaten and I realised that I had a wi-fi signal.

So on to Tuesday. I opened the curtains to see yet another overcast sky. We'd already decided the day before that, if the weather hadn't improved, we'd head back in the direction of Lisbon in search of a bit of sun. Not finding any en route, we continued on to the capital and to the Oceanario de Lisboa.

This is a great aquarium situated on the quayside and houses an impressive central tank containing an array of sharks, tuna, rays and the bizarre sun fish.

We also visited the temporary turtle exhibition which was a little disappointing, if not admirable in it's intentions.

We emerged from the aquarium into bright sunlight so quickly headed back north in the hope that the weather in São Martinho had improved too. It had so we grabbed a few hours on our terrace before heading along the promenade for dinner.

This time we checked out the restaurant we thought we were going to a few days ago when we mistook two restaurants for one - Grelhados No Carvão, beneath the O Farol on the prom. Still wanting to try the cutlass fish, I spotted scabbard fish on the menu and thought it must be the same thing - lost in translation, if you like.

I was wrong and what arrived was actually (and fortunately) a very good piece of grilled swordfish served, as usual, with the ever-present boiled potatoes and veg. The Missus had the grilled sea bream which was on par with others we've had thus far. The service wasn't up to much but the food, wine and view all made up for that.

Well there you have the last few days in a nutshell. The weather's been hit and miss but we've been out and about and tried a few more restaurants of varying quality. Certainly not a culinary wonder but we've made the most of a couple of cloudy days.

The Bloke.

A Grand Day Out

Saturday, 30th July.

Another overcast day here on the west coast of Portugal. Definitely not a day for lying on the beach but an opportunity to further explore the region. This time our travels took us to the charming town of Óbidos, a mish-mash of Medieval, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque features (according to the leaflet I picked up at Tourist Information) and one of the 7 Wonders of Portugal. I didn't know there was one Wonder of Portugal, let alone seven. Actually, I don't know what the other six are. Nevertheless, Óbidos is indeed wonderful.

We wandered through the narrow cobbled streets, exploring the numerous tiny craft shops, bars and bodegas selling the local brew, Ginja D'Óbidos - a cherry liqueur produced in the area and sold by the glass, most often (though not always) in a very delicate chocolate cup.

Unfortunately, I was designated driver and didn't get to try it but I did pick up a couple of miniature bottles to try later.

We also learned the story of the ubiquitous Cock of Barcelos that adorns everything from fridge magnets to tea towels all over Portugal.

The story goes that at a banquet given by a rich landowner in Barcelos the silver was stolen and a guest accused of the theft. Tried by the court and found guilty, the man continued to protest his innocence, despite evidence to the contrary. Having a compassionate moment, the magistrate grants the man a last chance to prove his innocence. Spotting a cockerel in a basket nearby, the man says, "if I am innocent, the cock will crow!" Of course, the cock crows and the man is set free. No doubt to the delight of manufacturers and sellers of tourist trinkets country-wide.

After a walk round the castle grounds and the old town wall, thoughts inevitably turned to lunch. With an abundance of similar looking eateries to choose from, we took a seat outside a small restaurant called Burgo down one of the many narrow streets.

Having been thwarted in my desire for bream last week (see the earlier 'Bad-ass Sea Bass' post), I plumped for the grilled dourado (as it's called in these parts). The Missus chose the grilled sea bass.

As we have come to expect in Portugal, the food was simple but delicious. Both the bream and the bass were well seasoned with coarse sea salt, grilled and served whole, along with boiled potatoes and carrots, a side salad and a dressing of olive oil, garlic and parsley.

We walked off our lunch with some further exploration, taking a walk along the perimeter wall and up to the castle, which now houses a 'Pousada' - essentially an inn with a restaurant, which was added in the 1950's and was the first in a historic building in Portugal.

As good as the food was in Óbidos, it wasn't the best of the day. That honour was to be found at a lovely little place that Pooky and I found whilst ambling back from the Intermarche and was literally round the corner from our apartment.

So to the fabulous Cantinho do Amigo; a place so unassuming, we had to actually stick our heads inside to make sure it was really a restaurant.

We got back and reported our find to The Missus. A little later on, as we were heading out for dinner (originally destined for somewhere down at the bay), I suggested that we nip round the corner to Cantinho do Amigo for a drink, to give us a chance to check it out. We ended up staying for dinner and were not disappointed.

Along with the hand-written menu, we were told of about half a dozen 'specials' by the waiter/proprietor. Despite there being both cutlass fish and sardines on the menu, my attention was grabbed by a couple of the specials because, we were told, they were local specialities.

The first was the one I chose - pork with clams. Cubes of pork, seasoned with paprika and a little chilli, and fried in olive oil along with cubed potatoes and finished with a handful of clams and a scattering of parsley.

The second was the choice of both The Missus and Pookster (although our host wisely advised against ordering two of this dish, insisting that one was enough for two) and it was an amazing dish of a whole, jointed chicken, cooked in an earthenware jug with chunks of chorizo, thick slices of pancetta, whole shallots, tomatoes and port. The result, succulent, melting chicken with a smoky flavour and rich, unctuous gravy - an absolute show-stopper and arguably the best dish of the trip so far. Definitely one I'll be trying to recreate when I'm back in Blighty.

Well, whilst the morning's weather didn't look promising, the day turned out to be both a cultural and culinary delight and memorable day for all.


The Bloke.