Lisboeta: Recipes from Portugal's City of Light by Nuno Mendes: book review

Lisboeta: Recipes from Portugal's City of Light (2017) is a recipe book with a difference – it is a typical day in Lisbon (Lisboa in Portuguese) with lots of wonderful photographs (of food and the city).

A Lisboeta is a native of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. International chef Nuno Mendes is a Lisboeta, and in this book Mendes shares his love for his city and its food.

Being the oldest city in western Europe, Lisbon has a rich culinary heritage, from the Carthaginians, Romans, Suebi, Visigoths, and Moors, to the present time. Mendes begins by describing its culinary revival over the past 6-7 years, and moves onto the essential ingredients and techniques of Portuguese recipes.

I have not tried even half of the recipes yet, but I do love the ‘Runner bean fritters with clam broth’ – beans, tempura-style, with garlic, lemon, and coriander – the ‘Coriander-marinated broad beans’ with egg – and the ‘Peas and broad beans with cornbread crumbs.’ All three are so simple, and so delicious. I want to try the fish soup or grilled sardines next.

For the main meal, I have prepared the easy ‘Beef skewers with chourico and bay leaves’ and the ‘Prawn and shellfish rice.’ The desert I tried was the ‘Drunken figs with pistachios and cream’ which I modified to pears and almonds the second time. There is nothing too difficult for even the novice cook.

The recipes are a refreshing modern version of traditional dishes, and the cuisine presented in this book is fabulous. I have visited Lisbon and these recipes bring back the great fresh tastes of the sea-side city that I adored. I have finally found a recipe book that I truly enjoy and use.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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