Filhos (Portuguese Doughnuts)

When I was a child, our family took a trip every year to the coast where we would relax in a beach house for a week. This 4 hour car ride was always preceded by a breakfast of store-bought orange juice (Sunny D - blech) and doughnuts. Since I always got motion sickness on the drive, it turned me off of doughnuts for my entire childhood- not a bad thing, health-wise, but quirky.

There was one kind of doughnut that I still loved, however, that tasted nothing like store-bought doughnuts to my young palate - my mom's homemade Portuguese doughnuts, called filhos. Apparently they are a traditional Christmas treat in Portugal, but my mom made them for us whenever the inclination took her, but usually on a lazy Saturday morning.

We made some this weekend and I was amazed all over again at just how many I can stuff down my throat without feeling heavy or weighted down like I do with just one store-bought American doughnut. We make our filhos round by using a cookie dough scooper, and roll them in cinnamon-sugar after frying, but plain white sugar is more traditional I suppose. I understand some versions use pumpkin; ours do not. The only hard part is waiting for them to rise, but we have cheated on that part too and still enjoyed the results. So good, people! So good.

Filhos

6 cups flour
6 tsp. yeast (I know right? It's a lot, but it's right.)
1/2 c. sugar
8 eggs, beaten, at room temperature
2 c. milk, warmed
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Mix all ingredients together with hands for 5 minutes until dough is smooth.

2. Let rise for 1 hour.

3. Pull off various size pieces and fry in hot oil (we use canola).

4. Drain on paper towels and roll in sugar. Enjoy!

Portuguese Sopas

For Mother's Day, I made my mom one of her favorite dishes, a traditional Portuguese soup that we call sopas. This simply means "soup" in Portugese and isn't a very descriptive name, but as a child I had a different term for it. I called it "that soggy bread stuff". Needless to say, I was not a big fan back then.

Often made to serve a crowd, sopas consists of a slow-cooked beef and the broth it's cooked in, ladled over a slice of bread that's been topped with mint leaves. By the time it makes its way to your mouth, the bread has soaked up a lot of the broth and is usually kind of soggy, which didn't appeal much to my palate as a kid.

Now when I make my simplified version at home, each family member can add broth as desired and it always seems to go over well. The warm spices, crusty bread and fresh mint appeal to everyone with whom we have shared this dish. My version is Portuguese people-approved (by my mom and aunt) but less involved that the traditional way of preparing sopas. I don't use wine or marinate the meat, and I prefer a boneless roast to bone-on roast.

Portgugese Sopas

5 pounds beef chuck roast or beef rump roast
3-4 cups beef broth
4 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed
1 large Vidalia or yellow Spanish onion, thickly sliced
2 cups finely chopped peeled very ripe tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes
¼ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 2-inch piece of cinnamon stick
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. allspice
2 two medium bay leaves
¼ teaspoon cumin
Coarse salt
1 cabbage, cored and sliced in half (optional)
Mint leaves
Thickly sliced, day old crusty artisan bread

1. Trim the cut of beef and sprinkle with coarse salt.

2. Combine broth, onion slices, tomatoes, ketchup, tomato paste and spices in a large pot.
Sprinkle the salt over.

3. Place roast in the pan, making sure liquid comes half-way up the side of the roast. If not, add additional broth.

4. Cover pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce the heat to medium-low and turning the meat occasionally, simmer until the meat is tender, about 3 hours. If desired, add cabbage and cook an additional 1/2 hr.

5. To serve, remove the meat and shred it. Place a thick slice or two of bread in each soup plate topped with a mint leaf or two. Ladle a generous amount of broth over the bread and top it off with pieces of meat.

Portuguese Sweet Bread

Every year as a child, I looked forward to two things above all at Easter. My Portuguese grandma would visit the Portuguese bakery and bring us little coconut-filled tarts (which I re-created at home last year) and sweet bread. Back then, the bakery loaves would be wrapped around hard-boiled Easter eggs for a festive touch. I didn't get that fancy, but I did find a good recipe for making sweet bread at home. Master baker Peter Reinhart can do no wrong it seems!

The loaves do tend to look frightfully dark when they emerge from the oven, with a shiny dark brown top. The dark color stems from the high sugar content of the dough; the shine comes from the egg white glaze you brush on before baking.

When my loaves emerged, I panicked. They looked even darker than the book picture and I was terrified they might be ruined. After all, I had invested two expensive bottles of citrus extracts, many eggs and most of my day to the double batch in the oven. Frantically, I cut into a loaf.... and breathed a sigh of relief. Outside, crunchy and brown. Inside, golden sweet perfection. Whew!

Happy Easter, from our family to yours.

PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD
From The Bread Baker's Apprentice, by Peter Reinhart

Sponge
1/2 cup (2.25 ounces) unbleached bread flour
1 T. (.5 ounce) granulated sugar
2 1/4 tsp. (.25 ounce) instant yeast
1/2 cup (4 ounces) water, at room temperature

Dough
6 T. (3 ounces) granulated sugar
1 tsp. (.25 ounce) salt
1/4 cup (1.25 ounces) powdered milk
2 T. (1 ounce) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 T. (1 ounce) vegetable shortening
2 large eggs
1 tsp. (.17 ounce) lemon extract
1 tsp. (.17 ounce) orange extract
1 tsp. (.17 ounce) vanilla extract
3 cups (13.5 ounces) unbleached bread flour
6 T. (3 ounces) water, at room temperature

Egg Wash
1 egg, whisked with 1 tsp. water until frothy

1. Make the sponge. Stir together the flour, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl. Add the water and stir until mixed. Cover the howl with plastic wrap for 60-90 minutes, or until the sponge gets foamy.

2. Make the dough. Combine the sugar, salt, powdered milk, butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix with paddle attachment until smooth, then add eggs and extracts. Switch to dough hook attachment and mix in sponge and flour. Add water as needed and mix until you achieve a soft dough that is not wet or sticky. It will take at least 12 minutes, maybe more, to reach the right consistency. Oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

4. Remove dough from bowl and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Form each piece into a boule. Place boule, seam side down, into an oiled pie plate. Mist tops with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

5. Proof at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, or until dough fills the pans fully, doubling in size.

6. Gently brush the loaves with the egg wash. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. with the oven rack on the middle shelf.

7. Bake the loaves for 50 to 60 minutes (mine were done at 50). After 30 minutes, rotate 180 degrees. Because of the high amount of sugar, the dough will brown very quickly, but it will not be done. The final color will be a rich mahogany brown.

8. Remove the bread from the pie pans and place on a rack to cool. The bread will soften as it cools, resulting in a very soft, squishy loaf. Allow the bread to cool for at least 90 minutes before slicing or serving.

Portuguese Coconut Tarts

When I was a little girl, my Portuguese grandma (who came to the US from the Azore Islands when she was young) would always bring two traditional foods to our Easter celebration: Portuguese sweet bread and little coconut tarts. I adored both of them. Portuguese sweet bread is easily found, but I haven't been able to find those tarts until I did an internet search for the recipe, determined to replicate them at home this year. (My grandma bought them at a Portuguese bakery.)

I did indeed find a recipe and made them yesterday, and my family all agreed they were just like the ones my grandma used to bring. They aren't hard to make since there is no crust to mess with, and if you like coconut, you will love these! The top is like a coconut macaroon; underneath, you will find coconut bathed a smooth, rich custard.

Pasteis de Coco

(Portuguese Coconut Tarts)

2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup milk
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Adjust the rack to middle position. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with 10 paper cupcake liners.

2. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup of the milk. Set aside.

3. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade shred the coconut flakes for 30 seconds.

4. In a large mixing bowl, stir the eggs and sugar together with a wooden spoon. One by one, add the cornstarch mixture, remaining milk, coconut, melted butter and lemon extract, stirring well after each addition.

5. Ladle the custard into the paper cups, filling to 1/4 inch from the top. (Note: Make sure to stir frequently to keep the coconut well distributed.)

6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the coconut is nicely toasted. Cool completely in the tin before serving. Very nice served chilled.

Portuguese Green Soup (Caldo Verde)

My husband and I both found ourselves sniffling today. We both had a few long, exhausting days this week that left us fighting off colds. Fortunately, my weekly menu announced that today was the day I had planned to make soup using the homemade chicken broth I froze a couple of weeks ago.

I don't know how big of a difference in flavor the homemade broth made, but this was an amazing soup. I've made several soups over the course of the past months, and this has been my favorite thus far.

I pumped up the heat to clear our our sinuses and used hot linguica, a dash of red pepper, and some mild Spanish paprika. I also substituted kale for the collard greens - it's in season and very good for the body! Gotta get those dark leafy greens in somehow and this is the tastiest option I've found yet. You can tweak this recipe too, just so long as you make it - you won't regret it! (Recipe comes from "The Bon Appetit Fast, Easy, Fresh Cookbook".)

Portuguese Green Soup (Caldo Verde)

2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch collard greens, center stems cut away, leaves thinly sliced
1 lb. fully cooked spicy sausage (such as linguica, andouille, or hot links), cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
5 3/4 c. low-salt chicken broth
1 3/4 lb russet potatoes, peeled, diced
1/2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Saute until onion is soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add greens and saute until wilted, about 4 minutes. Add sausage and saute 5 minutes.

Simmer soup uncovered until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer 2 cups soup (without sausage) to processor. Blend until smooth; return to pot and bring to simmer. Mix in crushed red pepper. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Makes 4 main-course servings.)