Bastardo, in Lisbon – the perfect place for an internship

by Tallinna Teeninduskool · Published 18. mai 2020 · Updated 18. mai 2020

Anna Satsyk

I went to Portugal for my first internship abroad. I had two countries to choose from: Cyprus and Portugal, however, Portugal felt like the best option at that time, as I was eager to find out information about Portuguese cuisine and culture, which seemed to be interesting because Portugal is a country where two different cuisines and cultures meet: Atlantic and Meditterrian. Portuguese cuisine is famous for seafood, and the Portuguese are among the nations that consume the most fish in the world, per capita.

I knew some things about Portuguese cuisine, but still, there were many factors which I had never heard before. For example that cinnamon, clove and allspice is not only saved for desserts, unlike other European cuisines, it’s also added to plenty of savoury Portuguese dishes.

I had my internship in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, in the restaurant Bastardo Portuguese for Bastard. In the restaurant, the food was a mixture of cultures, styles and concepts in traditional cooking that never stops evolving. The internship consolidated my theoretical knowledge as well as improved my practical skills and gave me even more professional motivation.

During my internship, I could try many new recipes which included ingredients that I had never tried before. I learnt some new cooking techniques and found out the basic secrets of Portuguese cuisine. I improved my general and professional English, got to know the culture of Portugal.

While working in the Bastrado I got the motivation to study more and the courage to work with different cuisines. The experience itself made me more curious and wonder about everything just to develop my skills in the field of cooking.

I got smarter and wiser at the same time and all the knowledge will be taken with me and shared to lead my way in my cooking career.

Thank you Erasmus+, Teeninduskool and all the teachers for such an opportunity as the perfect practice abroad!

In Portugal cuisine, chestnuts are very popular and Portuguese are really proud of the way they are cooked in Portugal. In the restaurant « Bastardo», they cooked delicious chestnut puree which was a component in their main dish «SPIDER PIG» (Iberian pork presa, chestnut puree, coffee, manioc, tamarillo).

Chestnut puree

For cooking the Chestnut puree you need:

50 g butter
50 g shallots
200 g chestnuts
100 g milk
100 g whipped cream 35 %
salt, pepper, coffee, thyme

Cut shallots, fry them in butter on low heat and add chestnuts. Use a medium saucepan. Add whipped cream and milk, heat for about 30 minutes over medium heat, evaporate. Put parchment paper on top so that there is no foam, until the chestnuts easily break apart. Add thyme.

Add salt, pepper and some coffee (espresso). Transfer the chestnut mixture to a food processor; puree until the mixture is very smooth and has the consistency of a thick spread. Taste the puree, season with salt and pepper as you wish. Chestnut puree ready to serve. This chestnut puree is delicious with pork, octopus or duck.

You can prepare chestnut puree, as well as a dessert-chestnut cream, which is a rare, very gentle and airy dessert and something new. Cooking technology is similar to salty puree. It was my personal experiment and it turned out to be delicious. Reсipe:

50 g butter
30 g brown sugar
200 g chestnuts
100 g milk
100 g whipped cream
50 g black coffee

Cooking: Melt brown sugar and butter over low heat. Use a medium saucepan. Add chestnuts, milk and cream, boil over medium heat, put parchment paper on top so that no foam is created, stirring occasionally and breaking up the chestnuts into smaller pieces, for 25 minutes or until the milk has evaporated and a paste has formed. Allow the chestnut paste to cool. Place the chestnut paste in the food processor and blend until smooth. Place into the fridge to set for a least an hour. Put the chestnut cream in a pastry bag and squeeze into a serial dish. Put blueberries, strawberries and a sprig of mint on the top. Chestnut cream dessert is ready to be served.