Portuguese Fish...Flavors from Lisbon

Nov 25, 2018
6 min read

On a recent trip to Portugal, I noticed a definite theme to the delicious food that was offered on each restaurant menu...seafood! I guess that makes sense, since there are hundreds of miles of rugged, unspoiled coastline, and Portugal is home to the western-most point of Europe on the Atlantic Ocean! Portugal has amazingly fresh seafood, but also, so much more to offer to the curious traveler. The friendly people, flavorful food and stunning landscape make Portugal the perfect vacation destination!

The first stop on our whirlwind tour, was Lisbon and the neighboring town of Sintra. Lisbon is a colorful, bustling town, full of charm and innumerable things to do and see.

The buildings are awash in the vibrant tiles they call "azulejos", which makes the city gleam with color at every turn. You could easily spend days just wandering through the cobbled streets of the Alfama district, ogling the tiled houses and peeking into the diverse shops. We stayed in the Alfama area at As Janilas Verdes Hotel, which is a lovely hotel, conveniently located near all the "must see" sites and right on the river.

Some things not to be missed while visiting Lisbon:

Belem Tower

Castelo de Sao Jorge

A first for me...Wine with a View! A glass of red wine while you tour the ancient castle. This is a definite "must do"!

And the view...so incredible!

A ride on one of the brightly colored trams

There is so much to do in Lisbon that you may not want to leave, but I highly recommend taking a day trip out to the seaside town of Sintra. It's only about a thirty minute drive and well worth it!

Pena National Palace

Quinta da Regaleira Estate

The Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira will keep you busy for a good few hours and there are several other interesting sites to see before you head back to Lisbon. The Castle of the Moors and the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park are glorious, and the little town of Sintra itself is worth exploring a bit. Plan on spending a full day in Sintra.

On your way back to Lisbon, you HAVE TO stop at the very famous Pasteis de Belem for the delectable Pastel de Nata. This pastry shop in the Belem area is where the Pastel de Nata was first created. I am going to tell you...this is not to be missed! I don't even have a sweet tooth, but it was love at first bite with these little custard tarts. The creamy, flaky goodness will make you a sweets convert for sure and if you do have a sweet tooth...god help you! They are found all over Portugal, so if you can't make it to the original pasty shop, just have them anywhere you can! You can thank me when you get back...

Portuguese deliciousness....Pastel de Nata!

Ok, one more thing you MUST DO in Lisbon is to go and listen to Fado music. Fado is a Portuguese style of folk music that is an intregal part of the culture of Portugal. The sound is a bit haunting and emotional and draws you in from the first note. There are many restaurants and cafe's that have Fado shows in the evenings, so just ask your hotel for a suggestion. We were so lucky to find Arcaz Velho and had a tasty meal, while being serenaded with the melancholic Fado music.

If you can tear yourself away from Lisbon (so hard to leave!), journey up to Porto, actually my favorite city in Portugal, for some gorgeous scenery and a lot of Port wine tasting (a future post!) and get down to the Algarve to see the jaw dropping beaches. So much to see in Portugal! I can't wait to go back!

The seafood, as I said earlier in my post, is so fresh and abundant. We had fish and shellfish for just about every meal, and I wanted to create a fish dish reminiscent of the flavors of Portugal. One other thing that the Portuguese love, is their tinned fish! They have entire stores dedicated to all manner of tinned seafood. I am giving a nod to this beloved food item and using canned anchovies in this dish. Throw in some capers, garlic and fresh herbs and you have a taste of Portugal on your plate!

I found some beautiful wild caught swordfish steaks at the market and used those for this recipe, but any fish steak or fillet will work just as well. You will only need to adjust the cooking time, depending on the thickness of the fish you choose. The Portuguese do love their cod fish and you could try that, but it's just not the same here in the states, so use what you like.

Saute the fish in olive oil on both sides until light golden brown and firm. This will depend on the fish you selected and how thick it is. Keep in mind that most fish needs to cook about 10 minutes per inch of thickness. You can test it by touching it with your finger and it should feel firm.

The next step is to add in the butter, capers, smashed garlic cloves and anchovy fillets. Put them all in together with the fish and let it cook on meduim heat until the butter starts to turn brown. Swirl the pan as it cooks to help the mixture cook evenly. This will take just a couple of minutes.

Finally, add in the whole, fresh herbs and stir them into the butter sauce, until you can smell the fragrant herb smell. It just takes another minute or two and the herbs will wilt a bit. Don't let them cook too long or the butter will burn. The butter should be a nice medium brown color and smell nutty. That's it! Take out the herbs when you serve the fish, as the flavor will be in the sauce.

I like to serve this over parsnip puree with some wilted spinch. So good! If you want to see how I make the parsnip puree, keep reading.

PORTUGUESE FISH

Yield: 2 Servings

Prep time: 5 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Fish of Choice | 2- 4oz to 6oz steaks or fillets

Olive Oil | 1 tablespoon

Kosher Salt | 1/8 teaspoon

Ground Pepper | 1/8teaspoon

Butter | 2 tablespoons

Garlic Cloves | 3 cloves, peeled and smashed

Anchovy Fillet | 3 fillets

Capers | 2 tablespoons

Fresh Rosemary | 2 whole sprigs

Fresh Thyme | 2 whole sprigs

DIRECTIONS

Season fish with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in sauté pan over medium high heat. Place fish in pan and sauté until golden brown, 4-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. Turn fish and brown on the opposite side another 4-5 minutes, until just cooked through (total time should be 10 minutes per inch of thickness).

Add butter, garlic cloves, anchovies and capers and let cook with fish for 1-2 minutes, until butter just begins to color. Add in the fresh herbs and stir around in the butter sauce for another minute or two until fragrant and wilted and the butter is browned.

Serve with parsnip puree.

SPECIAL DIET INFORMATION

Lectin Free, Gluten Free

Parsnip puree is the easiest thing to make! I like it more than mashed potatoes or any other root puree.

Peel and cube the parnips and throw them in a saucecpan with a few cloves of garlic, salt and pepper, a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme and then cover the parnsip mixture with chicken broth (you could use vegetable broth too or heavy cream if you are feeling naughty). Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the parsnips are tender.

Drain the both and reserve it to put back into the puree. I start with 2 tablspoons of broth and then add in two tablespoons of butter. Use your immersion blender and puree it right in the pot, or you can transfer the parsnips to a blender and add in the stock and butter there, and puree. See how you like the consistency and add a little more broth if you want to. The puree should be almost like mashed potatoes, but not as stiff.

Guys...this stuff is good! As indicated earlier, if you want to be completely decadent, you can substitute heavy cream for the broth...to die for! If you do decide to use the cream, just add a few tablespoons of the reserved cream instead of the broth and butter. I know most of us are trying to watch our calories, so you decide! It's really good both ways!

PARSNIP PUREE

Yield: 3 cups

Prep time: 5 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes