Taste of Lisboa at Home: Portuguese Recipes with Canned Fish
This article is dedicated to the lovely community who has been following the Taste of Lisboa at Home live sessions on Instagram.
If you’ve missed our previous editions, kindly note that all April long we’re sharing snippets of Portuguese food and culture via live videos presented by Taste of Lisboa hosts. On our first live, Madalena shared her knowledge about wine tourism in Portugal and, just today, our founder Filipa hosted a live home cooking session in partnership with Renato from Parceria das Conservas.
If you’ve been lucky enough to be a part of one of our tours here in Lisbon, namely the Lisbon Market Food and Cultural Walk in Campo de Ourique, you’ve already had the privilege of tasting the deliciousness that is served at Parceria das Conservas. This store located inside Campo de Ourique’s traditional food market is run by Renato and the sisters Rosa (his spouse) and Dora. The stall is specializes in Portuguese canned fish and seafood. In our previous article, you can read about the very best canned fish from Portugal.
On today’s Taste of Lisboa at Home session, Renato shared some of his recipes using canned fish, while Filipa cooked along with at her home. Not only did we learn how to prepare easy and delicious recipes using local ingredients, we also discussed the importance of such foods for the local economy and how to look out for brands that fish sustainably.
If you didn’t manage to cook at the same time or you didn’t have all the ingredients, don’t worry! We share all of Renato’s recipes with you now.
Open a can, and cheer with us!
AZOREAN TUNA
Serves 4 o 6 people
Ingredients:
1 can of sustainably fished Azorean tuna
3 onions
2 medium sweet potatoes (or just 1 if it’s big!)
Olive oil
Vinagre (white wine vinegar, apple vinegar or balsamic, depending on your taste)
1 pinch of fleur de sel or sea salt
1 tbsp of brown sugar or honey
Recipe:
The star of this recipe is tuna. Of course you could use any canned tuna, but we’d recommend tuna fillets preserved in olive oil, even better if the fish is from the Azores Islands, in Portugal. Not only because it tastes incredible, but also because it is fished sustainably. When in doubt about the origin of the fish, make sure your can of tuna mentions that the fish is “pole & line”, that is, not fished with a net. When you fish with a net, all sorts of other fishes are caught in it and a lot of lives end up going to waste unnecessarily.
Start by washing and peeling the sweet potatoes, cut them into lengthwise slices and pat them dry using a paper towel. Shallow fry in olive oil. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, sauté the sliced onions, until they are slightly caramelized. Season the tuna fillets using olive oil, vinegar, some salt and your sweet element of choice – either brown sugar or honey.
Serve using each slice of sweet potato as a base for the rest of the ingredients. Pile with sautéed onions and finish with tuna flakes on top. Choose a pretty plate. This is actually a very important step, even more so if you’re practicing self isolation. If you take out the good stuff when you have guests coming over, why shouldn’t you treat yourself with the same level of care? After all, your eyes also eat and food sure tastes better when presented in a beautiful way!
Pair with chilled white wine. Ideally, a chilled bottle of Frei Gigante, just like Filipa did during the live session. This wine, produced by the Pico Island Wine Cooperative in the archipelago of the Azores, is made using local grape varieties such as Arinto dos Açores, Verdelho and Terrantez do Pico and, along with Renato’s Azorean Tuna recipe, it will make you feel like you are taking a little trip to the Azores with your taste buds.
ANCHOVY SALAD
Serves 4 o 6 people
Ingredients:
1 can of anchovies preserved in olive oil (with or without capers)
10 cherry tomatoes (or 1 regular tomato, diced)
1 mozzarella
3 slices of rustic bread (in Portugal, use Pão de Mafra)
Small package of arugula (or iceberg lettuce)
Oregano
Lime
Olive oil
Recipe:
Take the anchovies out of the can and save the olive oil. Heat this olive oil along with a little extra olive oil (equal amount). Before the oil gets too hot, squeeze in the juice of half a lime, along with its zest. Add little cubes of rustic bread and make croutons, always on low flame, until the bread absorbs the oil and seasonings. Make sure you turn the bread to the opposite side a few times, to avoid over toasting it. Don’t use fresh bread. It’s preferred to use bread that’s been sitting at home for a couple of days, after it has become a little harder.
Plate the diced tomatoes on the bottom of your serving plate. On top, add the arugula, pieces of mozzarella, and the bread cubes. Serve the anchovies on top, in a way that makes them stand out. Season with oregano and a little extra olive oil. In case you were wondering, when we’re talking about Portuguese liquid gold, it hardly ever it’s too much!
If you make any of the above recipes, please share a photo of your plate on Instagram tagging @tasteoflisboa or using #tasteoflisboa. Make us proud and we’ll gladly re-share your photo on our Insta Stories.
Meanwhile, forget everything you thought you knew about tinned food, and learn more about Portuguese food culture eating the way with us!
Feed your curiosity on Portuguese food culture:
8 Portuguese female chefs you should know
10 Portuguese delicious canned fish
Travel around Portugal in 18 foods (without leaving Lisbon)
How to identify the perfect Portuguese custard tart
Discover more easy recipes on our blog:
Bacalhau com broa (Portuguese codfish with cornbread)
Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato (clams at Bulhão Pato style)
Real people, real food. Come with us to where the locals go.
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