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.

Shore leave Lisbon: Breakfast in Belem

A special way to get to know foreign cities and countries is a visit to a bakery or pastry shop. The variety of different types of bread and the selection of the most diverse pastries regularly lure my captain on a discovery tour to the most beautiful pastry shops in the world. One of them he found in Lisbon, namely the Pastéis de Belém. The good: from the cruise ship, it is very easy to reach by bike or on foot. Here is the captain’s shore leave recommendation: “Breakfast in Lisbon”

Jackfruit curry with pineapple

Curry dishes, especially the traditional sailor’s curry, are not to be left out of our diet. Mostly a curry is cooked on chicken. Here I introduce a vegetarian alternative – for those who want to reduce their meat consumption. Ginger, garlic, poppy seed, cumin, turmeric, coconut milk and jackfruit. Pretty exotic, right?

Ceviche at Cantina Popular

“Oh my god”, the captain said during the last shore leave in Hamburg, honoring the first bite of the Ceviche de Lubina… The CANTINA POPULAR is loud at first glance, it’s tight, it’s busy, lively and colourful. The waiters in all that hustle and bustle are cheerful and attentive. One has arrived – in the middle of South America. And Chef de cuisine Cristián Orellanus says “Bienvenidos”!

Potato cake with Brussels sprouts

Winter still controlls Northern Germany! Well, hearty winter cuisine: The sprouts stew in spicy mustard cream, while the juicy potato pie is baking in the oven. Here we go with the recipe:

Eggplant & mozzarella

Eggplants are indispensable to an Italian appetizer plate. In this recipe eggplant, tomato, prosciutto and mozzarella enter a creamy liaison. Ready in 30 minutes the sunny taste makes me believe that summer is not far…

Madeira: Kebabs, Poncha and Bolo de CACO

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.

Spaghetti – quite addictive

Italians probably will tear their hair about my recipe for spaghetti muffins. I have the heart to publish it anyway. There are at least seven good reasons for it:

Macaronesian Gin – summer in a glass

Most people like to bring some holiday souvenir back home. Our case is usually full with sausage and cheese from local markets and sometimes we bring also a bottle of wine. On Tenerife, we spontaneously packed a bottle of gin and two glasses as souvenirs. Macaronesian Gin. To be honest, I didn’t even know exactly then, what is meant by ‘Macaronesian’.