Neven Maguire is back with a new seven-part series of his popular Food Trails programmes, returning to Portugal following his highly enjoyable visit in 2022. This year his travels take him from Porto in the North of Portugal, to the Atlantic island of Madeira.
Locations that Neven visits include Porto, Coimbra,Óbidos, Lisbon, Sintra, Cascais and Madeira. Throughout the series, Neven meets some of Portugal’s most renowned chefs and unique artisan food and drink producers.
His visits include a trip to a tropical fruit farm accessed by cable car, cooking with a chef who uses 25 year-old oysters, a tasting at a steam powered rum distillery; and exploring a banana plantation with its own banana museum.
Neven also heads to Quinta das Lágrimas, the setting for Portugal’s own real life Romeo and Juliet story. He takes a tour of Bordallo Pinheiro, perhaps Portugal’s most famous decorative ceramics producer, discovers the spectacular Palácio Nacional da Pena, and also enjoys some traditional ‘Fado’ music.
Each week Neven shares one of his own recipes, inspired by his Portuguese Food Trails.
He says:
“I was delighted to return to Portugal which is an extraordinary country to explore as a chef, and also as a tourist. From Porto to Coimbra, Sintra, Lisbon and Madeira, I discovered the distinct artisan food and drink of each region, and learned recipes from some of the country’s most talented chefs.
“Not only did we discover even more uniquely Portuguese produce, we met some incredible people who were exceptionally kind and welcoming wherever we travelled.
“In this new series we also ventured from mainland Portugal to the island of Madeira, a totally new experience for me, with a subtropical climate and cuisine.
“Throughout the series, I’ve tasted delicious food and drink, learned new cooking techniques and tips, and visited spectacular tourist attractions. Travelling through Portugal has been an enriching experience, and I’m looking forward to sharing it”.
Programme three: Sintra and Cascais
This week on his Portuguese Food Trails, Neven explores the town of Sintra and the surrounding area north west of Lisbon, and also heads south to the coastal town of Cascais.
Neven’s first stop is the Palácio Nacional da Pena, a 19th century palace famous for its brightly coloured and extravagant architecture. The palace was built as a summer home by a nobleman who married the Queen of Portugal in 1836. Today the palace is used by the President of Portugal for state occasions. Neven takes a tour and discovers the palace’s Portuguese, Moorish, Arabic, Indian, and Central European influenced architectural features.
Many towns and cities across Portugal have their own unique pastries, and Sintra has two: the Almond Pillow and the Queijadas de Sintra. Neven visits the Casa do Preto bakery to learn how they’re made, and taste them for himself. Almond Pillows are pillow-shaped flakey pastries filled with frangipane, and Queijadas de Sintra are sweet cheese tarts flavoured with cinnamon, made with a unique pastry which is rolled several times until it’s wafer-thin.
The pastry in Queijadas de Sintra requires an intricate, handmade and fast paced preparation technique, and at peak times Casa do Preto produces an impressive 90,000 pastries per day.
Cascais is a coastal town just outside Lisbon on what is known as ‘The Portuguese Riviera’, and here Neven visits The Farol Hotel where the Chef shares three recipes which use typical Portuguese ingredients in very innovative ways.
Firstly, an enormous 25-year-old Oyster, with Japanese Dashi seasoning and Caviar. This is followed by Smoked Eel with Strawberries and Tomatoes, Strawberry and Vanilla Vinaigrette and Lemon Ice Cream.
And finally Sea bass cooked in a pastry crust, which allows the fish to bake in its own juices (the pastry is discarded before eating); and the seabass is served with Cockles, Spinach Purée and Asparagus.
Casal de Santa Maria is a vineyard situated between the Atlantic coast and the Sintra Mountains. The vines were planted in 2006 by owner Baron Bodo von Bruemmer who was an impressive 96 years old at the time. Casal de Santa Maria is located in a micro climate where the ocean, and even the fog, have a huge impact on the taste of the wines.
Neven takes a tour of the scenic vineyard, and enjoys a wine tasting including a rosé, which perhaps unusually, can be paired with savoury food, and a Sauvignon Blanc with notes of green bell peppers.
Neven’s own recipe this week is Chicken, Chorizo & Rice Bake.
All of Neven’s recipes in this new series were filmed on the spectacular island of Madeira at the Quinta Das Vinhas estate and vineyard, which has been owned by the same family since 1685.
Neven’s Portuguese Food Trails is produced and directed by David Hare for InproductionTV and is sponsored by FLOGAS
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