Tomato jam and the sweet memories of Summer afternoons

Making jam is a time consuming task. Firstly you have to take some time for cleaning and preparing the fruit and then you have to heat the sugar and fruit mixture and wait for the sugar reaching its setting point. But the end result is really worth it.

If someone asks me which jam I like the most, I will have some difficulty in identifying just one. But I am sure that I will pick tomato jam as being amongst my top preferences. Today's jam recipe is very simple to make and is one of my favorites. Perhaps because when I think of this recipe I associate it with some good memories of both my mother and myself making jam on Summer afternoons. On those times, many years ago, we made enough jam for all year round. I loved to help my mother peeling and seeding the tomatoes. I remember how our home would be filled with the sweet and warm aromas from the cinnamon. It was a delightful fragrance. When the jam was ready to eat, I was summoned to taste it. What a lovely sensation! Such pleasant and memorable recollections, all due to tomato jam!

Ingredients:
2kg peeled and seeded tomatoes
1kg light brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 pinch of salt
A drizzle of olive oil


1. Place the tomatoes in a saucepan. Let it boil for 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Whiz the tomatoes with a stick blender and add the sugar, cinnamon, salt and olive oil. Let it boil until the sugar reaches the correct setting point. Spoon a little jam onto a cold saucer. After a couple of minutes gently push your finger through the jam and if the surface wrinkles it is ready. If not, let the sugar and tomato mixture boil for a couple of minutes more. Don't forget to stir occasionally.

3. Put the jam in glass flasks while it is still very hot and close them almost immediately.


To peel the tomatoes, you just have to make two cuts at the base of the tomato (like a X). Then parboil them for a few minutes. The skin will come off easily.

The zest of one lemon can also be added to this jam recipe. If you prefer, you can avoid blending the tomatoes.

This jam has a beautiful strong reddish color due to the tomato and light brown sugar mixture. Its flavor is simple delicious. Here at home, we easily eat it in a piece of bread or bagel generously spread with spoon after spoon of jam! A treat from which, one cannot run away!

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Doce de tomate e as memórias das tardes de Verão ]

Lamb, tomato and chickpea stew with harissa

Fresh tomato is still around here in my kitchen. Consequently, when I decide which recipe to cook I usually try to include tomato in it. In today's recipe, the tomato makes all the difference.

Ingredients:
750g diced lamb
1dl olive oil
1kg unpeeled and unseeded tomato
50g green pepper cut into strips
1dl water
2 carrots, sliced
2 teaspoons harissa
500g canned chickpea
1 bunch coriander, chopped
salt and pepper to taste


1. Put the lamb, tomatoes, olive oil, harissa, green peppers, carrots, water, salt and pepper in a pan. Bring to a simmer. Once it begins to boil, lower the heat and let it cook for one hour with the pan covered and in low heat.

2. Add the canned beans and let it boil again.

3. Serve the stew sprinkled with chopped coriander.


I served this stew with slices of freshly baked bread. This lamb, tomato and chickpea stew with a gentle touch of spicy harissa is delicious.

The lamb can be replaced by pork or beef.

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Borrego guisado com tomate, harissa e grão ]

Roasted Atlantic horse mackerel

In my opinion, the Atlantic horse mackerel is currently one of the less preferred fishes to cook with in our kitchens. I just love grilled horse mackerel, but now that I have no more backyard grill, I don't dare to grill fish at home. And so when I usually buy fish for our meals I don't even think of buying horse mackerel. What happened was that in one of these days, I could not resist bringing home two beautiful horse mackerels, quite fresh with its shinning eyes, both caught by my father in one of his fishing trips.

I had already followed one of my working colleague's advice and had this fish roasted in the oven which turned out to be a very good suggestion. I wanted to repeat it but this time I added tomato in order to have a more colorful dish full of Summer flavors.

