Tag: portuguese recipe

Portuguese Lemon Chicken Soup (Canja)

done2There is something about chicken soup that seems to make it a comfort food no matter what your nationality. The Thai add coconut to their chicken soup, the Italians add beans and Orzo, the Moroccans add couscous and butternut squash. I personally love a good American Chicken Noodle soup and that recipe will come, but there is nothing quite like what your grandmother made you as a little girl (or boy), to bring comfort to your meal.

So, if you are looking for a Portuguese comfort food, you have come to the right place!  Canja is the quintessential comfort food.  Portuguese Canja is made with simple ingredients, used in a way that you may never have thought to combine them before.  Canja has chicken, lemon and is thickened with egg yolks all combined to form a lovely delicate creamy soup that I am sure you have never quite experienced in any other dish.  My Vavó would make this soup any time she had some extra chicken or one of us was sick or just because.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe my good friend Lisa gave me to help remind me of just how my Vavó would make her soup.  Throughout the recipe I will note the differences and you can really make it your own.

garlic

Dice up onions.

Chop up a couple of carrots.  Some people also like to add in celery at this stage, I nor Lisa, nor was my Vavó a fan of celery in this particular soup, so I will be leaving it out, if you are partial to celery, by all means, add it in.

Chop up some garlic or put through a press.

Chop up some garlic or put through a press. (Lisa runs hers through a press)

saute

Saute onions and carrots until tender. Then add in garlic and a pinch of salt and saute another minute or so.

Add in about 10 cups of chicken stock. If you don't have homemade chicken stock, you can use boxed or canned... Or add in water and 2-3 bullion cubes.

Add in about 10 cups of chicken stock. If you don’t have homemade chicken stock, you can use boxed or canned… Or like Lisa, add in water and 2-3 bullion cubes.

While the soup is coming to a boil, separate 3 eggs and reserve the yolks.

While the soup is coming to a boil, separate 3 eggs and reserve the yolks.

Beat a few times with a fork until smooth.

Beat a few times with a fork until smooth.

Now, cut a lemon in half and place in a press. If you don't have a press, just use a reem or a fork to juice the lemon.

Now, cut a lemon in half and place in a press. If you don’t have a press, just use a ream or a fork to juice the lemon.

Add lemon juice to egg yolks and beat until combined.

Add lemon juice to egg yolks and beat until combined.

Before adding the egg yolk to the soup, you will want to temper with some hot liquid from the soup. This process allows for the egg yolks to come a bit closer to the temperature of the soup so they won't scramble upon adding them in. The point of the yolks is to thicken the soup, not to have breakfast with your dinner :)

Before adding the egg yolk to the soup, you will want to temper with some hot liquid from the soup. This process allows for the egg yolks to come a bit closer to the temperature of the soup so they won’t scramble upon adding them in. The point of the yolks is to thicken the soup, not to have breakfast with your dinner 🙂

Add in yolk mixture slowly and stir rapidly.

Add in yolk mixture slowly and stir rapidly.

This is what you should have when all stirred in. It will become an opaque creamy looking soup.

This is what you should have when all stirred in. It will become an opaque creamy looking soup.  At this point taste for salt, add in a pinch if needed.

Cooked chicken breast… If you don’t have cooked, you can do the same with raw. I happen to have cooked from making my chicken stock.  I use all white meat in my soup as it is my preference, but if you like dark meat in your soup, have at it 😉

Chop the chicken and add to the soup.

Chop the chicken (and even shred it a bit) and add to the soup.

Next add in your pasta or rice. My Vavó always used stars, I am using Pastini which are a teeny tiny version of that. A lot of people use par boiled rice (like an Uncle Ben's). It's a matter of preference.

Next add in your pasta or rice. My Vavó always used stars, I am using Pastini which are a teeny tiny version of that. Lisa uses par boiled rice (like an Uncle Ben’s). It’s a matter of preference.

Lastly, chop up some flat leaf parsley and add in to soup.

Lastly, chop up some flat leaf parsley and add in to soup.

Finally, allow to come to a boil long enough to cook your pasta or rice, 20 mins tops and turn off your burner. Taste for salt. And this is what you have left.

Finally, allow to come to a boil long enough to cook your pasta or rice, 20 mins tops and turn off your burner. Taste for salt. And this is what you have left.

Serve.

Serve… Enjoy!

Portuguese Lemon Chicken Soup (Canja)

(serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

8-10 cups chicken stock

1 chicken breast, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 medium onion, diced small

2 cloves of garlic, diced (or run through a press)

3 egg yolks, beaten

1 lemon, juiced

2 Tbs. flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/3 cup Pastini pasta, stars or par boiled rice

kosher salt to taste

Directions:

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until tender.  Add in a pinch of salt.  Add in garlic, saute another minute.  Add in chicken stock.  Bring to a boil.

In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks and the juice of one lemon together.  Add in about a quarter cup of hot stock from the soup pot to temper the yolks… Add hot liquid in slowly, but beat quickly to incorporate.

