Anthony Bourdain´s first visit to Lisbon

This week, TLC has been broadcasting in Singapore the program "No Reservations" in Lisbon. Anthony Bourdain had already been to Portugal, from the north part of the country to the islands, but never before to Lisbon. This was his first time.

The filming took place last year and actually I had already watched the show on Youtube months ago. However, only yesterday, when I saw it again on TV, I thought it makes perfectly sense to post here:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QU9T2dDZlg

Reason number 1 to recommend it? Lisbon is my city. Where I was born and grew up. Where most of my memories live. As a Lisboeta - how the people from Lisbon are called - it´s hard not to see Lisbon as one of the most beautiful and interesting cities I know.

Secondly, the program is a loyal portrait of Lisbon, its history, Fado, the people and, obviously, the food - the traditional and the modern cuisine.

At some point in the beginning of the video, Anthony Bourdain mentions that "Lisboetas like their food. They talk about it a lot and have strong ideas about what visitors should eat".

True. True. True. I can totally, totally relate to this... I personally do talk about Portuguese food a lot and I sell it as the best. It´s like there´s an unspoken mission to place Portuguese food back on the map. Everybody knows the Italians for their pasta, the Spanish their tapas, the Mexicans for their quesadillas, but not many people out there know the Portuguese for their codfish or egg tarts. So many great things about the Portuguese food... we do well by not keeping our mouths shut, that´s what I think.

One last note: the program also focus on the current economic crises and major difficulties the Portuguese people are facing. It´s something I don´t write about here, because the blog (like the program does it well) is all about celebrating the Portuguese food and its beauty, despite everything.

Now, watch the video!

"Rissol", a Portuguese Classic

Have you ever had that feeling about a particular food that you love but whose recipe you imagine to be so difficult that you can´t picture yourself doing it, ever?

That was my feeling towards the rissoes! These sort of snacks are a big Portuguese classic, made with dough and a filling, which are very accessible at any supermarket, café or restaurant. Plus, they are super cheap. So what could possibly trigger me to learn the recipe? Right, I know the answer... living abroad!

I can´t say the rissoes are the easiest thing in the world to do, but they were not that difficult either! The issue here is the time, as it takes about 2h to 3h to prepare them. The good news is that rissoes are the type of thing you make in big quantities, freeze and cook in 5 minutes whenever you want (they are supposed to be deep fried while they are still frozen).

However, I must confess the amazing machine really came in handy and the dough took 5 minutes when it can take at least 30 minutes. How can you not love an appliance like this?

For this post, lots of photos to illustrate the different stages.

Filling

We got started with the filling and used the following ingredients:

- 1 chopped onion
- minced pork and chicken - about 400 g (the beef and shrimp are more traditional flavors)
- 1 to 2 chopped tomatoes + a bit of tomato paste
- 1/4 of chopped yellow pepper
- Chicken stock
- Coriander
- Pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg
- Bechamel sauce

Preparing the filling is easy and all you have to do is to prepare a simple stew with these ingredients.

First, brown the onion with a bit of olive oil and once it gets translucent, add the meet.

Then, add the tomatoes and tomato sauce, the coriander, the yellow pepper, all the seasoning, as well as some chicken stock. Let it cook for about 20 minutes.

Prepare the bechamel sauce (recipe on a previous post) and pour it into the pan. Three more minutes and the filling is done.

Dough

To make the dough, we used the thermomix, which was extremely helpful!

This recipe comes with the appliance´s cookbook, so I´m not really sure if the ingredients and the result would be exactly the same if I was to do it by myself. Anyway, here are the ingredients:

- 500 g of flour
- 500 g of warm water
- 60 g of butter
- 10 g of olive oil
- Pinch of of salt

The dough was ready in 5 minutes and we worked it while it was still warm. It´s easier.

Shaping the Rissol

The final stage is the toughest, as it takes time. With the dosages proposed, you´ll get about 60 rissois.

With a rolling pin flatten the pastry until it gets thin and draw small circles with a glass or mug. Then, put a spoon of the filling on the dough and fold it, without pressing. To cut the excess of dough and get a perfect shape, use the glass again.

With a fork, press the rim of the rissol and they are ready to be breaded with egg and breadcrumbs and frozen.

Finally, the process is over and the fun part starts... eating! Just fry them while they are still frozen in hot oil for about 5 minutes and they are ready to be enjoyed. It´s a flavorful combination between crispy and moist. You´ll love it!

Like the croquete, the rissol is usually seen in parties and events in general as they are so easy to eat with the hand. But they also go very well with rice and make a great meal.

For me, having this delicacy for the first time in so long, it´s really like being home :)