Madeira: Kebabs, Poncha and Bolo de CACO

Madeira: Kebabs, Poncha and Bolo de CACO

February 21st, 2018 | bread & pastries

We ate the best Bolo de Caco on the village square in Monte above Funchal on Madeira island. The atmosphere there was special. It was lunch time, we were – away from the hustle and bustle of basket sled tours and cableway – alone in the square, apart from some mangy dogs hanging around and taking sometimes a sluggish effort to chase a pigeon. And there we discovered BOLO DE CACO.

At a small booth someone sold freshly prepared Bolo de Caco – with or without chorizo. What a delight! Since then, this bread belongs to Madeira – like the flowers, the mountains, the levadas, fishing villages, the New Year’s Eve fireworks, the silence in the mountains, the laurel trees and the cheerful celebrations on the beach.

Of course, you can’t reduce Madeira’s culinary delights on Bolo de Caco. But we kept it in mind as particularly delicious break snack. That’s why we baked it back at home. And this is how it works:

BOLO DE CAO (sweet potato flatbread) with Chorizo

100 g sweet potato

split into rough pieces, cook in salted water until soft, drain, set aside without lid

750 g wheat flour

press a deepening in the middle

25 g yeast

Crumble yeast into the center of the flour, add

2-3 TS lukewarm water

1 pinch of sugar

stir water and yeast with a little of the flour, cover this pre-dough with a cloth, store in a warm place for 20 minutes

knead the dough, add crushed sweet potato and some salt, knead until it is smooth and does not stick to your fingers

sprinkle flour into a bowl, put dough inside, let it rest covered in a warm place for 1 hour

knead dough again and divide into small balls, place them on a floured work surface, and again let rest covered for 30 minutes

press the dough balls flat and (if wanted) fill some thin slices of

chorizo

in the middle, bake the patties on an iron plate or in a cast iron pan until golden brown in about 10-15 minutes depending on how thick they are

garlic butter

in Madeira, the bread is served still warm with garlic butter (much (!) garlic) spread on it

And that’s how the wife of the captain does it

Since hardly anyone will have the traditional Madeira stone pan, here my recommendation for our BBQ fans: the dough patties can be also cooked on the iron plate of your outdoor grill! Nice idea for your next BBQ!

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March 9th, 2018 | bread & pastries

Pastéis de Belém

Admittedly, the original we tried during our shore leave in Lisbon tasted even better. This certainly has atmospheric reasons. Anyhow, I’ve tried many recipes for Portugal enthusiasts – and here’s one that really works, is simple, and comes very close to the original.