Restaurant “A Vela”, the lovely Antónia and her recipes

This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)

This time in the category about food, drinks and recipes I’d like to take you to my favourite restaurant “A Vela”. You’ll find this restaurant, run by the great hostess Antónia, in the centre of Carvoeiro just a few minutes walk from the beach. The doors of this restaurant opened for the first time on 31st May 2004 and since then many delicious dishes have been served. The Octopus à lagareiro  (see picture above) is one of my absolute favourites ! From today, Antónia will regularly share a top recipe from her cooking repertoire with us !

May I introduce you to………….

Antónia and daughter Stefanie

Antónia

Antónia was born in the Alentejo, a rural region just above the Algarve. This region is known for its pure cuisine, the hospitality of its population,but perhaps best, for it´s excellent wines. At restaurant “A Vela” you will be served all of these ingredients combined with an Algarvian twist, allowing you to enjoy both Atlantic and Alentejan flavours. Antónia acquired her impeccable sense for hospitality and service  during her 17 years in Switzerland, you’ll be pampered !

The restaurant

Behind the modest entrance you’ll find a charming restaurant. The sea theme predominates both the interior and the dishes. On the upper floor there is a piano that has already provided many joyful evenings. Especially the Fado nights deserve a recommendation. At the moment Live music is not possible because of the Covid-19 but these fantastic nights will definitely comeback.

Restaurant “A Vela”

Restaurant “A Vela”

The recipes

This subject makes me very happy. As promised before, Antónia will regularly share one of her best recipes with us. I am aware that this is a great privilege and I am very grateful for this beautiful contribution from Antónia. I hope you will enjoy these beautiful dishes as much as I do !

Bacalhau the king of Portuguese cuisine.

What is Bacalhau?

The word “Kabeljauw” already appears in the Dutch vocabulary in  the 12th century and has been taken over by many other countries. In German it is called Kabeljau, in French Cabillaud and in Portuguese Bacalhau. The Portuguese have copied the art of drying this fish from the Vikings. However, because of the warm climate, they adapted this method by salting the fish as well. The cod used to be dried on the rocks but nowadays this is done in drying tunnels. Bacalhau is a very important dish in Portugal, on average a Portuguese person eats 6.5 kg of Bacalhau per year. And believe it or not, there are 365 different recipes for Bacalhau, one for every day.

Today the recipe is Bacalhau com Broa (freely translated as Cod with corn bread )

Bacalhau com Broa

The Ingredients : – serves 4

• 1 kg cod fillets
• ½ loaf corn bread (250 gr approximately)
• 1 large chopped onion 
• l bay leaf
• Fresh parsley and coriander as required
• 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

The preparation :

Put the sliced onion and bay leaf in an oven dish and place the cod fillet on top. Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil. Bake in the oven at 180ºC to 200ºC for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile crumble the corn bread and add the finely chopped parsley, coriander and garlic. Remove the cod from the oven and add some of the olive oil from the oven dish to the breadcrumbs. Cover the cod fillets with the breadcrumb mixture and bake in the oven until the crust is golden brown. Serve with mixed lettuce or cooked vegetables.

Bom apetito !

This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)