Back in Spain I referred to Valencia orange juice as the nectar of the gods. Well, we have now found its counterpart, Bolo do Caco, the food of the gods.
When we discovered Bolo do Caco being baked and sold on the streets of Funchal, it looked so good that we just had to buy a loaf and take it back to our apartment for dinner.
It’s a flat, circular bread that’s shaped like a cake, which explains the “bolo” part of its name (“bolo” is Portuguese for “cake”).
It’s traditionally cooked on a caco, a flat basalt stone slab, which explains the second half of the name.
The ingredients are pretty simple: flour, yeast, salt, sweet potato mash, and water. But somehow, in a way I can’t begin to comprehend, those simple ingredients are combined and transformed into something incredibly delicious, a decidedly doughy delight.
It’s usually sliced in half and slathered with garlic butter, but it can also be eaten as the bread in an octopus or steak sandwich.
Bolo do Caco is good. Damn good. So good, in fact, that Jamie and I now buy a loaf every day and take it back to the privacy of our apartment, where we wolf it down and then fight each other for the scraps like a couple of hyenas tearing into the carcass of whatever the lions have left over.
Like I said, it’s really good.
Sounds delish!! Please convince Snug to serve this upon your return.