Whoever has been to Portugal, will for sure agree with me on one thing: Portuguese food rocks! Although I’ve only seen a tiny piece of this west-Mediterranean country (and I’m longing to visit it again!), and had lunch in only one village restaurant, I think I’ve got a good impression of what their cuisine is like – absolutely tasty! Though resembling to the Spanish cuisine in many ways, the Portuguese one appears to be yet richer, more filling, and… more caloric. Among their specialties are, of course, countless cod dishes (bacalhau), something not to be missed when you are in Portugal(!). Well, just in case you are not so much into fish (which might change once you come there), there are a variety of meat and vegetables dishes, delicious cheeses and sinful desserts that will keep you salivating non-stop.

I’ve been recalling our trip to Portugal a lot these days and decided to pick a recipe from one of the cooking magazines I bought there, to make a bit different lunch – I opted for this hearty white bean dish with potatoes, cut up into sticks, which is very common potato shape for Portuguese dishes. Assembled very quickly, healthy and filling – I know I’ll be cooking it soon again!

FEIJÃO À BRÁS
-serves 2 as a main dish-

250g Cannelini beans, cooked
3 big tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
ground sweet paprika
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 big onion
6 middle-sized potatoes
olive oil
some basil leaves
a bunch of parsley
some black olives
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

1. Chop the tomatoes and using a blender, mix them into a puree. Heat some olive oil in a skillet and stir-fry the finely chopped garlic for a few seconds, then add the tomato puree and season with sweet paprika, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook covered on medium heat, until the liquid has evaporated a bit.
2. In the meantime, peel the potatoes and cut them up into small sticks. In a big pan, heat up some olive oil and fry the potato “sticks” until golden. Transfer them into a bowl and then gently fry the sliced onion in the same pan, adding more olive oil, if necessary. When onion turns translucent, add the potato sticks to it and salt all together. Mix well to combine.
3. Back to the tomato puree, which has by now evaporated enough, add the cooked beans to it and stir to coat them well with tomato. Add the chopped basil leaves, then transfer the mixture into a big (oval) serving dish. Top it with the potato-onion mixture, sprinkle with chopped parsley and decorate with black olives. Serve immediately with bread and salad on a side.