Add egg yolk mixture into the hot soup slowly while stirring rapidly.  Once incorporated, taste for salt.  Add in a pinch of salt if needed.  Add in chicken and pasta (or rice).  Cook for 10-20 minutes until pasta or rice is cooked fully.  Add in parsley.

Enjoy!

Pan Fried Sea Bass Portuguese Style (Garoupa Frita com Molho)

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Summers in a Portuguese household can be just about guaranteed to involve fried fish.  My mother and Vavó didn’t like the house smelling like fish, so we had this plug in electric skillet that they would take out into the back yard and do all the fish frying. Then they would dip the fish into a corn flour and the fish would sizzle away into deliciousness.  And always there would be a rich salty mohlo (sauce) to put over it.  It’s one of those culinary memories that just becomes engrained into who you are. (Come to think of it, I think I need to get one of those electric skillets so my kids can have the same type of memory!)

It wasn’t often that they would fry up Striped Sea Bass, the fish they would fry up usually included something with a head still attached.  But, Striped Sea Bass is my favorite fish and living in New England, we are lucky enough to have a vast variety of locally caught fish at our disposal.  If you aren’t quite as lucky, what you want to look for is a medium bodied fish (not as delicate as a Tilapia, but not as heavy as a Tuna or Swordfish… you want a Sea Bass or a fresh Codfish) that is descaled, but still has skin.

A couple of notes before we begin.  In this recipe, I have added a bit more crunch by using corn meal instead of flour, but if flour is what you have, use it, it will be delicious.  Also, I am using a homemade crushed red pepper that we make ourselves.  Our red pepper is not so much for spice, as in the grinding process we remove most of the seeds, but more for taste.  If you the crushed red pepper you have available to you has seeds, taste it to be sure of it’s heat level before you add quite as much I do here (unless you enjoy a bit of spice).  If you absolutely do not have Portuguese or even Spanish crushed red pepper at your disposal, you will want to get a red Pablano peppers (if you can find them, if not green will do).  Then grind or chop the pepper, place in a bowl preserving as much of the juice from the process as you can, salt it and let it sit

Let’s start with the Mohlo (sauce) as this can be made several days in advance if need be.

Dice up a medium onion.

Chop up a couple cloves of garlic.

pepper

This is the homemade ground red pepper.

Saute the onions for 3-4 minutes over medium/high heat in olive oil (this does not have to be extra virgin olive oil, any press will work fine). Then add in the garlic and saute another minute. Add in pepper.

Turn burner to medium/low heat and continue to saute another 3-4 minutes.

Add in flat leaf parsley.

Continue to saute another 1-2 minutes until it all comes together.

Now onto the fish:

This is Striped Sea Bass.  It’s big enough for about 3 portions.

Cut from skin side down.

cut4pieces

Although, as I stated, there is enough for three portions. My husband and I are eating with our two toddlers, so they each get a half portion.

Season the flesh side of the fish with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

This is yellow corn meal. As you can see, it is grainy in consistency.

meal in bowl

Add into a bowl.

season meal

Season the corn meal with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Be sure to nicely coat each side of the fish.

In a skillet heated to med/high heat and about a half a cup of veggie oil, place fish skin side down. Be sure pan is good and hot before you place fish in.  Then don’t touch it!  Wherever you place it, it stays! You don’t want to break the skin by fussing with it.

This will take some patience. Do not fuss with the fish. You are going to want to be sure each side has contact with the pan for at least 3-4 minutes until golden.

Once your fish looks like this, drain on a clean paper towel or brown paper bag.

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Plate and pour warm molho over the top. Serve with white rice or boiled white potatoes. Enjoy!

Recipe for Pan Fried Sea Bass (Garoupa Frita com Molho):

(serves 2-3)

For fish:

3/4 lb. Stiped Sea Bass

1 cup yellow corn meal

1 pinch kosher salt

1 pinch fresh cracked black pepper

1/2 cup vegetable oil

For Molho (sauce):

1 medium onion, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/4 cup ground red pepper

1/4 cup chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:

For Molho: Heat Olive oil in a skillet over medium/high heat.  Saute onions 3-4 minutes. Add in garlic, saute 1-2 minutes.  Add in pepper.  Turn down heat to medium/low.  Continue to saute for 3-4 minutes.  Add in parsley.  Saute 3-4 minutes until all comes together.  Set aside.  (Can be refrigerated up to a week)

For Fish:

Portion out fish into 2-3 portions (or 4 if eating with toddlers).  Season with salt and pepper on flesh side of fish. Season corn meal with salt and pepper.  Coat fish in corn meal.  Heat skillet with vegetable oil over medium/high heat.  Start by placing fish, skin side down.  Do not touch for 3-4 minutes.  Repeat on all sides until golden.  Drain on paper.

Serve by pouring 2-3 Tbls. of Molho over fish. Enjoy!