Can anyone recommend any good Portuguese recipe books? Either in English or Portuguese would be great.
I’m interested in learning more about Portuguese cooking as a way to understand more about part of my heritage that I haven’t yet explored. I’ve had very little exposure to the Portuguese side of my family, partly because when my grandfather left Portugal, he lost touch with family.
I love Tia Maria’s Blog featuring many traditional Portuguese recipes - as well as many accompanying, firsthand videos of her making the dishes (+the delicious results!) She also has a recipe book available. My mom and I made her arroz doce last Christmas, which was delightful (the only thing I would have changed is the amount of sugar the recipe calls for ) Happy cooking and/or baking!
If you are living in Portugal, (as we do for 6-7 months of the year), you might want to try to recipe magazines (at 0.50 euros) that are published each month by the grocery stores Continente or Pingo Doce. They have some fabulous seasonal recipes, often accompanied by articles that explain traditional foods for holidays like Easter, Christmas, etc.
O Livro de Pantagruel is the Bible of Portuguese cooking. It is a staple of Portuguese households. My husband bought me a copy last Christmas, and it is incredible. There are hundreds of pages of recipes, descriptions of every spice imaginable and their uses, images to help you understand different cuts of meat, and more. You can order it online from most Portuguese bookshops (Bertrand, Almedina, Porto Editora, Lidel).
I have also followed some recipes by Temperos e Sabores on YouTube. Most of the videos are in Portuguese, but she always includes the written recipe in the video description. She has a lot of traditional Portuguese dishes, and all of the recipes I have used so far have been very good.
A few months ago I bought a copy of Lisboeta: Recipes from Portugal’s City of Light by Nuno Mendez and I love it! The recipes are a nice combination of quick and easy dishes on one hand (caldo verde is my cirrent favourite), but also more challenging ones if you feel like making things special (figos bebidas were a hit last christmas dinner). Next to that it has beautiful pictures and small stories about Lisbon (and Portugese) culture.
The link to Common Herbs & Spices is good. I knew most of it, but learned a thing or two. I find chives (cebolinho) very much available in the Lisbon area though.