Ingredients:
2 large horse mackerel
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1dl olive oil
2 unpeeled and unseeded tomatoes
1 sprig coriander, chopped
Boiled potatoes to accompany
salt and pepper to taste


1. Season the mackerel with salt and pepper.

2. In a skillet or saucepan put the oil, onion and garlic. Sauté the onion. When the onion breaks, add the coarsely chopped tomato. Conitnue to sauté until the tomato is evenly cooked. Turn off the heat and only then add the chopped coriander.

3. Place the horse mackerels on an oven dish pour over the fish the sautéed mixture carefully. Cover with an aluminum foil sheet.

4. Put it into a 220ºC preheated oven for 10 minutes and then another 15 minutes to finish cooking but this time with the fish uncovered by the aluminum foil sheet.

5. Serve the fish with boiled potatoes.


Today's recipe was inspired by this recipe in the Receitas de Culinária website. My personal touch was my decision to sauté the onion and tomate before putting all in the oven to cook. I think this way the dish becomes even more delicious. As you can see, it's easy to cook horse mackerel!

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Carapaus no forno ]

Roasted zucchini stuffed with farinheira and tomato

September is still having hot summer days. In fact, it seems that we finally will have all those warm and hot days that didn't appear last August. Now that the holidays are over, we are finally having the desire to go to the beach. Here at home, albeit the heat, the oven doesn't stop being used. Today's recipe is a delicious roasted zucchini stuffed with farinheira and tomato. A truly delight!

Ingredients:
5 small zucchini
Iberian pork farinheira (smoked sausage)
0.5dl olive oil
2 chopped shallots
2 big ripe tomatoes
2 eggs
some savory leaves or a sprig of parsley
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese


1. Cut the zucchini in half. With the aid of a knife or a Paris spoon remove the pulp from the zucchini.

2. Chop the zucchini pulp.

3. Pour the oil in a skillet then add the chopped shallots and the chopped zucchini pulp. Stir and cook for a while.

4. Add the chopped unpeeled and unseeded tomatoes. Let it cook for a while.

5. Remove the farinheira skin and then cut it into slices. Add the slices to skillet mixture while stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Add the eggs after being scrambled. Add the savory leaves or parsley.

7. Stuff the zucchini with the previous mixture.

8. In a bowl mix the cheese and bread crumbs. Sprinkle the stuffed zucchini with this mixture.

9. Place the zucchini on a oven dish. Put it in a 200ºC preheated oven for 30 minutes.


Enjoy your meal!

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Courgette recheada com farinheira e tomate ]

Roasted sea bream with coriander and cherry tomatoes

Luísa woke up early. She experienced the silence through all of the house. Occasionally she liked being alone. The maids - Joana and Juliana - had both requested some time off. Jorge wasn't around. He had gone away for a few days in one of his many business trips. Luísa did not hesitate to say yes to the request of the maids. Juliana had gone to the doctor and then she would go visit her Aunt Vitória. Joana's request may have been related with some boyfriend, but Luísa didn't bother to ask. It was nice to be home alone. Able to manage her time without giving any satisfaction, without having someone ask her things or having to make decisions for others.

She began by making coffee and drinking it in a big cup. She loved the intense and slightly roasted aroma of coffee. She shared this taste with her beloved childhood friend, Leopoldina, which unfortunately due to the pressing requests of Jorge she had stopped visiting. It didn't befit her mingling with a woman with a nickname such as "bread and butter", who was known to have several lovers. On the contrary, D. Felicidade distasted coffee. She would say every time she visited her: "- Dear, I prefer tea. You know that coffee and me don't get along very well!"

After drinking her coffee, she sat on the couch and spent the morning reading one of those novels that she loved so much. This one had been offered to her by her cousin Basílio, just before he had gone living to France. The books were a way to make her dream, a way to be transported into another dimension, a way of living and experiencing a little the lives of others.

She would have lunch at home. She could have arranged a lunch in Chiado with Sebastião or even with Julião - her old good friends - but she decided otherwise. She preferred to stay at home and cook. She loved to cook although she never did since she had married. Before her mother had died, she cooked delicious dishes. She went to the fridge and saw a beautiful sea bream with its mouth open that she thought was smiling. It was what she would cook for lunch.

