Farewell Alentejo: Wine, Olive Oil, and Chocolate Bolo Podre
Wine tasting is certainly 50% bullshit. Travel writing, at least 50% bullshit. But, my friends, the wisdom that comes with hovering around the age of 35 tells me this: life is easily 50% bullshit. But we all live, we all work, and we all do our best to enjoy it. In various parts of the world, in various jobs, in various states of mind before arriving at this particular age, I looked hard for the meaning of life, every new thing (chocolate was once one of those things) I happened upon potentially it, everything I'd tried before (chocolate was once one of those things, too) rendered irrelevant. I'm thinking that the people around me who seemed to be coping so much better hadn't come any closer to that one meaningful thing—they were just better about balancing the search with more everyday needs, desires, and responsibilities.
I wish I could share my peace of mind, my full bottle of Alentejo DOC wine in the fridge, my heat and electricity with everyone at home in New York who doesn't have them today. I wish I could share the employment and job-related luxuries I've had over the past two months in Portugal with everyone here who increasingly does not have those things.
Since I arrived, I've been working as an editorial consultant for a boutique hotel. Working creatively with a salary and a budget better suited to a scrappy 25-year-old upstart, I've had the chance to visit some great wineries in the region, like Esporão and Plansel, to wear a lab coat and sip olive oil tapped from the holding tanks at Olivais do Sul, and to see a synagogue unearthed after the Inquisition in the town of Castelo de Vide, walk through an abandoned fortress on the Spanish border that could as well have been the set of a sci-fi movie, and find assuringly balanced urban respite in Lisbon. I have a few more things to take care of here in Europe this month (and maybe I'll have a chance to pick at the leftovers of this past weekend's Chocolate Show in Paris). But after that, I think I'm going home. I sent in my absentee ballot, a gave another few bucks to the Obama campaign, and started to think of myself as an American citizen again.
Recipe:
Bolo Podre com Chocolate
bundt pan
butter and flour for preparing the pan
5 eggs
2 cups (450g) sugar
3 oz (85g) dark chocolate (choose something with a hearty, earthy, even smoky flavor)
1/2 cup (125ml) milk
3 tbsp olive oil (match the chocolate with unexpected fruity and nutty notes and aromas)
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 1/2 cups (300g) all-purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Grease the pan with butter and dust the pan lightly but completely with butter.
Beat the eggs and sugar together until thick and creamy.
Melt the chocolate with the next three ingredients over low heat. When the ingredients are completely combined, add the eggs and sugar, still mixing or whisking over low heat until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Add the zest and cinnamon and then whisk in the flour. When you're done, you should have something the consistency of store-bought chocolate pudding.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until the cake puffs up and a knife or toothpick comes out of the center clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for up to half an hour, then invert it onto a serving plate.
2 Comments:
Welcome (almost) home.
Love Portugal.
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