‘Goa was where I felt most at peace’: Nuno Mendes’ final meal
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Version 0 of 1. I’d have my last meal on Ashwem Beach in northern Goa, as it was about 10 years ago, when it was still undeveloped and raw. I’ve travelled a fair bit, but that was where I’ve felt most at peace, and this would be a chance to share that with the people I love. It would definitely be about the cast, not just the food. My grandmother and my father, who have both passed away, would be there, as would my three children. They never got to meet them, so this would make that possible. It would be in April, in time for my birthday. We’d wake up with the sun, and set up a long communal table on the beach for a leisurely day-long picnic. For the food too, we’d have to time-travel back 30-odd years to the Goan restaurant my father and grandmother took me to as a child. It was in Lisbon, and it’s where I first discovered Goan food. We’d have shrimp poppadom, chana puri, prawn samosas, onion bhajis, goan prawn soup with caramelised onions, preserved sour fish, apa de camarao , chicken xacuti , pork vindalho (basically a vindaloo) and prawn xec xec – one of my favourite Goan recipes, a curry via West Africa… For dessert, there’d be bebinca – a coconut cardamom layered cake originally from Portugal, but taken to India and modified into something very special – perhaps with a frozen pistachio kulfi. Drinks would be a mixture of Portuguese beers and wines, Gut Oggau wines from Austria and feni, an Indian liquor made from either coconut or cashew. Someone would probably bring a guitar, or a boom box, but it’s such a beautiful place, you wouldn’t really need any more than the sounds of the ocean. We’d party through the night until sunrise and finish with a morning swim. chilternfirehouse.com |