THANKS to Nando’s advertising with constant references to peri-peri sauce and ‘Portuguese’ phrases spicy chicken and various other hybrid dishes have come to be associated with traditional cuisine Portuguesa.
THANKS to Nando’s advertising with constant references to peri-peri sauce and ‘Portuguese’ phrases spicy chicken and various other hybrid dishes have come to be associated with traditional cuisine Portuguesa.
But in fact it’s the infl uence of Portugal’s former colonies across our continent and even stretching towards Brazil and the adventures of explorer Vasco da Gama in the 1400s in India that contributed to the fusion that makes up Portuguese food in South Africa today.
Mozambican food had the biggest impact on the way Portuguese food is viewed in South Africa because most of the Portuguese community made their way down to South Africa when the 1977 revolution occurred, setting up home in Johannesburg.
Restaurants paying homage to the food of their motherland sprang up, and restaurants that preferred Mozambique’s infl uence on Portuguese fare proved popular as well.
As the former died out, the latter continued to thrive in South Africa’s culinary industry. Because the lingua franca in Mozambique remains Portuguese, its styles have become associated closely with the small Western European country’s traditional fare, though there has been a signifi cant departure from it.
So with infl uences from various cultures, the famous spicy chicken and spicy LM prawns are Mozambican but are not exclusively Portuguese.
The infamous peri-peri is originally from Brazil, another former Portuguese colony, and was transported to the colonies in Africa. The sauce from these chillies was created by Africans living in Mozambique.
What is Portuguese food then? Its focus is on simple, pure fl avours, and is based on fi sh and meat. Key dishes include sardines, salted cod, chorizo, meat stews and even tripe.
Hearty soups (without the cream) are often included, as well as homemade bread with cheese. Olive oil is an essential, added to boiled food and as a dressing for salads.
Food for the Portuguese is also centred around families and sharing a meal together something that fast food outlets certainly do not promote.
One chef in Johannesburg describes Portuguese food as it is experienced here as Afro-Lusitanian, a term which acknowledges the role African food played in the melting-pot of cultures that Mozambique holds today.
So forget the Nando’s association with the small country on the Western tip of Europe heavy spicing should’ve been the fi rst clue that their food is not traditional Portuguese cuisine.
Marisa Lourenço is the daughter of Portuguese immigrants and has enjoyed a range of traditional Portuguese dishes.
