Portugal Day: Honouring a special connection to Seychelles |12 June 2020

Sines, Alentejo region, Portugal (Photo source: tasteatlas.com)

Portugal Day was celebrated yesterday, June 10, and while this annual observation may not at first bring any associations to Seychelles to mind, digging a bit deeper into our local history will unveil the first recorded sighting of our islands by the legendary Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.

Da Gama (1460 – 1524) was a navigator as well as the first person to sail directly from Europe to India. It is said that he sighted the Amirantes group during a Portuguese exploration to the Indian Ocean in 1502 or 1503.

Interestingly, what many of us might not know is that Vasco da Gama was from the coastal area ‘Sines’ in the Alentejoregion of Portugal which, similarly to Seychelles, makes much use of fish and seafood in their local dishes; fish is actually a big part of the Portuguese cuisine. A wide variety of spices are also used, including garlic, pepper, coriander, thyme, rosemary, parsley, vanilla, cinnamon, clove and saffron. Alentejo is considered to be the gastronomic soul of Portugal!

It is only fitting then that we celebrate Portugal Day by remembering the special connection between Seychelles, Portugal and Vasco da Gama himself through a few old and traditional recipes from Portugal and especially Vasco Da Gama’s homeland ‘Alentejo’.

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Açorda

Ingredients

• Serves 6
• 6 eggs
• 8 cloves garlic
• 1 bunch cilantro (or pennyroyal or mint, depending on taste)
• 6 slices thick, day-old bread
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 8 cups water
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation

1. In a mortar, crush the garlic with a pestle.
2. Add the cilantro leaves and olive oil gradually to form a paste.
3. In a pot, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Reduce the heat to medium. Break the eggs over the pan and poach them for 3 minutes.
5. Remove the poached eggs with a slotted spoon and place them on a plate lined with paper towels.
6. Pour the cilantro and garlic paste into the egg-cooking water and stir well.
7. Prepare 6 bowls. At the bottom of each bowl, place a slice of bread and a poached egg. Pour the garlic and cilantro broth, adjust seasoning and serve immediately.

To prepare this with fish / seafood, cook the fish / seafood in the cooking water after poaching the eggs.

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Polvo à la Lagareiro – (Portuguese Roasted Octopus & Potato Dish)

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 octopus, about 3 lbs
• 1 lb of small potatoes
• 1 head of crushed garlic
• 2 bay leaves cut in half
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• Chopped coriander (to taste)

Preparation

1. Put the octopus in a pot. Cover with water and simmer for about 40 minutes.
2. After 40 minutes, remove the octopus. With a knife, separate the tentacles and head from the octopus.
3. With the potatoes well washed and wet, season them with coarse salt.
4. On a baking tray, place the potatoes around it. In the center, place half of bay leaves and garlic. Place the octopus on top.
5. Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle the remaining bay leaves and garlic on top. Drizzle the octopus with olive oil.
6. Preheat the oven to 180ºC or 350ºF and bake for about 30 minutes.
7. When the potatoes are roasted, remove from the oven. With a spoon, lightly press crush the potatoes so they open a little.
8. Sprinkle chopped coriander on top and serve immediately.

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Sericaia (Portuguese Egg Pudding)

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 130 g of sugar
• 50 g of flour
• 4 eggs yolks
• 4 eggs whites
• 35 ml milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 lemon rinds

Preparation

1. Turn the oven to 200 C.
2. Grease a baking dish with butter.
3. Place the milk, lemon peel and cinnamon stick together in a pot and boil for 5 minutes. Let it cool down.
4. Mix the egg yolks with the sugar and the flour in a big bowl. Slowly add the cold, precooked milk.
5. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt and add them to the previous preparation.
6. Place spoonfuls of the dough in the baking dish and sprinkle with plenty of cinnamon.
7. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
8. Check the cooking with a toothpick; remove from the oven, let it cool down and keep it in the refrigerator until serving.

Compiled by F.P.

References: seychelles-travel.org; BBC; blog.emanuelesiracusa.com; theculturetrip.com; 196flavors.com; tasteofportugal.eu; porugueserecipes.ca