Ingredients:
1 sea bream or other fish suitable for roasting in the oven
3 garlic cloves
1/2 lemon
10 to 12 cherry tomatoes
1 sprig of coriander
1 stalk of rosemary
olive oil
salt and peppercorns to taste


1. Stuff two cloves of garlic (with the its peel), rosemary and lemon in the belly of the fish.

2. To prepare the wrapper, place a sheet of parchment paper on top of an aluminum foil sheet. On top of the parchment paper sheet, place a sprig of coriander and then on top of that place the fish after being seasoned with salt.

3. Sprinkle the fish with chopped garlic and a sprig of cilantro. Place the cherry tomatoes around the fish. Sprinkle with peppercorns.

4. Sprinkle with olive oil and close the wrapper. Put it into a preheated oven for 40 minutes.


Luísa enjoyed her lunch. The fish was juicy. So delicious that she had decided to cook this recipe more often.

I was inspired in the novel Primo Basílio ("Cousin Bazilio") by Eça de Queirós to write this short story.

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Besugo assado no forno com coentros e tomate cereja ]

Zucchini blossoms, tomato and requeijão cheese tart

On one of the beautiful blue sky Saturdays that I have spent in Santarém I had the opportunity to pick several zucchinis. I found zucchinis of every size, from the very large - real dark green pumpkins - to the little ones - tender and sweet - still having its blossom.

I love zucchini and I have cooked it in various ways. Nevertheless, I have never used its blossom. That day, seeing it there at my disposal, I could not resist and picked up a few. The blossoms are very sensitive, consequently I immediately tried to cook it on the next day. The choice fell on a tomato and requeijão cheese tart.

Ingredients:

Pastry:
280g flour
90g butter
0.5dl water

1. Mix the flour with the butter. Then add water and mix again.

2. Roll the mass.

3. Line a tart tin with the dough. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork.

Filling:
90g grated zucchini
2 cloves garlic, minced
30g dried tomatoes preserved in olive oil, chopped
5 eggs
1 requeijão cheese
1dl milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 sprig of parsley and coriander, chopped
2 small ripe tomatoes
8 very small zucchini with blossom
A drizzle of olive oil
70g grated mozzarella cheese


1. Place in a bowl the grated zucchini, the minced garlic cloves, the dried tomatoes, the eggs, the milk and the requeijão cheese slightly smashed by hand. With the aid of a whisk, mix the ingredients very well. Season with salt and pepper and add the chopped herbs.

2. Put a portion of this mixture in the tart tin. Add the diced tomato. Pour the remaining mixture. Lay out the small zucchinis with blossom on top. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

3. Put the tart tin into a 180ºC preheated oven for 40 minutes.


The handmade tart pastry turns out to be very good and this recipe is so simple that it is quite practical.

This tart is delicious served either warm or cold. The zucchini keeps crisp. The blossoms contribute with a slight sweet and velvety flavour. Next year I will try to use just the zucchini blossoms.

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Tarte de courgettes em flor com tomate e requeijão ]

Provençal tomatoes with fried egg

This summer I have been using tomatoes enthusiastically. I have already devoted them an entire week and they have been an indispensable companion in my cooking. By now, my kitchen has already seen cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes and rounded tomatoes, beautiful, of which I don't know the name, but when looked at they make me think of big and juicy apples with a sweet aroma. It is one of my favorite types of tomato.

This is one of the recipes I made to honor the tomatoes that have been coming to my kitchen. I have cooked it twice recently. One of the occasions was for a lunch with my longtime friend Paula.

Ingredients:
4 to 6 medium ripe tomatoes
4 to 6 fried eggs
2 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
chopped parsley
10 pitted black olives chopped
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
salt
pepper
olive oil


1. Cut the tomatoes in halves. Place them with cut side up in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with salt and a little olive oil. Then put it in a 190ºC preheated oven for 40 minutes.

2. Mix the garlic, parsley, olives and bread crumbs. Season with pepper.

3. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the previous mixture. Then sprinkle again with two tablespoons of olive oil. Put it all in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Place a fried egg on top of each roasted tomato. Don't forget to grind black pepper and/or dried oregano on top of the eggs immediately before serving.


