Portuguese Stout Bread and other stuff

Porto, on the Riviera

Three way hors d'oeuvres

Portuguese Stout Bread and other stuff

Porto, Portugal, as we all know, is famous for it’s port wine, but I’m not going to write about port wine today. I’ll begin with something more practical. 

One of the things everyone talks about when they mount their donkeys and head toward the River Douro is the food.  Seafood.  Lots of it.  And, no doubt I’ll eventually write about the seafood food, but right now I want to give you a recipe you can use, even if seafood is a thousand miles away.

I found a darkish bread that’s not sweet, but solid like cake.  Throw in some walnuts and Robert é seu tio!  A little wine or sangria, a few olives and you have a buffet, even for snooty people you don’t like very much, but have to feed because they’re family.  Yes, they popped in unannounced just to rub in how unprepared you are.  Hahahaha….Vocé vai rir por último!  Vocé is pronounced as vo-say.  The rest are pronounced as written and you will have the last laugh!

Sangria

First let’s make the sangria.  Portuguese sangria is more fruity than sweet and all the more refreshing for it!  Simple, or as they say in Porto, Simples (sim-pleas).  Chunk some apples and oranges and a lemon and any other fruit you have handy.  Pour in a red or white wine that’s not too dry, but not sweet.  Best to make this a day or even two days ahead to let the flavors meld.  That’s it!

Olives

For the olives, grab some black olives that are cured in oil.  Chop up some garlic and mince some lemon rind.   Put it all together and leave it a day or more.  Olives that are oil packed too expensive, or not to your taste?  Ok, grab a jar of your favs, pour off the water, dry the olives (I use a paper towel), add some olive oil and the lemon rind bits and garlic bits.  Done!

This recipe is for the darker of the two breads

Portuguese Stout Bread (sometimes called Brazilian Bread)

4 ¼ cups whole wheat flour (you can use white flour, but whole wheat is richer)

2 teaspoons baking powder

5 teaspoons rolled oats

4 Tablespoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt (I use Kosher salt)

2 thick pats of unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon Maple syrup (use molasses if you must)

1 Big can (16 oz) of your favorite dark stout ale.  I used Murphy’s

1/3 Cup walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 375ºF or 190ºC and grease a large loaf pan with butter.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, including the walnuts.

Put, the butter, Maple syrup and stout in a pan and heat until the butter melts.

Pour the stout mixture into the dry mixture and combine. Knead to fully combine all the dry ingredients.  Form into a loaf and place it in a pan.  Bake for 40-50 minutes, depending on your oven.  45 minutes was perfect for mine.

Tap on the loaf.  Sound hollow?  It’s done!

For hors d’oeuvres, cut the loaf into two-bite sized pieces, but tell your kin these are four-bite sizes, but not until after they pop the whole thing in their greedy mouths.  Then tell them polite pigs oink.

The good news is, after this polite and tasty repast, your good friends will fight for an invitation to come back again!