Making Artists Revealing Knowledge Using Solidarity

Pobierz-Download-Descargar-Baixar

A PORTUGUESE CHRISTMAS

On Christmas Eve Portuguese families gather around the Christmas tree and the Crib (Presépio) to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Catholicism is the main religion in Portugal. So, the Crib is a very important part of the celebration. Traditionally, children are in charge of collecting materials (moss, stones, straws etc…) for the Crib. While some families only display the three main figures: Infant Jesus, Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, others create large scenes with these three figures, the Three Wise Men, the shepherd and the sheep, lakes (made with mirrors) and hills (made with stones, moss, and clay). Most children write letters to Infant Jesus asking for presents rather than to Santa Claus.

Pictures of “Presépios”

On Christmas Eve, the supper (called "Consoada"/ “Ceia de Natal”) consists of codfish with boiled potatoes and cabbage or vegetables depending on the region. This dish is sprinkled with good olive oil and served with some Portuguese cornbreadcalled “broa”. “Broa” is made from a mixture of cornmeal and wheat or rye flour, and is risen with yeast rather than baking powder or baking soda. A good Portuguese wine is always poured during the supper.
After the meal, people eat traditional fried desserts: "velhoses / filhoses or filhós" which are made of fried pumpkin dough; "rabanadas" which are slices of white bread dipped in eggs, Port wine, sugar, and cinnamon and then fried to form a candy-like crust ; "azevias" which are round cakes made of a crust filled with a mixture of chickpeas, sugar, and orange peel; or some other desserts like “arroz doce” (a typical and popular sweet rice , a must in Christmas time parties) and “aletria” (a similar dish this time based upon a kind of vermicelli). These are often decorated with elaborate stencilled patterns of cinnamon powder. In addition to these desserts there are many other that differ from region to region.
Portuguese families also eat a traditional cake - "Bolo Rei", literally King Cake. It is a traditional Portuguese cake, which is usually eaten around Christmas, from December 25 until the “Dia dos Reis” (literally "Day of Kings", a reference to the Three Wise Men) on January 6. The cake itself is round with a large hole in the centre, resembling a crown covered with crystallized and dried fruit. Two little surprises are hidden in the cake (they are baked within): one is a little gift like a fake ring, or a little doll, or a medal. The other is not as welcomed. It is a raw broad bean. Whoever finds the gift will have luck for the rest of the year and the broad beanfinder or “bean king” will have to buy the cake the following year.

Traditionally the “Bolo Rei” is made to celebrate “the day of the Three wise Men”, January 6,the day the Three Wise Men arrived to celebrate Jesus’s birth. However, the ”Bolo de Rei” is now eaten throughout the entire Christmas period.

Around midnight, many families attend the Midnight Mass (called "Missa do Galo"). After mass people gather again around the table and stories are told and friends remembered.Some families will open the presents (that are displayed around the Christmas tree or the Crib) on Christmas Eve after the mass. Others open them in the morning of the 25th, Christmas Day. Some families put one shoe ("sapatinho") of each child next to the chimney (since most of the kitchens in Portugal have one) or next to the fireplace instead of a stocking.
On Christmas Day, people eat roast turkey for lunch and the traditional desserts.At night on Christmas Day, they eat the leftover codfish with potatoes and olive oil - it's called “meia-desfeida”.
In some regions of the country, carollers sing Christmas carols (called "Janeiras") in the streets.
During the holiday season towns are decorated with lights. The festivities end on January 6, "Dia de Reis”, but not before a festive New Year's Eve celebration with spectacular fireworks everywhere, along with the traditional eating of 12 raisins, representing one wish for each month of the coming year.

Picture of a “Missa do Galo”

The “sapatinho” next to the chimney

Pictures of some streets at night

We hope that you will enjoy some of the gastronomic delights that Portugal can offer to make Christmas a special occasion and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

FELIZ NATAL

Portuguese Christmas Eve Cod



Ingredients

2 pounds salt cod, cut into 6 or 8 fillets
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, boiled in their skins and peeled while still hot
1 large head cabbage, cut into 8 pieces, blanched until just tender

For the sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil per person
1 clove garlic per person, minced
1 teaspoon wine vinegar per person (or less to taste)

Instructions

1. Rinse the cod under cold running water to remove any surface salt. Place the fish pieces in a large nonreactive pot, cover with water and refrigerate (covered) for 24 hours, changing the water several times.
2. Pour off the water, fill a saucepan with enough clean water to cover the cod by several inches and gently boil it until it is fully cooked, about 7 to 10 minutes (or longer), depending on the thickness. Drain the cod, and remove any bits of skin or bones.
3. To make the sauce, bring the olive oil and garlic to boil in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the vinegar, beat well and serve in a sauceboat.
Note: All these items must be cooked at the last minute, just before serving, so as to be brought to the table at their best. They are served on big platters, separately. Some people also add hard-boiled eggs, sliced in half and "broa".



Broa - This yeast bread has the wholesome rustic flavour and texture that suitably
accompanies this dish.

Filhós

Ingredients

· 1500g pumpkin*
· 600g flour
· 4 eggs (optional)
· 20g yeast
· 5g salt
· a (very) small glass of Port wine
· sugar and cinnamon

Instructions

1. Peal a medium pumpkin, cut it in cubes and cook it in water without salt. Once cooked, let it dry and squeeze it well to get rid of any residual water.