The roasted tomatoes with the mixture of breadcrumbs and herbs turned out to be very good. The result is an interesting mix of flavors and textures. You can also add two tablespoons of grated cheese for those who prefer. The fried egg makes all the difference.

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Tomate à Provençal com ovo estrelado ]

There is nothing like a bowl of soup ...

Returning from vacations usually involves resuming, with a twinge of nostalgia, a routine that we are no longer used to. Sometimes, I wish my life was mainly traveling and writing!

My traveling usually requires walking a lot of miles through towns, catching public transportation, being little time in each location, taking photos - a lot of photos! - and tasting new flavors. This year, I had also to face huge crowds of tourists and had to endure burning hot weather. On these occasions, I tend to think I need a vacation from the vacations! Predictably, in the end, I would do it all again.

Little by little, the old pace and routines start settling. A visit to my parents. Catch the tomatoes that remained in the garden. Catch some blackberries and zucchinis - possibly the last ones from this season - and some quinces. Peek at the pumpkins that are almost ready to harvest and start choosing which one will be used for next Christmas fried treats. Read all the messages accumulated in my eMail account and start planning what we will eat.

Usually, when I return from vacation, I have an urge to eat soup. There is nothing like a bowl of soup when you arrive from holidays abroad.

I chose a roasted tomato soup. Around here, the tomatoes returned in abundance.

Ingredients:
1kg ripe tomatoes
550g peeled pumpkin
1 large onion cut into halves
2 cloves garlic, rolled
3 bay leaves
1 sprig rosemary
1dl olive oil
2dl of hot water
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)


1. Place the tomatoes cut in halves in a pan with the pumpkin, onion, garlic, bay and rosemary leaves.

2. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with olive oil.

3. Put into a 210ºC preheated oven for 50 minutes.

4. Triturate and then blend the roasted vegetables with 2dl of hot water. Finally, adjust the seasoning with salt and add a pinch of cayenne pepper to taste.


The tomatoes I used did not have many seeds. But if that is not the case, I advise you to filter the soup with the aid of a sieve.

This soup is very good. The flavor of tomatoes, slightly acidic mixed with a touch of caramel from the other vegetables, makes eating this soup an experience to repeat.

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Não há nada como um prato de sopa ... ]

Minestrone with tortellini

Today's recipe is still devoted to celebrating the tomato, one of the fruits that reaches its apex in this time of the year. I just can't recall how much kilograms of tomatoes I have used last week. In addition to the recipes presented here I have used it in many more recipes for all the daily meals. I also included tomatoes in every salad I have prepared. I didn't make any tomato jam nor tomato sauce. I will give it a try at the end of the month.

Because I love eating soup and in contraposition to the chilled tomato and watermellon soup, I now present a hot soup in which the use of tomato is the key to its success.

Ingredients:
1dl olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 stalks celery
1 carrot, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
750g ripe tomatoes
600ml water
250g of bacon and cheese tortellini
salt


1. Heat the oil in a sauce pan. Add the onion and garlic. Season with salt and let it cook for a while.

2. Add the chopped celery, carrot, zucchini and half the bunch of parsley. Let it all cook between 5 and 6 minutes. Add the peeled and seeded chopped tomatoes. Stir and add water. Cook for about 10 minutes.

3. Boil the tortellini in a pot following the package instructions.

4. Serve the soup with tortellini and with the rest of the chopped parsley.


This recipe was published in the September 2009 edition of Olive magazine. This soup is to eat and cry for more.

Five Quarters of the Orange is going on vacation, as of today. During that period I will try to do some "culinary research" in the Country of Pasta.

I wish everybody have a great summer holiday.


P.S.: By the way, does anyone have good suggestions for Rome, Perugia, Assisi, Siena, Florence, the coast of Tuscany, Venice and Milan? Any tips regarding eating, or visiting interesting markets, peculiar neighborhoods and stores?

