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Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/654717
Main Attractions Extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, olives, cheese, sautéed onions, paprika, and coriander punctuate Portuguese cuisine, while several types of seafood and pork serve as the backbone of nearly every dish. Sardines, horse mackerel, red mullet, clams, mussels, and octopus are mainstays on the west coast of the country while inland, pork, beef, and chouriço and linguiça sausages are popular proteins. "The single most important ingredient in Portuguese food is salt cod," explains Mendes. Salt cod, or bacalhau, is codfish that is doused in salt, then sundried or preserved. When it's time to use the salt cod, it undergoes a multi-day rinsing process to remove some of the saltiness and make it more palatable. "From this point, there are literally thousands of Portuguese Bacalhau preparations, including several ways found on our menu," Azevedo explains. Those dishes include Bacalhau no Forno, a traditional baked casserole of North Atlantic salt cod, potatoes, onions, and olives, as well as Bolinhos de Bacalhau, which fea- tures cod cakes, cilantro aioli, Moroccan black olive coulis, and pickled seabeans. At Midtown Manhattan's Lupulo, Mendes focuses on tradi- tional, rustic Portuguese cooking, along with craft beer, in a nod to the taverns of Lisbon. Nearly every dish on the menu utilizes fresh or preserved seafood, including the Portuguese mackerel spread, charred cucumber and razor clam salad with dill, and the grilled octopus with chickpeas, black-eyed peas, pickled turnips, and romesco. Mendes says one of the most popular dishes at Lupulo is the Frango Piri-Piri. "It's wood-fired chicken that is marinated with lime and Portuguese spices," he explains. "[It's] a take on my mother's recipe." The chicken is served with Portuguese piri-piri hot sauce, made from crushed peppers, garlic, and paprika. Specialty Imports On the specialty side, everything from meats, cheeses, and con- diments to sardines and wines are imported for use in the U.S. Azevedo says he imports cheese from his home island of São Jorge, as well as sardines, quince marmalade, lupini beans, spices, and salt cod. Additionally, Mendes receives imports of sardines twice per week. Some popular specialty food items from Portugal that are available in the U.S. include AsDoMar Sgombro (mackerel filets) in oil; Da Morgada Tomato Jam; Piri-Piri Hot Sauce from Flor Das Hortes, and Roland's Smoked Rainbow Trout in Olive Oil. —E.C. "The single most important ingredient in Portuguese food is salt cod." PERUVIAN FLAVORS SHINE Unique ingredients, flavors, and spices are putting this South American cuisine on the map. P eru has been flexing its culinary muscle for years on the high-end international dining scene, where cured seafood ceviches, purple pota- toes, and ají peppers have been making regular appearances on trendsetting menus. The country is home to one of America's favorite superfood crops, quinoa, but it's Peru's broader bounty of iconic foods and unique ingredients that's taking the culinary world by storm, says Maricel Presilla, James Beard award-winning chef and author of Gran Cocina Latina. With more than 3,000 varieties of potatoes and over 40 of corn, there's an enormous diversity of raw ingredients hailing from coastal villages, Amazonian jungles, and Andean peaks virtually unknown outside of Peru. "That's what's paving the way for Peru to climb the culinary ladder," says Presilla. The gastronomic boom can be traced to the country's food- crazed capital, Lima. It's a city united by its passion for food, making it a dream destination for top toques and traveling foodies, explains Presilla. Since 2008, Lima has hosted Latin America's largest food festival, Mistura, where locals and visitors gather to taste everything from food truck fare to samples of cuy (guinea pig) and paiche (a giant Amazonian fish). Presilla explains the excitement in Lima isn't just about the enormous plant diversity or Andean heritage. Top chefs there are in the midst of a culinary movement, remaking the cuisine through a modern lens that has put Peru on the map. "There's an enthusiasm in that process of discovery," she says. Though the country has emerged as one of the world's most significant produce exporters, Peruvian cuisine itself has become the country's most significant cultural export thanks to superstar chefs Bacalhau, salted cod fish, is a Portuguese staple SPRING 2016 95