My love affair with Portuguese cuisine began alongside my growing affection for my partner's parents. They express their love through food, and knowing my passion for seafood, they've made it their mission to introduce me to every treasure the ocean has to offer.
In those early years, when given the chance to choose our next meal—an opportunity they offered daily—I would eagerly request the most exotic dishes. Each meal felt like an adventure, a chance to explore the culinary tradition.
But as the years passed, something unexpected happened. While my appreciation for these oceanic delicacies remained, I found myself increasingly drawn to the humble fava beans. Larger than edamame and infinitely more satisfying to my palate, these Portuguese favas became my daily comfort.
I often wonder: had I been born into a family where favas were our daily fare, would I have spent my life dreaming of fancier foods, convinced that true culinary pleasure lay elsewhere? Yet after years of dining in restaurants across the globe, I've learned that such thinking often leads us astray.
Now, each morning, I look forward to sharing a plate of favas with the people I love. Society and media constantly whisper that a "simple" life is somehow less fulfilled, that we're "missing out" if we're not chasing the rare and exotic. Perhaps true wisdom lies not in first tasting everything the world has to offer, but in recognising the depth and completeness that can exist in simplicity itself—in that state of being where everyday moments reveal their inherent richness.
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