Sunday Dinner at Porco Do Casa with Pedro

 We found a great dinning adventure in Porto on AirBnB worth sharing. Pedro owns and operates this off the beaten path old schist stone farm house that he has taken from an overgrown abandoned casa and restored to a working restaurant and soon to be bed and breakfast. Where he now has the dining hall and inside kitchen, was once where grapes were brought in for pressing and capturing the juice. Pedro removed the heavy stone floor from the pressing room and made a picnic table he placed in the center of the yard, 

Pedro arranged for us to be picked up at our front door in the historic old town of Porto where we were driven out the the farm along with another guest, with a short stop along the Douro river. Later we found out Pedro used that stop as a strategy to postpone guest arrival in case he was running late. I’m not sure that worked this time since the other guest had already arrived, as they had decided to drive themselves to the farm rather than pay 46 Euro to leave their rented car parked. 

As soon as we entered the outdoor kitchen which is situated off the courtyard and under the upper floor we found a table already set with the first guest sitting at one end and a cured ham that had already had meat shaved off of it at the other. A basket of some fresh local dark, sweet bread in the middle along with a round of soft sheep’s cheese wrapped in cheese cloth to hold the soft creamy cheese together. We were offered a cold local beer, a cup of wine, and of course a small shot of red Port wine. 

Pedro had been cooking for some time and the fire (behind him here) warmed the space, which was nice because it turns out that Sunday was a rainy, windy day. If you look close, just behind him hanging over the fire pit are some sausages that in a short time he would be placing in a pan over the grated fire pit just behind him on the right side of the cooking area. We learned the origin of those special sausages and some of his own personal history. 

Most Portuguese sausages have always contained pork, but alheira is an exception. In the 15th century, Portuguese Jews created this sausage as a way to deceive the Inquisition. Since they couldn't eat pork, they made sausages with other kinds of meat like poultry and game, adding bread for texture.

The alheira Pedro used is a commercial brand so unlike the sausage of his ancestors this one did contain pork. However it’s the bread added to the sausage that I found most interesting and tasty!

First up is potato soup that has been cooking on the fire in one of the cast iron crocks. Just before serving and as a finishing touch, Pedro adds cabbage leaves he has chopped and stewed in for a short time. The soup is served with some of the local bread for dipping. This is a hearty thick soup full of flavor and a mix of textures. The soup alone could make a great winter meal. 

The dinning table is set & Pedro begins to serve dinner

Following the soup Pedro then serves up the main plate, the roasted pork leg that he has been preparing for three days, roasted potatoes, rice, and a tomato salad. The pork falls off the bone and is as tender and flavorful as you can imagine. 

The pork leg has been brined for three days then roasted in the wood over to perfection. Pedro lifts the pork and serves it up on each guest’s plate. The pork is pull apart tender and juicy. 

Any leftover pork he is happy to share with you on some bread as sandwiches to go, and if there is more he takes the pork to a local bar to share with the locals. Nothing at the table that isn’t eaten goes to waste. His approach is to keep it local and sustainable. 

The plated meal is a perfect balance from meat, to starch, to vegetable. At this point, if you have room for it all you’ll be lucky!

Next up is the desert experience! And I’m not talking about something that simply shows up in front of you. This is a totally interactive desert experience. Crème Boule, wood fire style! Along with a selection of port wines, including Pedro’s own flavored versions of the local drink. There’s also an egg pudding, Pudim de ovos which is rich and delicious. In total, from start to finish, we experienced a great Sunday dinner. 

You don’t need a butane torch when you can use a hot iron branding iron to burn the sugar on top. 

Pedro is very proud of his kitchen, his cooking, and his accomplishments, but most of all he is extremely humble and gracious. We were fortunate to be able to enjoy his hospitality. 

Lisbon dinning

 It’s been quite a while since I’ve written on my blog, so welcome back to me! We just left Lisbon, and while BBQ isn’t a thing there, food and wine is. Let me share something we had never tried before until last night. Braised pork cheeks. Now I didn’t realize pork cheeks were a thing either, thinking maybe it was just a term used to describe a preparation style or perhaps a way a particular cut of pork was trimmed and snapped, maybe a center loin or something. Turns out, it is the cheek meat, not to be confused with he jaw or Guanciale (our favorite for pasta amarati) 

The plate we had was a tapas at a wine bar in Lisbon, braised pork cheek served on a light sauce. Tender and flavorful for sure and easy to cut with a fork. Turns out that while I’ve never seen the cut in our local meat market, it is supposed to be a fairly inexpensive cut of meat. I’ll definitely be asking for it in the meat market and trying this one at home. I was able to find some good recipes on line, so I’ll definitely be trying it when I get home. 

We visited a great market near the old town which was a must do for a foodie. My food focus has shifted a bit towards more seafood (more surf and less turf) so it was really interesting to see the fish mongers in the marketplace. There was a line of four separate fish sellers, with truly the catch of the day, including live eels, and shellfish. I was surprised to see salmon on the local restaurant menus and fresh salmon in the market. While I didn’t personally try it, I spoke with a fellow from Ireland who did and said it was delish. He said it was all about how they grilled it, which I image is a key factor. As I told him, salmon is something we get in Oregon fresh and wild from March through October, and fresh farm from Canada all winter, so not much of an attraction for me.  

We on the train to Porto, so I’ll update my dinning adventures in the next few days. Chow! 

Grapes & Bites

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