DAVID LEITE, a Portuguese citizen, is a James Beard award-winning writer and the founder of the popular website www.leitesculinaria.com, a hub for recipes and food journalism. The New Portuguese Table won the IACP 2010 Julia Child Award for First Book.
"A modern classic cookbook."
—BlackBook.com
"Three-time James Beard Award winner Leite has written a foodie
love letter to a European nation. The culinary profile of the 13
historic provinces, along with a shopping guide to the Portuguese
pantry, are great, but the real payoff is the 130-plus recipes that
range from the veggie-rich caldo verde to such new
classics as scrambled eggs with asparagus and fresh cod."
—Dana Dickey, Bon Appétit
"Iberian gem. The New Portuguese Table by David Leite, a prolific
food journalist who founded the website LeitesCulinaria.com, is the
best book on the subject of Portuguese cooking in years. Leite,
whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from Portugal, is captivated by
the way cooks there have pointed their under appreciated cuisine in
new directions. He dutifully catalogs Portugal's iconic wines and
traditional foods--we learn how to make clams and chouriço in a
copper cataplana--but we also get decidedly new-school preparations
like cheese-stuffed pork tenderloins and Filet-o-Fish-inspired salt
cod sandwiches. Trad or mod, this is some winning home
cooking."—Saveur
"Beautifully illustrated, The New Portuguese Table is a
smart, delicious and highly personal travelogue through both memory
and terrain."
—Maricel E. Presilla, MiamiHerald.com
"In Leite's The New Portuguese Table, the author performs a
multitude of feats: first, he provides [a] culinary travel
guide to the country of his ancestors...introduces, with great
specificity, a multitude of regional delicacies...and
finally presents recipes ranging from the most
remarkably parsimonious...to the more extravagant and
modern. Leite's book is a stunning passport to a food and a
people virtually unknown to most Americans, even though they are
only five hours away from our mainland."
—Elissa Altman, The Huffington Post
"This is the perfect cookbook for lovers of salt cod, and it just
might be the perfect cookbook for those who dislike the mild,
Atlantic fish. Leite, a three-time James Beard award winner and
proprietor of the Web site LeitesCulinaria.com, offers a wealth of
recipes for the brackish dried fish, including a traditional
version of pastéis de bacalhau (salt cod fritters) and a newfangled
mini salt cod sandwich that is the Portuguese equivalent of
McDonald's Filet-O-Fish. By highlighting the eclectic ingredients
and modern techniques that define the country today, Leite brings
the often-overlooked foods of Portugal center stage. This fully
illustrated book begins with an extensive glossary of Portuguese
staples, plus a port primer and an introduction to Madeira, and
ends with a chapter devoted to workhorse sundries such as fiery
piri-piri paste and smoked paprika oil. Along the way home cooks
are introduced to a delectable jumble of dishes that range from
classic to contemporary. A comforting adaptation of the fabled
stone soup is enlivened with spicy chouriço sausage;
simple-yet-elegant duck breasts are sauced with white port and
black olives; and a dip made with anchovies, green olives,
cilantro, and whole milk is surprisingly harmonious. The desserts
are comparatively docile–molasses cookies, baked custard tarts–but
the recipe variation for fatias douradas (Portuguese sweet bread
French toast) is truly over-the-top. (Aug.)"
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"If your finances don't permit a trip abroad this year, perhaps
this cookbook will provide some comfort–though it might just
reinforce your urge to hit the sunny beaches of the Algarve. Leite,
a noted Portuguese American food writer and publisher of the James
Beard Award-winning web site Leite's Culinaria
(www.leitesculinaria.com), begins by outlining Portugal's diverse
regional cuisines and then describes traditional ingredients. From
there it is a straightforward listing of appetizers, soups, fish,
meat, poultry, vegetable/egg/rice dishes, breads, sweets, liqueurs,
and condiments, with approximately 150 recipes overall. Each recipe
begins with a paragraph relating its background, which adds to the
book's homey feel. The recipes, many inspired by Leite's memories
of his grandmother's cooking, are designed for the home cook and
generally don't require exotic ingredients, although a supplier for
salt cod may be necessary. A list of sources is provided for the
few hard-to-find items, and color photos add to the presentation.
Full of delicious-sounding recipes, this title is sure to appeal to
adventurous cooks wanting to try a new ethnic cuisine and will also
be popular with Portuguese American communities."
—Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH (Library Review)
"David Leite's The New Portuguese Table is in fact three superb
books in one volume: a thrilling travelogue, a thorough guide to
Portuguese regional dishes and ingredients, and a transporting
kitchen companion. The recipes in it will not only spirit you to an
exotic, alluring place, they'll change the way you cook. We'll
wager that after making Potato Skin Curls with Herbs, you will
never look at potato peelings the same way again!"
—Matt Lee and Ted Lee, authors of The Lee Bros. Simple, Fresh,
Southern
"David Leite takes you right to the heart of the good
stuff, scrupulously (and appetizingly) exploring and
explaining an egregiously overlooked and unappreciated range
of flavors and ingredients. Portugal once ruled the known world,
and the recipes in this book are–in many ways–the history of the
world–on your plate."
—Anthony Bourdain
"This book begs the question why, in heaven's name, have we
ignored Portugal for so long? David Leite's
Portuguese dishes practically stand up and salute with flavor. And
he is smart about the Portugal he portrays. The
temptation is to look only to the past and the traditional, but
David knows cuisines are restless, ever shifting beings. He gifts
us with the land of his family as it was and as it is
now. We'll be cooking from this book for a long time."
—Lynne Rosetto Kasper and Sally Swift, authors of The Splendid
Table's How to Eat Supper
"I am very impressed with The New Portuguese Table. It is
a welcoming, wonderful, satisfying, and passionate cookbook, an
enticing view of Portugal through the lens of its
food. David Leite is a terrific writer and he has a lot to
teach us about one of Europe's most extraordinary and diverse
cuisines. Bravo!"
—Paula Wolfert
"Long overlooked in our culinary literature, Portugal's rich,
historic cuisine finally has a passionate and knowledgeable
ambassador in David Leite. Keenly aware of what modern
American cooks want these days, Leite has
compiled an incomparable collection in which every recipe
is as rewarding to eat as it is simple to make. Bravo
David!"
—Anya von Bremzen, author of The New Spanish Table
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