Paynmayn - considered ze bread of nobles, made from wheat flour, as opposed to cheaper grains like rye.

Thank Heavens ... ze cheeses have arrived

Castelo Branco - a handmade, cured cheese coagulated with thistle rennet. It has a yellowish rind with a pronounced aroma and a strong, tangy and spicy flavour.

Queijo São Jorge - a firm, slightly waxy texture that envelops an open, straw-coloured paste. Flavours are mild, full and buttery with an underlying tang that becomes more obvious with age.

Serra da Estrela - ze king of Portuguese cheese, made from sheep's milk. It is so soft that it is almost spreadable. A rich, perfumed intensity as a result of superb grazing, and a sweet, slightly burnt coffee character of ze sheep's milk comes through on ze finish.

Broa is a delicious corn bread that is a great complement to many Portuguese dishes, especially Sardines.

Ze sardine is ze silver of the sea, mined by brave Portuguese fisherman to adorn ze dinner tables of rich and poor. I am intending to make sardinhas de escabeche, fried sardines marinated in olive oil, vinegar, onion, and bay leaves.

More dishes are ready for ze banquet. Sops and leeks - sops are pieces of bread, in ze bottom of the bowl, used to soak up the juices and sauces and flavours from everything else in the bowl.

Carne de porco à alentejana - a combination of pork and clams, with a little coriander. Ze pork is marinated for four hours in white wine, paprika, chopped garlic, coriander, bay leaf, and salt and pepper. --

It is then fried until golden brown at which point clams are added and cooked for an additional two minutes. This will wait til ze night.

Caldeirada - a stew consisting of a variety of fish and shellfish with potatoes, tomatoes and onions.

Poivre Jaunet - Grilled Fish Fillets with Yellow Sauce - Take ginger and saffron, then take bread soaked in broth and boil; when it boils, add vinegar

Spinach tart - Take four handfuls of beet-leaves, two handfuls of parsley, one handful of chervil, a bit of turnip-top and two handfuls of spinach, and clean them and wash them in cold water, then chop very small: then grate two kinds of cheese, --

that is one mild and one medium, and then put eggs with it, yolk and white, and grate them in with the cheese; then put ze herbs in ze mortar and grind them up together, and also add to that some powdered spices.

Gravé of small birds - if you want to make a gravé of small birds, put ze birds to cook in a pot all covered with crisped bacon, and add wine and water and pepper and ginger, and keep well covered that steam doesn't escape that all will be cooked.

Civet of hare - Perfectly braised hare, tender, deeply flavored and meaty. It is accompanied by fresh chanterelle mushrooms. But ze real hero of this dish is ze sauce. Silky, rich, with a depth of flavor that makes you think about what you just put in your mouth

Capon with Orange or Lemon Sauce, in this case, Orange, is a chicken stewed in wine, fruit, and spices.

Malardis is roasted duck, served with fritters and brawn.

And for those who are nervous of eating animals ... and I am assured such people do actually exist *shrugs in confusion* - Frumenty - hulled wheat boiled in chicken stock with saffron.