Food for thought By GARY NATIONS Special to The Gazette A friend in the market place is worth more than gold in a coffer: Portuguese proverb. Spain and Portugal, both Mediterranean countries, tend to be classified the same because they share the same vast peninsula along the Atlantic. Their people differ culturally, but I think their food differs little. Both use seafood a great deal, although the Portuguese use more seafood such as salt cod, grilled sardines and small herring. Spain leans more towards the Moorish side of cooking, that being almonds, hazelnuts, dates, saffron, lemon and, I think, a little more on the spicy side. Both countries use choritzo (a spicy sausage) but there is a difference in spice. Much like Poland's keishka, and Germany's blut wurst, similar but different. Both countries use little dairy products in their cooking and not too many rich sauces like the French. For the most part they're like peas and a pod. One the peas, the other the pod. They are also very traditional countries. Portuguese cooking is handed down from mother to daughter and no self-respecting girl would think of getting married before she knew how to cook exceptionally well. I guess I've lost half of the audience with that last tidbit of info, but I just had to get it in there. Most of the Portuguese guys cook very well also. Portugal is supposed to be a very reasonable and peaceful place to vacation. Not too many ride-by shootings, no Packer or Viking games to upset your Sunday, and no one ever heard of Jaws. But they do have a lot of great food and we'll take a look at some of it right now. Remember, if you don't like something in it, replace it with something else. Taste it and correct the seasoning to your taste. Here's some authentic recipes from Portugal and Spain. Galicia (a specialty of Santiago de Compostela) One-and-one-half pounds sea scallops 4 cloves minced garlic 2 medium onions, finely chopped 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley Fresh ground salt and black pepper to taste 2 pinches of ground cloves Good sprinkling of grated nutmeg 2 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons olive oil Mix all together but the olive oil and parsley. Put in scallop shells or oven dish. Sprinkle with olive oil and parsley and put in a hot oven at 400 degrees. If you are familiar with Coquilles Saint Jacques from France, these are very similar and you can see how recipes transverse from culture to culture. With all the saints involved here it should be mentioned that the scallop shell is a symbol of St. James himself. Paella (Valencia) One-fourth cup olive oil 6 cloves chopped garlic 1 chicken, cut in pieces 2 tomatoes, chopped 1 red bell pepper cut in julienne 1 cup peas One-half cup green beans, chopped 1 teaspoon paprika 2 cups white rice, not instant Authentically 2 pinches of saffron, about $32 an ounce. (If you didn't win the lottery recently, I would substitute a chicken bouillon cube and one-fourth teaspoon turmeric). 2 pints chicken stock Dozen or so shrimp left in the shell 1 lobster tail poached and cut up Dozen or so mussels or clams Lemon wedges Heat olive oil in a large pan and add garlic and brown. Put in chicken, tomatoes, peppers, peas and beans. Sprinkle with paprika and cook till chicken is just done. Don't worry about the chicken, it's going to cook some more. Add rice, stir constantly and brown a little. Boil the stock and saffron/turmeric. Add to rice and chicken, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. The last 5 minutes or so, add the shrimp, lobster and mussels on top and cover. When done stir very slightly to show all the ingredients, but taking care to leave the shrimp and mussels showing. Add lemon wedges and sprinkle with parsley. Allow a few minutes to let it settle down. You might want to settle down, too. Romesco Sauce This sauce gets its name from the small, hot peppers that grow in Tarragona, a province of Catalonia, where contests are held to find the chef who can produce the best sauce. It's good with fish, lamb especially, and vegetables. 2 tomatoes, skinned and seeded 4 dried Romesco peppers or jalapeno Teaspoon cayenne 10 almonds 10 toasted hazelnuts 4 cloves garlic, chopped 2 tablespoons chopped mint Dash salt One-fourth cup olive oil 2 tablespoons vinegar One-fourth cup sherry Chopped parsley Pound dry ingredients with a mortar and pestle and add one-half of olive oil drop by drop. Add rest of ingredients to make a thick sauce. Sprinkle with parsley. Now you're ready for the bullfights.