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Minestrone com tortellini ]

Tomato and watermellon chilled soup

When two people live together, they often have to compromise in many things, including the food one eats. Ricardo loves chilled soups, especially after the recent visit to Andalusia. I can eat it and most of the times I like it, but I am not as passionate as he is. Occasionally, Ricardo asks me to cook it. So, from time to time, I make him happy and prepare a chilled soup.

Yesterday, for lunch, as an appetizer, I made a chilled tomato - the ingredient being currently celebrated - and watermelon soup. Tomato and Watermelon proved to be a tasty combination that worked very well.

Ingredients:
3 large ripe tomatoes
1/2 skinless cucumber cut into cubes
1 clove garlic
1/2 onion
550g peeled and seeded watermelon
15 basil leaves
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt


1. Parboil the tomatoes. Remove the tomato skin and seeds.

2. Place all ingredients into the blender and whizz until smooth.

3. Chill the soup in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

4. Sprinkle the soup with a basil and olive oil emulsion immediately before serving.


To prepare the basil and olive oil emulsion, you just have to blend about four tablespoons of olive oil and a handful of basil leaves.

This soup, when cold, it is an excellent way to start a hot summer meal.

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Sopa fria de tomate e melancia ]

Tortellini with roasted tomatoes

For the beginning of the current summer holiday and before leaving on a trip, I have selected some movies to watch, including 2003 Under the Tuscan Sun, directed by Audrey Wells. This movie tells the story of Frances Mayes (Diane Lane), an American writer who buys an house in Tuscany, after her divorce, in order to start a new life and be happy. Her search for love and happiness develops alongside the rehabilitation of her house. We can watch Frances picking olives and mushrooms. We can also enjoy watching the breathtaking scenery of this inviting Italian region. We can feel that life follows a leisurely pace and that the simple things in life are valued, albeit following the traditions closely. Tuscany seems to be a magic and peculiar place. And we thrill when she meets Marcello, played by Raul Bova, a very charming Italian.

In addition to all this, we still have the food stuff. Frances begins to cook with the help of a neighbor and one of the meals they cook left me salivating. So many good things happen to be cooked. I found myself trying to guess every single dish served. Lets watch:

On this day, with Italy in the back of my mind, and because Five Quarters of the Orange is currently celebrating the "tomato week", I went to the kitchen to cook a dish using tomatoes that could, in some way, be linked to Italian cuisine.

Ingredients:
650g roasted cherry tomatoes
0.5dl olive oil
250g bacon and ricotta cheese fresh tortellini
1 sprig of parsley or other aromatic herb
3 to 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
salt


1. Preheat the oven to 210ºC. Place the cherry tomatoes in a tray. Season with salt to taste and sprinkle with olive oil. Put it into the oven and let it roast for 30 minutes.

2. After the water, which was previously seasoned with salt, starts to boil, cook the pasta al dente for 7 minutes.

3. In a bowl add the cooked tortellini and the roasted tomato along with a small portion of its sauce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese. Stir and serve.


To cook this dish, I followed the recipe from September 2009 BBC Good Food magazine's Take 5 Ingredients supplement. However, in the original recipe the tomatoes were sauteed in a pan instead of being roasted, which could substantially reduce the cooking time. Lately, I have been a complete fan of roasted tomatoes. It is a truly tasting delight.

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Tortellini com tomate assado ]

Cherry tomato with olives and mozzarella cheese tart

The tomato week continues and today I have chosen a tart I saw in the June 2011 edition of Saveurs magazine. That seemed an excellent choice to use some of the cherry tomato that arrived last Saturday. One may well say: Long live the tomato!

Ingredients:

Dough
100g pitted olives
280g all-purpose flour
90g margarine or butter
5cl water

Filling
500g cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon rosemary leaves
120g mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper


1. Finely mince the olives.

2. Place the flour in a bowl. Add the butter and the olives. Mix well. Add water in order to mold ball with the dough.

3. Stretch the dough with the help of a rolling pin.

4. Lay the dough into a tart tin. Prick the dough with a fork.

5. Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves. Place the tomatoes on top of the dough. Season with salt, pepper, sugar and rosemary leaves.

