Score with heart-warming, Portuguese cuisine

Having been in training for months, every team player will doubtless have followed a healthy diet recommended by an attendant nutritionist, ensuring peak condition and maximum fitness for the winter months of June and July.
Before each match, as each team files through the narrow corridor out onto the playing field, and stands to attention for the national anthem, I wonder how the coach and entourage of assistants ensure that players will maintain a correct energy level. Will their last meal have been a bowl of pasta, a banana and a bottle of spring water? Somehow I can’t imagine Wayne Rooney delivering his customary brilliant performance without first devouring a mixed grill of lamb chops, chicken drumsticks and ribs, followed by a bowl of Eton Mess.
Little is known about the Chollimas, the North Korean team named after a mythical winged horse, and ranked 105th in the world. Their training sessions in Jo’burg took place behind closed doors and I have yet to discover if a Korean cook travelled with the team. But it would be unsurprising if striker Jong Tae-Se, sometimes referred to as the ‘North Korean Wayne Rooney, attributed his success to pre-match meals of Yuk Ke Jang (spicy hot beef soup with bean sprouts), with lashings of Kim Chee (hot pickled cabbage).
Rather than providing an incentive to experiment in the culinary delights of the many participating countries, the FIFA World Cup has brought food preparation in my kitchen to a virtual standstill. Attempts to rustle something up before kick-off in the evenings often result in a bowl of popcorn or boiled mealies, served in front of the TV.
When green mealies from my local roadside vendor recently doubled in price, and the diet of junk food became excessively tedious, I skimmed through the numerous lists of places to eat out, in search of a square meal. It was Portugal’s 7-0 defeat of North Korea that reminded me of the delights of galinha piri and I invited George to meet me for lunch at Cascais Portuguese Restaurant, in Samora Machel Avenue.
A weekday meal at Cascais is a very different kettle of fish from Sunday lunch, when advance bookings and early arrivals are essential. At 1.30pm, mid-week, the restaurant was perhaps half full, and a waiter showed us to a pleasant table for two in the non-smoking zone. Patrons ranged from men in suits, finishing off business lunches, to casual individuals, either on holiday or enjoying early retirement, having a leisurely meal.
Birthdays were being celebrated at two different tables; a tuneful choir of waiters sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and presented each celebrant with an individual chocolate mousse lit by a birthday candle.
When it comes to grilled chicken Mozambique-style, Cascais definitely has the edge over Harare’s other restaurants. Well-spiced and never over-cooked, this popular dish is served with French fries at no extra cost. But on this occasion, George opted for grilled prawns and I asked for bream, chalked up on the board as one of the specials of the day.
When growing up, George spent many of his school holidays with extended family in Beira, and considers himself to be something of an authority on crustaceans. He is also a number cruncher, and asked the waiter the exact number of prawns to be served before confirming his order. On arrival, the dish was beautifully presented and pronounced delicious. But of the nine promised prawns, one had lost its body en route from the pan to the plate: this kind of observation would probably escape the average diner.
Bream is one of the most delicious fish to be found in Zimbabwe, and as it is produced locally, should always have a delicate, fresh flavour. Served with a glass of light sauvignon blanc, a plate of grilled Kariba bream would be hard to beat. But at Cascais, the bream fillets were fried in a thick batter and did not taste as though they had been flown in from Kariba at dawn. Fortunately I was drinking Stoney ginger beer, which went well with the French fries.
As I’m writing this on Monday, I should be frying onions and garlic and mixing in black beans, pork and tomatoes to make a rich Feijoada, Brazil’s favourite dish. Chilean supporters will doubtless have prepared large quantities of empanadas (pastries stuffed with meat, cheese, raisins and olives) in advance. But tonight, I’m determined not to miss the line up of players and the national anthems, so for the time being it’s back to pop corn and mealies for supper.
 
Cascais Restaurant
139 Samora Machel Avenue
Harare
Tel: 704830/1
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