The use of mushrooms as food in the Montado do Freixo do Meio began early, back in the 1990s, following scientific studies, starting with Anabela Marisa Azul and especially Professor Jorge Estrela, who contributed to the deep respect we have today for the fungal kingdom.
In general, wild plants are underutilized due to a lack of knowledge, but they are much richer in nutrients, vitamins, and minerals than domesticated vegetables. The recent abandonment of rural culture has led to the removal of these valuable and free resources from the Portuguese diet. We’re talking about nettles, wild asparagus, purslane, watercress, chard, dandelions, Venus’s navelwort, cattails, mustards, and thistles. These are some of the plants from our ecosystem that we use and share as food.
Montado do Freixo do Meio has been reviving the tradition of incorporating these products into our diets.
Ingredients (those available at the season)
How to prepare
Gather as many berries, flowers, and wild herbs as you can to create a tasty, nutritious, and healthy salad. When picking them make sure the leaves have a lush appearance and stiff stems. Wash all the ingredients very well. Let them drain. Place in a salad bowl and mix with your hands until you create a colorful and diverse salad. Season with fleur de sel, organic virgin olive oil, and lemon juice.
Most of the plants in this salad have anti-inflammatory properties. Serve and enjoy at an outdoor picnic.
Ingredients
Method of preparation
Soak the chard for a few hours before eating, to facilitate the absorption and digestion of all the fiber and nutrients present in the vegetable.
Then cook for about 6 minutes in a pot of boiling water with a pinch of salt. Strain and chop the cooked chard.
In a large frying pan, sauté the garlic in the olive oil and add the chard for a few more minutes. Then add the tablespoon of acorn flour and stir for about 6 minutes, until smooth. Stir regularly so as not to burn and, if necessary, add 2 tablespoons of the chard cooking broth.
Season with pepper and basil. Finally, add the pine nuts and stir the mixture a little more until it has a smooth texture. It’s ready to serve!
Ingredients
For 4 people
How to prepare
Prepare the purslane by washing them and cutting them into pieces with the stalk. Place the arranged purslane, the coriander and garlic cloves, salt, olive oil, pepper, paprika and bay leaf in a pan.
Then add the potatoes, peeled and sliced. Fill the pan with water until all the ingredients are covered and cook everything at the same time. When the ingredients are almost cooked, add the whole eggs. Let the eggs cook a bit too, and you’re ready to serve!
This is a typical dish from Alentejo.
Ingredients
For 4 people
How to prepare
Boil the potatoes, the leek (both sliced), the garlic cloves and the onion.
Once the basic ingredients are cooked, puree everything using a hand blender.
Arrange the purslane, using only the leaves, and then add them and the chopped coriander to the purée, add the olive oil, and let them cook (8-10 minutes). Season to taste and it’s ready to serve!
Ingredients
For 4 people
How to prepare
Clean the asparagus and boil them in water. Then drain them, keeping the cooking water.
Cut the bread into very thin slices, then place it in a bowl, add the asparagus cooking water while still hot, and the salt. Cover the bowl for a few minutes and then wrap the bread well, stirring with a wooden spoon until soft.
In a frying pan, add the olive oil, the whole garlic cloves, and the bay leaf, and fry the garlic a little. Finally, add the cooked asparagus to the bread, season to taste, and shape the migas with the help of two spoons.
Ingredients
For 4 people
How to prepare
Season the meat with salt, paprika and the chopped garlic and let it taste for 3-4 hours.
Fry the meat with lard or olive oil. Then remove some of the fat to make the migas. In a deep frying pan or pot, add the fat from the meat with some thin strips of meat, pepper, orange juice and the beaten eggs, asparagus and breadcrumbs, and season to taste.
Let it boil, stirring constantly, until you get a homogeneous mixture. Shape the migas with the help of two spoons and serve with the fried meat.
Our mission is to build a community around Herdade Freixo do Meio that is democratic, inclusive, transparent, autonomous, and resilient, that achieves a constantly improving relationship with natural resources, and that encourages personal development.
FOLLOW US