6. Place the ​​cheese in small lumps over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with olive oil and put it into a 210ºC preheated oven.


I used mozzarella cheese instead of Valençay cheese as mentioned in the original recipe. This tart is delicious. I loved the baked dough with olives and the flavor of the tomatoes with rosemary. A simple recipe, nonetheless delicious. A excellent choice for a light meal on vacations. A very tasty way of eating tomato.

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Tarte de tomate cereja com azeitonas e queijo mozzarella ]

Lentil and salmon salad with roasted tomato

Tomato is one of the vegetables and fruits that really shines in the summer, specially in August. Due to the huge quantity of tomato that arrived to my kitchen on last Saturday coming from my parents garden, I have decided to make tomato as the theme of this week's posts.

Throughout the week I will publish different suggestions for use - and abuse - of fresh and appetizing in season ripe tomatoes.

Ingredients:
2 salmon fillets
175g cooked lentils
2 shallots, chopped or sliced
olive oil and red wine vinegar
roasted tomatoes with herbs
salt and pepper


1. Broil the salmon seasoned with salt and pepper.

2. In a bowl mix the chipped grilled salmon with lentils and shallots. Season with salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar to taste.

3. Accompany the salad with roasted tomatoes.


Herb Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients:
8 tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig fresh oregano
3 bay leaves
fresh chives
salt and pepper


1. Cut the tomatoes in halves.

2. Place the halves on a baking sheet with the cut side up. The tomatoes should not be overlapped. Add the garlic and bay leaves.

3. Season with salt and pepper, rosemary leaves, fresh oregano and chopped chives. Sprinkle with olive oil and put it in a 210ºC preheated oven. Let it roast for about 40 minutes.


The roasted tomato was delicious and really shone on this salad.

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Salada de lentilhas com salmão e tomate assado ]

A salad with a zest of vacations

The day has finally came! The feeling is one of freedom and relaxation. Even so, I have already started to make plans and writing lists of what I want to do on this vacations. Time flies. I haven't done anything and I have already a feeling that I won't get everything done.

Before I start publicizing what I have planned reading, which movies to watch, etc., I first wanted to celebrate the beginning of this holidays with a light, simple and tasty canned white bean and tuna salad.

Ingredients:
70g lettuce and arugula
1/2 roasted red peppers
1/2 roasted green pepper
1 red onion
3 roma tomatoes
300g cooked canned white beans
2 cans of tuna
olive oil
vinegar
salt and pepper

1. In a bowl combine the lettuce leaves and arugula, roasted peppers cut into small strips, sliced ​​onions, sliced ​​tomatoes, canned beans and the previously drained cans of tuna.

2. Season with salt, pepper, vinegar and olive oil to taste. Stir and serve.


This salad, like most of the salads I have prepared, was made ​​with the ingredients I had close at hand. And it tasted lovely!

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Uma salada a saber a férias ]

Chicken with tomato and pepper frittata

Five Quarters of the Orange blog, in recent times, has been guiding my life. I have been guided, in the sense, that the choices are almost food and blog oriented. It affects, my readings, some of my travels, the restaurants I go, the TV series and shows that I watch. It imposes a routine of its own, induces me to meet new people and among other things, it makes me do a lot more and a lot better.

The blog has become a challenge, that attracts other challenges. Recently, one of those challenges was to author a recipe for June 2011 Activa magazine. There was only one condition attached, it had to use chicken leftovers. The recipe was included in an article on saving.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 tablespoon mustard
1dl cream
50ml olive oil
1 chopped onion
1 diced carrot
50g pepper cut into pieces
2 ripe tomatoes
150g peeled and boneless chicken
25g island of São Jorge grated cheese
salt and pepper to taste


1. Beat the eggs with the mustard and cream. Put aside.

2. Place the olive oil in a skillet. Bring to medium heat and add the onion and the carrot.

3. Add the peppers and the seedless tomatoes cut in cubes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the shredded chicken. Stir.

