Dining Out with CR7

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Real Madrid in LaLiga.

Everyone is aware of CR7’s achievements and continued success on and off the field of play. He is also well documented for his love of fast cars, fashion and food and this is what got us interested as part of our Friends of LaLiga campaign.

We wanted to give each and every one of our  LaLiga football fans a taste of what it is to go dining out with this global superstar that is Cristiano. We have sourced five of Ronaldo’s favourite dishes and we want to give you the opportunity to try it out yourself.

To start things off we present to you the Portuguese “Bacalhau à Bras” (cod “à Bras” in English), which is by far the triple Ballon d’Or winner’s favourite dish.

Bacalhau à Bras(Portuguese Scrambled Eggs with Salt Cod and Potatoes)

SERVES: 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 450g salted cod fillet pieces.
• 450g potatoes
• oil for deep frying the potatoes
• 150g onion
• 3-4 whole garlic cloves
• 35-40g extra virgin olive oil (for the onions and cod)
• 3 or 4 large eggs 
• freshly milled black pepper
• Some parsley or fresh coriander for decoration
• some black olives for decoration

METHOD:

• Wash off any excess salt from the cod pieces, put them in a large bowl and cover with at least 3 times their volume of cold water, place the cod in the fridge for 24 hours, changing the water at least 4 times. You don’t need to remove all the salt from the fillets,  just re-hydrate and remove the excess salt, if in doubt pick a little bit of flesh from the center to taste how salty it is.
• Peel and cut potatoes into matchstick strips or you can buy some skinny fries from your local supermarket.
• Fry the matchsticks in a deep pan of oil until golden.  Deep fry over high heat otherwise they’ll soften and soak up oil 
• Cut the onion in fine strips, add the garlic which has been crushed and fry over a low heat in the olive oil.
• When translucent, add the cod which has been flaked, making sure there are no small bones left in the fish and then add the potato chips.
• Heat everything through but do not burn, just enough until everything is soft and starting to brown.
• It is not necessary to season with salt as the cod should add enough to the dish but taste it and add some if needed.
• At this point you can remove the cloves of garlic or leave them in if you like.
• Lastly, add the beaten eggs to the mixture, which will result in a creamy, soft bacalhau à Bras. 
• I strongly suggest that you mix in the eggs over medium heat being careful to not overcook or your dish will be dry.  You want to get it to a creamy but not completely set, scrambled egg/omelette type consistency.
• Serve with some chopped parsley or coriander for colour, add a dash of freshly milled pepper and decorate with your olives.

Next we move onto another favourite of CR7, the well known Mushroom Risotto which he started eating during his time at Manchester United.

Mushroom Risotto

SERVES:  4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 litre vegetable/chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice (sometimes the packet will say Risotto rice)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 40g butter
• 500g mushrooms (your choice of brown, button, portabella), coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

METHOD:

• Heat the stock and 1 cup of water in a medium saucepan over high heat until almost boiling.
• Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Cook the onion, stirring, for 5 minutes or until tender.
• Stir in the rice until well coated.
• Stir in the wine and cook for 1 min or until wine has evaporated.
• Add 1 ladleful of stock mixture and gently stir until stock is absorbed.
• Repeat with the remaining stock mixture until the rice is tender with just a slight bite.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
• Cook the garlic, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until golden and crisp.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate.
• Increase heat to high.
• Cook the mushrooms in the butter, in batches, stirring, for 5 mins or until golden and tender.
• Transfer to another plate.
• Return one-quarter of the mushrooms to the pan.
• Add the garlic and parsley.
• Season and toss to combine.
• Reserve to garnish the risotto.
• Stir the plain mushrooms and parmesan into the risotto.
• Set aside, covered, for 2 mins to melt.
• Divide among plates and top with reserved garlic mushrooms.
• Season with black pepper.

Ronaldo surely knows how to celebrate his victories and his food and has usually opts for the fine taste of Port Wine originating in Portugal.

Port is one of the great classic European wines and its history is a long and fascinating one.  Port is a fortified wine. Fortified wines are made by adding a proportion of grape spirit, or brandy, to the wine at some point during the production process.

Port is arguably the greatest of all fortified wines and its paramount expression, Vintage Port, ranks alongside the finest produce of Bordeaux or Burgundy as one of the great iconic wines of the world.

In the case of Port, the addition of the brandy takes place before the wine has finished fermenting. This means that the wine retains some of the natural sweetness of the grape, making it rich, round and smooth on the palate.

One of the fascinating aspects of Port wine is its variety of different styles, each with its own characteristic flavours, from the intense berry fruit flavours of a Reserve or a Late Bottled Vintage to the rich mellowness of an Aged Tawny or the sublime complexity of a Vintage Port.  

Traditionally it is served towards the end of the meal with cheese, as a dessert wine or as an after dinner drink although some styles, like white Port, can also be enjoyed as an aperitif.

Port is regarded as one of the most civilised and sociable of wines which will help to make any occasion special, whether a quiet evening by the fireside, an informal gathering of friends or a sophisticated formal meal.

Another favourite of this super striker is one of the most signature and traditional dishes in Madeiran cuisine (Ronaldo’s birth town), beef skewers with fried cornmeal.

Espetada Madeirense

Serves 2 very hungry soccer lovers
INGREDIENTS:

• 700 g beef fillet or 700g boneless sirloin, cut into cubes
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 8 bay leaves
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse sea salt and pepper to taste
• Wooden skewers

METHOD:

• In a large bowl combine the salt and pepper to taste, garlic, bay leaves, wine vinegar and olive oil.
• Mix all the ingredients well then add the cubes of beef and coat them well with the marinade.
• Let it marinate covered for 4-6 hours.
• When they are ready to cook, thread the cubes of meat onto the skewers alternating with a bay leaf.
• Grill the skewers over high-heat until they are well browned on the outside, with a nice smokey flavor.
• Once they are done, served with fried cornmeal on the side.

Milho Frito (Fried Cornmeal)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup white corn meal (maize meal or polenta works just as good)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cube chicken broth
• 4 kale leaves, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups water
• Vegetable oil for frying

METHOD:

• In a saucepan on high heat, add the garlic and olive oil.
• Let it cook for a minute and then add the water, chicken broth, and corn meal. Mix until the corn meal is totally dissolved.
• Add the salt and kale and stir consistently until the water is boiling.
• Turn the heat to low and let it cook for about half an hour while stirring occasionally until the cornmeal thickens.
• Once thickened, pour the mixture into a greased and flat bottomed dish.
• Let the mixture rest for 2 hours.
• Now cut the corn meal into squares and begin to fry them in a deep frying pan on high heat with vegetable oil.
• Fry them a couple at a time until they are golden brown and then once they are done place them on a platter with papers towels to dry.
• Once they are all done, let them cool for 5 minutes and serve immediately.

As staying healthy is high on Cristiano’s list of priorities he likes to end off his day with vegetable soup preferably at night.

Easy Vegetable Soup

Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 200 g raw vegetables such as onion, carrot, celery, turnip, tomato
• 300 g potato
• 700 ml stock (chicken or vegetable)
• Cream or crème fraîche and herbs to serve

METHOD:

• Fry the chopped raw vegetables with the potatoes, peeled and cubed, in a little oil for a few minutes until beginning to soften.
• Cover with the stock and simmer for 10-15 minutess until the vegetables are tender.
• Blend until smooth, then season. Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche and some fresh herbs.

With all this information at your finger tips, why not invite all your football loving friends over and have a CR7 themed evening and let us know if you felt like the great man himself while enjoying his favourite dishes by sending us a tweet and include #TheYellowCapAtletico in support of our Friends of LaLiga campaign.