Over the years, there have been a few great compendiums of Portuguese cuisine - the classic 'Cozinha Tradicional Portugesa' by Maria de Lourdes Modesto or the excellent volumes of regional cuisine by Alfredo Saramago, for instance -, but I have always felt like there was space for a book that gathered the Portuguese culinary richness with modern design, good photos and, more importantly, clear and detailed recipes. A comprehensive but approachable book that would make our cuisine appealing to those that are not quite familiar with it.
When I found this book in a local book store this weekend, I was very surprised - I had no idea this had come out (it was published at the start of the month) - and, as I browsed through its pages, I realised this is finally the book I was hoping for.
Phaidon already has a strong collection of food compendiums of several countries - The Silver Spoon, for Italian cuisine, Japan - The Cookbook, India - The Cookbook... It's great for Portugal to be present in this collection with such a quality book. Chef Leandro Carreira did his work well, with a thorough and extensive gathering of recipes from all the main regions of the country, all presented clearly and with detailed steps.
Hopefully this book will be a success and will help to make our food a bit more well known. I know I will be trying a lot of recipes from here - I can only hope the same will be true for people who might never have tried to tackle some of our amazing dishes. ( )