5. After removing the skillet from the heat add the egg mixture.

6. Place the mixture in a baking dish lined with tracing paper. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.

7. After preheating to 200ºC, put the baking dish into the oven and let it bake for 20 minutes.


The frittata becomes very tasteful. The tomatoes and peppers, along with the mustard, give this recipe a very nice flavour!

A story with a zest of beach and sea and a tomato and bream rice

There were three. Maria, João and Manuel. The big summer holidays usually would bring them all to the house of their maternal grandparents in the Algarve during three weeks. The house was near the beach. It had two storeys and was painted white. The windows were outlined by a blue bar and small vases, attached to the wall with red scented geraniums. A wooden fence, also painted in white, went around the house, cut only by a gate situated opposite the main entrance. Inside the fence, a small garden with flower beds, two orange trees, one fig tree and a three-foot vine that grew around some sticks of wood and covered all the space next to the stairs to the roof terrace - "açoteia" as it is still called in that region. Often, it was there that the children played at the end of the afternoon, in the shade, under the large and ripe bunches of grapes. Other times, they delighted themselves with very sweet ripe figs that they hand picked from the fig tree.

Maria was the eldest, Joana was the middle sister and Manuel was the youngest. They were exactly three years older between each other. Manuel often had to resort to crying many fat and salty tears, to enforce his will. But age is, at some times, a hierarchical position and both sisters would end giving up.

Summer days had a routine of its own. A trip to the beach early in the morning. Sometimes their grandmother, other times, the maid called Teresa, who their parents urged to accompany the children to the sea water. Nonetheless, what they really loved was playing on the sand.

With their shovels, buckets of various shapes and forms, they would build castles where, in more than one occasion, there lived a beautiful princess trapped by a spell which never let her leave the castle during the day, or a terrible queen, with bitter look, which trapped all the fat and chubby children who later were reduced into small lovely frogs that she liked playing with. They also would build fortresses full of spices and treasures which not even Captain Hook could dream of, and boats with sails torned by the sheer force of the wind, clumsy pirates on stilts who didn't know how to whistle, mermaid singing sweet melodies to all the sailors who were left unconscious in a very deep sleep letting their boats sink, giant whales and colorful fish that the children have never seen.

After lunch, in their naps, their dreams were populated with adventures with a zest of sea. Manuel, who always dreamt of being a brave, strong and fearless sailor, had always to save his sisters who recklessly would engage in trouble.

Apart from all the fun from playing with the sand, they were delighted when their grandfather António took them fishing. Grandpa would prepare the rods, hooks and bait, and each one would take a bucket to bring the fish or a clam or two that sometimes were picked up in the Ria Formosa. Those fishing trips were magical. But it was even more magical when they returned home and grandpa went to the kitchen to prepare a delicious meal with the small fish they had caught.

Maria, Joana and Manuel, grew, had children of their own and grandfather Antonio had already departed. But they all believed they all remembered gleefully of those summer holidays and grandpa's fish recipe, which is currently made on special occasions.

Ingredients:
1kg bream
2 onions
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon paprika
3 ripe tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1.5dl olive oil
salt and pepper
400g carolinorice
hot water (approx. 1.2L)


1. Cut bream to evenly slices and sprinkle with salt.

2. In a pan, bring to medium heat, olive oil and sauté the half-moon sliced onions, crushed garlic, bay leaves and paprika.

3. After breaking the onion, add the chopped skinless and seedless tomato. Boil until almost it is turned into puree. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Add 2.5dl of warm water. When it starts boiling add the slices of bream. Once cooked remove the slices and set aside.

5. Add the remaining water and add the rice. Rectify the seasoning.

6. Serve the rice with the fish slices.


This rice is delicious. The tomato makes all the difference. I found this recipe in a book titled Receitas Portuguesas ("Portuguese Recipes") by Francisco Guedes.

With this story and this tasty tomato rice and fish, I join the third anniversary celebration of figo lampo.

Margarida, congratulations!

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Uma história com sabor a praia e mar e um arroz de goraz ]