2. In a big bowl, mix the yeast with some warm water (careful not hot water, you would "kill" the yeast), add it to the pumpkin with the salt, the Port wine, the flour and the eggs (if you add eggs your final dough will be a bit "harder" so balance with the quantity of flour used - in my family it is a tradition not to add the eggs, and the result is always so soft and nice).
3. Cover the bowl with a folded blanket and let it rise as long as necessary (for a minimum of at least 3 hours).
4. After the dough has risen, put olive oil in a pan and once hot form a ball of dough with a spoon and drop it in the olive oil, let it fry (careful that the oil is not too hot otherwise your dough would burn outside and be raw inside).
5. Once fried, roll each "filhós" in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.
6. Serve them warm with a glass of Port wine!
Note: *this weight is after the pumpkin was cooked and dried of its residual water.
**If you use boiled carrots instead of pumpkin it's very good, too.

Aletria (Vermicelli Recipe)


Ingredients
8 cups of milk
6 eggs
1 and 1/2 cups of sugar
1 tsp. of salt
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
1 Pkg. of fine egg noodles

Instructions

• Pour milk into a large pan.
• Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly.
• Add 1/2 of the sugar and the salt.
• Beat the eggs then add the rest of the sugar and all the vanilla to the egg mixture.
• Slowly blend some of the warmed up milk with the eggs to make them thin enough to pour easily.
• Break the noodles up and add them into the boiling milk.
• Stir constantly until the noodles are cooked.
• Remove from the heat and slowly add egg mixture into the cooked noodles mixture. into one large serving platter to cool.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Arroz Doce (Portuguese sweet rice)
Ingredients
1 cup short grain white rice
5 cups water
1 slice lemon peel
1 tablespoon butter
A pinch of salt
2 cups hot milk (preferably whole)
2 cups sugar
5 egg yolks
Cinnamon to garnish

Instructions
1. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil with the lemon peel, butter and pinch of salt.
2. Add the rice and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. When most of the water has evaporated, add the very hot milk. Simmer for 5 more minutes and add the sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg yolks and add a few spoonfuls of the rice mixture to temperate the egg yolks. Then add the now warm egg mixture to the saucepan and stir quickly until even.
4. Serve in a large dish or small shallow ramekins, and sprinkle with ground cinnamon to garnish.

There are several variations of "arroz doce", some of them with condensed milk, some with no eggs at all. This one is a very creamy custardy one and also very sweet. (Be prepared to cut down on the sugar if you're not a hardcore sweet tooth).

RABANADAS

Ingredients
6-8 slices white bread from square loaf or 1 stale French baguette
200 ml warm milk
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup Port wine
2 eggs, beaten
3 tsp olive oil
sugar and cinnamon


Instructions

1. Hold the slices of white bread or cut a baguette into 1 cm thick rounds and remove the crusts;
2. Mix warm milk, sugar and Port wine;
3. Dip the slices of bread (one by one) quickly in the milk;
4. Dip the slices of bread in beaten eggs to cover both sides;
5. Pan-fry the slices of bread on both sides in a non-stick frying-pan until golden brown;
6. Put the "rabanadas" on a paper towel;
7. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

• Some people sprinkle them with a cold sauce.

(In a small pan, mix some sugar, some water and some orange peel;
Boil for 3mn. Add some Port wine and boil for a few seconds;
Cool and sprinkle the "rabanadas" with this sauce.)

Note: Some people eat "rabanadas" at Christmas Eve, but many people make "rabanadas" just to get rid of stale bread.
Rabanadas are a delicious snack and they go well with a cup of coffee or tea.

Bolo Rei (Three Wise Men Cake)

Ingredients
4 cups all purpose flour
1 oz active yeast
1/4 cup milk (warm)
1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup crystallized fruit
1 1/2 cup sliced almonds
4 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1 tbsp lemon peel
1 tbsp orange peel
1/4 cup brandy
1 tsp salt
1 dried broad bean
1 small medal or gift
4 tbsp apricot jam
1 tbsp icing sugar
2 tbsp water


Instructions:

1. Chop 3/4 of crystallized fruit and reserve remaining 1/4 to decorate;
2. Soak chopped crystallized fruit in brandy until ready to use;
3. Add yeast to warm milk, wait 10 minutes and stir to dissolve completely;
4. In a large bowl, mix flour and salt - make a well in centre of flour and pour in
dissolved yeast. Gently sprinkle some of surrounding flour into pool of yeast to form
soft paste in centre of well;

5. In a separate bowl beat butter, sugar, lemon and orange peel until smooth and fluffy;
6. Add eggs one at a time, and beat well after each;
7. Incorporate butter mixture into flour mixture and continue bringing in sides to form
a soft dough;

8. Lightly dust dough with flour, to handle, and turn out onto floured surface. Knead until
soft, smooth and elastic;

9. Add chopped crystallized fruit and almonds and knead to distribute evenly;



10. Roll dough into a ball and dust lightly with flour, put dough in a clean bowl*, mark
an X in the dough with the tip of a knife, and cover with a fresh dish towel;
*Note: Place bowl in a warm airy room, and let rise until doubled in size, about 4 hours.
11. Once dough has doubled, punch down and let rest for 20 minutes;
12. On buttered cookie sheet form a large ring with dough and insert an ovenproof ramekin or cookie cutter in centre to keep hole while baking;

13. Wrap broad bean and small gift in waxed paper, like a small envelope, and insert
into bottom of dough ring, concealing the broad bean and the small gift in the ring of dough as best possible and in different places;

14. Cover with dish towel, let rise again for another hour, until doubled in size;
15. Preheat oven to 180 C;
16. When ring is ready, mix egg yolk with little water to make an egg wash, then brush
top and sides of ring, and decorate with crystallized fruit and sliced almonds.

17. Place in oven for 45 minutes and until golden brown;
18. When Bolo Rei is almost baked, place apricot jam in a small sauce pan and add
little water (aprox. 2 tbps), mix over stove until incorporated and a bit liquid, so
that it is easy to brush on finished ring;

19. After removing Bolo Rei from the oven, gently brush top and sides with jam
mixture;

20. Dust with some icing sugar. Cool and serve.