We had an excursion to the shopping centre in Loures just north of Lisbon. It was a bright airy, modern place with some innovative things. Probably the title is a misnomer as most of the family were looking at clothes for most of our time there. However we did look inside a hipermercado and investigated the food sections among others. However, since we were already well stocked up in the holiday house we bought very little.
I found the fish counter quite interesting - though not as large as one we had seen in Velez Malaga a few years ago.
This counter featured whole fish including quite a few monkfish. I must admit I am glad that in the UK the tails are already removed and skinned as that must be a fair bit of work. Just after I took this photo my kids warned me that a security guy was looking at me very suspiciously (nutter photographing the fish counter - will he plant a bomb in the tuna?).
At times though in Portugal I felt a real ignoramus as a lot of the fish were unknown to me. The picture above shows familiar fish like trout, sea trout and mackerel but I have no idea what the long silvery fish are. They are described as peixe espada branco which I think translates as 'white fish sword' but they are nothing like what we describe as swordfish in English.
After half a day at the shopping centre we decided to have a late lunch at the food outlet area. This had the usual US-based multinationals like KFC and McDonalds but I was glad to see that the majority of the outlets were local Portuguese companies. They included chains that specialised in pasta, pita bread and sandwiches.
However, the family members that opted for grilled chicken at a restaurant here probably got the best deal. It was chicken grilled with piri-piri sauce and served with chips, garlic rice and a salad. The restaurant area was separate from the food court and to our surprise those who had chosen the chicken were offered the choice of eating in the stylish restaurant or the more ordinary main courtyard. Since the family had chosen food from 3 outlets we chose the latter; those who chose not to enjoy the restaurant space got a 3€ reduction!
Fill a large pot with 1 quart of water. Add 2 tbsp. sale and bring to a boil. Put lobster (s) in head first. Bring water back to boil. Lower heat, cover,and simmer.
Cooking Times
1 1/4 lb. Lobster (feeds 1) 12 minutes
1 1/2-2 lb. lobster (feeds 1) 16 minutes
2 1/2 - 31/2 lb. lobsters (feeds 1-2) 20 minutes
4-5 lb. lobster (feeds 2) 24 minutes
Large lobsters aren't tough..they're superb!
Place lobster in sink until cook enough to handle. Then put it on it's back..using a heavy,sharp pointed knife, cut thru entire length of body and tail. Remove stomach, (in back of head) and intestinal vein that runs from stomach to end of tail. Spread open. Seve with mallet or crackers to break the large claws. The tail section and claws offer the largest pieces of meat, but don't let anyone overlook the good meat to be found in the body section. Unhinge the shell from the body, then crack the body apart sideways, to get at the meat. This section contains the "tomalley," or green liver, and the red coral roe (only found in females)..both are delicious. The little claws and tail-piece flippers hold rewarding morsels too. Hot lobster always tastes best dipped in melted butter with lemon juice. Cold lobster is good with either melted butter or mayonnaise.
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