Join Us For Dinner - Portugal Style

Since both of us, Nora and Magdalena, are probably two of  the worst cooks you will ever meet, we were kind of worried about this blog post. Finding something that we both like and are able to prepare caused us quite a headache. It was during one of our countless discussions about football that we suddenly had a brainwave! In honour of our favourite football player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was going to play an international match for his country Portugal the next Sunday, we decided to cook his favourite dish and then watch the game together.
Rumour has it that Ronaldo's favourite dish Bacalhau à Bras has its origins in Bairro Alto, an old district of Portugal's capital, Lisbon. Bacalhau stands for the type of fish used for the dish, whereas Bras is allegedly the surname of the creator. As for the dessert, we decided to prepare a traditional Portuguese caramelised vanilla pudding.

Quite frankly...in the beginning we were both a little sceptical about the fish meal. However, once we were halfway through the recipe our worried facial expressions quickly faded to a smile. Considering the fact that our cooking skills are quite limited, we still managed to do a pretty good job...but see for yourselves! ;)


Ingredients (2 servings)


Main Course: 

• 250 g salt cod
• 1 onion (150 g)
• 250 g potatoes
• 2 eggs
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• 15 g black olives
• parsley (to taste)

Dessert: 

Caramel

• 20 g sugar
• 3 tablespoons water

Vanilla pudding

• 37 g custard powder (Vanilla)
• 40 g sugar
• 500 ml milk

Preparation

- Bacalhau à Bras

• Place salt cod in water and soak for at least 12 hours. Drain and cover with fresh water every few hours. 

• Cut salt cod into small pieces.

• Grate potatoes into fine matchsticks and cut onions into fine rings.
  
  

• Beat eggs, then add salt and pepper and mix well. 

• Fry potatoes in a pan and set them to one side. 

• Place onion rings in a deep pan and sweat until golden. 

 
• Add potatoes and mashed garlic and stir whilst adding the lightly beaten eggs with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat before eggs solidify!

• Garnish with parsely and black olives and serve with red wine (or mango juice if non-alcoholic drinks are preferred).

- Caramelised Vanilla Pudding

• Mix custard powder, sugar and 6 teaspoons of milk in a small bowl 

• Bring remaining milk to a simmer 

• Add custard mixture and mix well

• For the caramel, warm sugar and water over low heat and stir until it turns caramel-coloured

• Pour caramel over pudding and garnish with chocolate sprinkles 

BOM PROVEITO!

Although it took us quite a while to prepare this special meal - three hours to be exact - and the result was not perfect, it was definitely worth it in the end. After we had finished cooking and had taken all the pictures for our blog post, we sat down in front of the TV, watched Cristiano play with his national team and enjoyed our delicious meal. To our great joy Portugal won the game. The perfect ending to a really fun evening! ;)

Who am I?

Extremely chatty, ambitious and cheeky. If you ask my close friends or family to describe me you will most probably hear one of those characteristics at some point. Let me introduce you to myself, my lovely friends!

I am Nora, an Egyptian girl who was born and raised in Austria. My grandfather first came to Austria in the 1970s to study chemistry in Vienna. After getting his doctor‘s degree and finding a job here, he decided to stay. As a result my mother and my two aunts were also born and raised here and even went to the same school I later went to. Let me tell you…it was pretty weird to have some teachers ask you about your mom and aunts, because they were once their students! :p

Despite having most of my family close to me, many of my friends and cousins still live in Egypt, which is why I travel back to my home-country at least once every two years to visit my loved ones.

Landing in Cairo, Egypt :)

But enough about my roots! Let me tell you more about my personality. As I already mentioned I am a very ambitious person. Ever since I was a little girl I have always known what I wanted and how to get it, not by convincing others to simply give it to me, no. But by working hard to achieve it. And quite frankly I can be a real pain in the neck when I set my mind on something. I will not only drive myself crazy in order to achieve it, but usually people around me as well…probably a reason why I’m not in everybody’s good books.

When things get a little too crazy, I usually have two ways to escape: watching matches of my favourite football club or listening to music. I absolutely adore music! You will never see me doing something without music in the background, except studying. Other than that I always like to have my favourite tunes - a mix of English and Arabic music and all kinds of genres - playing while I am doing something, be it preparing breakfast, doing my makeup or cleaning my apartment. I even sing along most of the time, which according to several friends doesn’t even sound so bad. However, I prefer not to claim that I can actually sing. :D

Well, and some of you are probably curious now: What is her favourite football team in the world? My Catalan friends, you won’t be too pleased to hear that, but my favourite team is Real Madrid. Ever since I was little I would sit next to my grandfather in front of the TV and watch them play and I guess my passion for them is just a family tradition he has passed down to me. Even though my love for Madrid started with their most famous football team, it has grown way beyond that over the course of time. Today, the Spanish capital is one of my favourite places to visit, although I have already been there twice. I just love the language, the people who are incredibly friendly and, of course, the food! ;)

I have even had the chance to watch my favourite team play at my favourite city! It was an unforgettable experience! And let me tell you…Madrid is definitely worth a trip! If you’re not a football fan, you will be amazed by at least another thousand things this wonderful city, abounding in art, music, architecture and dance can offer. 

Madrid, a place with a thousand things to discover

 Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, the pitch on which the best team in the world plays ;)

The beautiful Plaza de Cibeles in the heart of Spain's capital.