Good Enough to Read: The New Portuguese Table

It's a healthy, hearty Iberian cuisine that's both rustic and refined. It's the food of Portugal — did you think we were going to say Spain? — and David Leite thinks you'll love it as much as he does.

When he was writing The New Portuguese Table, Leite started with the dishes he grew up with in the Portuguese-American community of Fall River, MA. In those days, he says, "Going to a restaurant was tantamount to insulting your mother — after all, who could possibly cook better than she?" Years later when he traveled to Portugal, he discovered many of the same dishes, some of them done in the traditional manner and others in more modern restaurant-style versions. He included both in his book, from the ultratraditional Caldo Verde and Tomato Rice to the modern, chef-inspired Pumpkin Soup with Spicy Seeds and Black Olive Risotto.

Portuguese food is one of the least-known cuisines in Western Europe. Think Spain with a difference, says Leite. Cooks in both countries rely on rice, seafood, beans, leafy green vegetables, salt cod and cured pork. Both season with garlic, paprika and a wealth of spices. But there's something especially simple and exuberant about a Portuguese meal with its thick-crusted corn bread and icy vinho verde, or green wine, so-called because it is drunk young.

Is it healthy? No question, says Leite, the founder of Leite's Culinaria (leitesculinaria.com) and a past member of Weight Watchers. It is, after all, a Mediterranean diet. Vegetables, especially leafy greens, are abundant in soups and stews. There are lots of beans, fruits, nuts and olive oil. Cooks often use spicy sausages as seasoning to flavor the abundance of fresh seafood and shellfish. (Not that there isn't plenty of pork and cheese as well.)

I found the recipes, like chicken-rice soup flavored with mint, both familiar and surprising. On one page, there's a fish soup sparked with fiery chiles; on the next, mussels in a curry sauce. (Lots of spices here, because Portugal's sailors traded for spices in the Age of Discovery.) On one page, you'll see smashed potatoes (the Portuguese word means "punched"), and on the next, almond-based white gazpacho topped with spicy crab salad. It's this mixture of peasant food and fancy fare that makes this cooking so appealing.

No Apologies Red Rice
This flavorful classic is similar to what Americans call Spanish rice. If you prefer not to use wine in your cooking, just add a quarter cup of water or chicken stock.

Tomato Rice (Arroz de tomate)

Serves 4–6 as a side

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 Turkish bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 lb), seeded and diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium broth, or more if needed
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp double-concentrate tomato paste (optional)
2 tsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano leaves

Instructions

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the onion and bay leaf and cook until the onion is golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
Add the tomatoes and simmer until softened, about 3 minutes. Tip in the wine and let it bubble until almost evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Add the rice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the tomato paste, if using. Reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, until the rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.
Toss out the bay leaf and shower the rice with the parsley and oregano.

Notes from David Leite

This is a simple, traditional side dish I've had in many parts of Portugal. It's always a little different, depending on the region and the cook. Experiment with different herbs, such as thyme, marjoram and rosemary.

Easily Improved Black-Eyed Peas
Although Leite calls this a side dish, it makes a good vegetarian main course, especially if you team it with the tomato rice mentioned above. You can make it even healthier by using olive oil instead of butter. And of course you can use canned peas, substituting two 15.5-ounce cans for the dried peas in the recipe.

Black-Eyed Peas with Onions and Red Pepper (Feijão frade com cebolas e pimento vermelho)

Serves 6 as a side

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups dried black-eyed peas, picked over and rinsed
6 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
4 cups chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium broth, or more if needed
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 medium shallot, chopped
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Put the beans and 2 of the parsley sprigs in a medium saucepan, add enough chicken stock to cover by 2 inches, and let soak for 2 hours.
Bring the stock to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until the beans are tender but still hold their shape, 20 to 30 minutes. Add more stock if the pan starts to dry out.
Meanwhile, strip the leaves from the remaining 4 parsley sprigs and finely chop the leaves.
Warm the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat until the foaming subsides. Add the onion and shallot and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the bell pepper and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes more.
Drain the beans and stir them into the skillet. Season well with salt and pepper. Scoop them into a decorative bowl, toss with the chopped parsley and serve.

Notes from David Leite

When I was a kid, our family gatherings were so unwieldy they were held in my uncle Jose's garage or under my dad's grape arbor, where we'd be lined up at long, mismatched tables. Somewhere along the way, an aunt, or cousin, or cousin of a cousin brought this dish. I'm eternally grateful to whoever it was.