My second most frequent off-compound neighborhood excursion is not to so much a place, but an area… Little Portugal. Just last week I went to the nearby Luis Deli to stock up on olive oil. And whenever I make my grandmother's chicken and rice, I get chouriço there. It really makes a difference in the dish. Before we moved to Vauxhall, I used the Spanish version (chorizo, which even Wikipedia thinks is close enough and is available in all the big grocery shops) but the spice balance in the dish is all wrong for chorizo. It just came out too acidic. But as soon as I used real chouriço, the dish tastes just like avô used to make. The deli unfortunately do not have any Azorean chouriço, which is much spicier than the typical continental version. But there is a Alentejo version available here that is almost as spicy. On my way home from work, if I hear anyone talking Portuguese on the train, they always get off the train at the same stop as me... seems I've found the London version of New Bedford, quite by accident, but found nonetheless.
Photo Credits:Gallo
Oliveira da Serra
Chouriço
My Kitchen
1 comment:
Great post. I had no idea there were a lot of Portuguese people in London. I am so glad that you found "little Portugal". Great post.
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