Galician Almond Torte (Torta de Almendras Santiago)

This is usually decorated with a stenciled cross of Santiago de
Compostela on the top.

1 pound blanched, skinless almonds or almond powder
10 tablespoons butter
2 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
Confectioners’ sugar

Toast the almonds in a preheated 350 degrees F oven until light
golden brown.
Process in a food processor until finely ground.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Beat
in the eggs one at a time.
Add the flour, ground almonds and lemon
zest and stir just until mixed.
Pour into a greased and floured
springform pan and bake until a knife blade inserted in the center
comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Cool for 15 minutes, then pour the lemon juice over the surface.
Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.
Dust with confectioners’
sugar before serving.

Serves 10 to 12.

Portuguese Tomato Rice (Arroz de Tomate)

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons butter or bacon drippings
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 to 3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
3 cups beef or chicken broth
2 cups long-grain rice
Salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan over moderate heat.
Add the onion and garlic and cook 5 minutes, until soft but not
brown.

Add the tomatoes, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the broth and bring to a boil.
Stir in the rice, salt, and
pepper, and cover.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook covered
until the rice is done, about 20 minutes.

Fluff with a fork and garnish with chopped cilantro if
desired.

Serves 4 to 6.

Portuguese Aviz Pork with Clams

Any type of lean pork can be used.
Use the smallest clams you
can find - cherrystones or even smaller.
The Portuguese marinate
their meat for at least two days, but marinating overnight is
sufficient for a spicy flavor.

1 (2 pound) pork loin, cut into 1-inch squares
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
Dry white table wine
2 cloves pressed garlic
2 bay leaves, crumbled
2 to 3 tablespoons oil or lard
2 dozen cherrystone clams
3 cups cooked rice

Put pork cubes into a nonreactive bowl; sprinkle with salt,
pepper and paprika.
Cover with dry white table wine.
Add garlic and
bay leaves.
Cover; allow to stand overnight or at least 8 hours.
Drain; save juices.

Brown the pork slowly in oil or lard.
Add the juices from the
marinated meat.
Cook, uncovered, 30 minutes.

Add clams in shells.
Cover; cook 10 to 12 minutes longer until
clams are opened.
Don’t cook too long or clams will become
tough.

Serve on or around a bed of cooked rice, which may or may not
have been cooked with a little clam broth.

Served with chilled white wine.
A Portuguese dry white wine
would be very nice.
Serves 6.

NOTE: This marinade for pork can also be used for pork chops.
The marinated pork chops are then fried or baked.

Potato, Onion and Salt Cod Casserole (Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa -
Portugal)

1 pound dried salt cod
6 cups boiling water
2 pounds small white or new potatoes
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 to 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Freshly-ground pepper, to taste
4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut into wedges
12 to 18 oil-cured black olives
Additional chopped parsley

Soak the cod in water overnight in the refrigerator, changing
the water several times.
Drain and rinse well.
Place the cod in a
large saucepan and add the boiling water.
Simmer over moderate heat
for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cod flakes easily.
Drain and rinse
well, and flake into small pieces, removing any bones and bits of
skin.

Boil the potatoes until tender but firm, drain, and allow to
cool.
Peel and slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices.
Heat 2
tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over
moderate heat.
Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes,
stirring frequently, until tender but not brown.

Remove the onions and garlic from the skillet and set aside.

Add the sliced potatoes to the skillet, along with more olive
oil if necessary, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently,
until golden brown.

Layer half the potatoes in a well greased 2-quart casserole or
gratin dish.
Sprinkle with parsley and pepper, add one third of the
onion mixture, and half the cod.
Repeat, ending with a layer of the
onion mixture.
Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 30 to 40
minutes, until hot and lightly browned.

Arrange the egg wedges and olives attractively on top, and
sprinkle with a little chopped parsley.

Serves 4 to 6.

Portuguese Linguisa

5 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons powdered dextrose
2 level teaspoons cure
4 tablespoons minced garlic
5 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon crushed marjoram
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons sausage phosphate
10 pounds coarsely chopped (1/2 to 3/4 plate) pork butt
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke

Mix salt, powdered dextrose, cure, minced garlic, paprika,
pepper, marjoram, cayenne pepper, sausage phosphate and chopped
pork butt.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The following day, combine meat mixture with water, vinegar and
Liquid Smoke, mixing well.
Stuff into 35- to 38-millimeter casings,
link and hang to dry and cure for 2 days.

Makes 2 10-inch lengths per pound for 22 sausages total or 3 6-
to 7-inch lengths per pound for 33 sausages total.

Nutrition information per sausage if making 22 links: 304
calories, 34 grams protein, 17 grams fat, 0 fiber, 3 grams
carbohydrate, 110 milligrams cholesterol, 1,525 milligrams
sodium

Nutrition information per sausage if making 33 links: 202
calories, 22 grams protein, 11 grams fat, 2 grams carbohydrate, 0
fiber, 73 milligrams cholesterol, 1,017 milligrams sodium

Valencia Orange Flan

Source: Country Living

Called the national dessert of Spain, flan provides a creamy,
delicate conclusion to a meal.
For a large crowd, you’ll need to
double the recipe and use two pans.

Serves 8

Caramel
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice

Flan
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup granulated sugar
4 strips orange zest, colored part only, about 2 inches long
12 extra-large egg yolks
1/4 cup orange liqueur
Mint sprigs (optional)

Prepare Caramel: In a heavy medium-sized skillet, combine sugar
and orange juice.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until
sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil.
When boiling process
begins, stop stirring.
Holding handle of pan, gently tilt the
skillet off the heat to distribute color evenly as sugar
caramelizes.
When sugar reaches a uniform amber color, pour into a
heat-proof 10-inch pie plate.

Prepare Flan: Place a shallow baking pan in the lower third of
oven and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides.
Heat
oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large heavy saucepan, combine
half-and-half, heavy cream, sugar, and orange zest; bring to a
simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally.
In large bowl, beat
egg yolks.
Blend 1 cup of cream mixture into the yolks.
Stir
egg-yolk mixture back into saucepan and heat, stirring constantly,
1 minute.
Remove from heat, stir in liqueur.
Pour into prepared pie
plate and place in the baking pan partly filled with water in the
oven.

Bake uncovered 1 1/2 hours or until knife blade inserted in
center comes out clean.
Remove flan and water bath from oven; cool
on a rack, cover, and refrigerate 4 to 5 hours.

To serve, run a knife blade around the edge of the flan, then
carefully invert it onto a rimmed serving plate.
Allow a moment for
the caramel to drip onto the flan.
Carefully lift pie plate.
Garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

Nutrition information per serving: 548 calories, 7.4 g
protein, 35.7 g fat, 45 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 64 mg sodium,
430 mg cholesterol