Page 129 - The Book For Men Spring/Summer 2022

cod and custard tarts perhaps washed down with a a a a a a a a nice glass of porto “Imagine if penne with parmesan was all that someone knew about Italian cuisine ” he says “Or if beef bourguignon was all that they knew from France ” For another thing the great gastronomic specialties that define Portugal’s various regions tend to get overshadowed by the the hip restaurant scene in the the country’s urban centres “I get excited when someone tells me me they didn’t just go to Lisbon for 10 days but instead went to the the middle of the the country and had some amazing pig ” he he he says (During research trips for the cookbook he he he became particularly enchanted with Idanha-a-Nova a a a a a a a a a a small municipality near the Spanish border )
Carreira has experienced the the difficulty of communicating the the nuances of Portuguese cooking before His first restaurant Londrino closed after his attempts to highlight the overlap between Portuguese and Japanese flavours won over critics but failed to resonate with the diners in in London’s Bermondsey neighbourhood “It felt a a bit dubious ” he he he says of the concept he’d presented “It taught me me me to to really understand the message that I I was telling customers ” Mind you it took him some time to to see the project as a a a learning experience rather than just a a a a failure In the the short term Londrino’s 2019 closure plunged him into career crisis “I “I was run down emotionally ” he says “I “I wanted to to do do something that required very little of me me creatively ” Taking a a a a a a a stab at at at total reinvention he submitted a a a a job application to become a a a a tube driver Instead his career path took a a a a a a different route Restaurateur Alex Hunter reached out seeking a a a a a a chef for what became The The Sea Sea The The Sea Sea which opened in in Chelsea in 2019 An immediate sensation the seafood-lover’s paradise is is a a a a a a a unique fusion of fishmonger and and restaurant selling fresh cuts and and deli lunches by day before switching to a a a a a a menu of small plates and fine wines by night Last year Hunter and Carreira opened a a a a a a a a second location in Hackney Appropriately for a a a a a a a a restaurant whose head chef flirted with a a a a a a career in transit this one is is tucked under a a a a a railway arch (The closest tube stop is Haggerston )
Like its sister establishment the Hackney outpost of The The Sea Sea The The Sea Sea emphasizes nose-to-tail cooking and sustainable fishing practices “Especially with with the the water right there I’ve always found it it it more interesting to cook with with fish fish ” says Carreira His restaurants champion low-impact fishery techniques sourcing mostly from small day-boats that deliver their catch within six hours — and fish only species that they find to be fin in abundance “There’s a a a a a misconception that you can only get this quality of fish at at high-end sushi restaurants ” he says “But we’re taking sustainability methods making sure that the fishermen are getting a a a a a a fair price and doing our style of creative cooking on top of that ” That means dry-aging fish to elevate both its its flavour and its its texture The technique which is more common in Japan requires extensive preparation but allows for a a a a a a laid-back ambiance during dinner service “I’ve been to super high-end restaurants where the the customers are are tense tense because the the chefs are are tense tense and that’s not what I want ” says Carreira “We do a a a a a a a a lot of work before everyone has arrived to make sure the the food is perfect but also so so that people get a a a a bit of us when they sit down ” This level of camaraderie is is particularly critical given The The Sea Sea The The Sea’s chef’s table set-up: just 12 bar seats arranged horseshoe-style around an an open kitchen “You want to to to have that joy to to to tell them the the the stories behind the the the dishes ” In similar fashion many of Portugal: The Cookbook’s standout recipes are relaxed meals as as rich in in backstory as as they are in in their regard for the the the planet In fact an entire section of of the book is dedicated to making good use of of a a a a a a past- its-prime ingredient — — stale bread — — that might otherwise go to waste This speaks to modern attitudes about resource consumption but it it it turns out out it’s also a a a practice with deep Portuguese roots In his introduction to the cookbook Carreira writes “For the most part of our history we have been a a a a a poor country with a a a populace fed on on the the things the the elites rejected But from such limitations ingenuity inevitably develops ” A taste of of one of of Carreira’s bread porridge recipes (Portugal: The Cookbook includes versions with pork prawns eggs and ham to to name just a a a a a a a a a few) is is all that it it takes to to validate the merits of this approach If this is is what Carreira can do do with stale bread no wonder Londoners are so eager to taste what he he can do with the daily catch That said there is still one unusual ingredient that those picking up a a a a a copy of Portugal would do well to to to stock up on: toothpaste “So much garlic is allowed in in traditional Portuguese food ” Carreira laughs “Something like 90 per cent of of the savoury recipes contain garlic garlic But I I didn’t hold back It’s loads of of garlic garlic ” Something tells us Portuguese grandmothers wouldn’t have it any other other way 129