Delights of Portuguese Cuisine

One of the ideal places on earth to enjoy food and drink is Portugal. Portuguese cuisine is hugely underrepresented outside Portugal. Often confused with Spanish cooking, it is, in fact, quite distinct. At its best, Portuguese food is simple ingredients impeccably prepared. Based on regional produce, emphasising fish, meat, olive oil, tomato, and spices, it features hearty soups, homemade bread and cheeses, as well as unexpected combinations of meat and shellfish. Most regions have their own special dishes but some dishes are common to the country. Their dishes are characterised by rich flavours and are closely related to Mediterranean cuisine. Stopping at one of the legendary cafés in Lisbon is mandatory. In addition to the best coffee in Europe, Lisbon's coffee bars inexpensively & efficiently serve-up sopas (soups), tostas (grilled sandwiches), maças (baked apples) and melons all through the daylight hours. The Portuguese don’t have an elaborate breakfast, just coffee, fresh fruits and some fresh pastries from one of the many pastelerias or confeitarias.

 

 

When you eat at a restaurant and as you browse the menu, you might find that dishes miraculously appear on your table: olives, a small cheese, cod cakes or sardines and perhaps dried ham. You will be charged for these items. Just enjoy them and adjust your main course order accordingly. The Portuguese attitude to food is simple and imaginative, traditional and inventive. Above all, enjoying good food and the social aspects of eating out is an esteemed part of everyday life. From informal cafes to world-class restaurants, all budgets and occasions are catered for. Tiny cafes and tascas, often no more than holes in the wall, abound. The opportunity to sample this largely unknown cuisine in all its variety is one of the real rewards of visiting Portugal.

 

Seafood

Fresh fish and shellfish are found on virtually every menu and with seafood so fresh, it's hard to go wrong. If there is one thing that typifies traditional Portuguese food, it is fish. From the common anchovy to swordfish, sole, sea bream, bass and salmon, markets and menus reveal the full extent of Portugal's love affair with seafood. In Portugal, even a street-bought fish burger is filled with flavour. The national dish is “Bacalhau” - dried, salted cod. The Portuguese have been obsessed with it since the early 16th century, when their fishing boats reached Newfoundland. The sailors salted and sun-dried their catch to make it last the long journey home, and today there are said to be 365 different ways of preparing it, one for each day of the year. Grilled sardines and horse mackerel are also popular in the coastal towns, and a mixture of other types of fish is put into a stew called “Caldeirada”. The country is full of specialty seafood restaurants, many with artistic displays of lobsters, shrimp, oysters, and crabs. To try a mixture of these, have the rich seafood rice, “arroz de marisco”. Most restaurants do serve chips with a lot of dishes, although you are more likely to get boiled potatoes with fish. However, you can always order a tasty side salad - “uma salada mista”  to go with your meal instead. Canned sardines or tuna, served with boiled potatoes or black-eyed beans and boiled eggs, constitute a convenient meal when there is not time to prepare anything more elaborate. Lamprey or lampreia, is a seasonal delicacy available when the fish swim up the Tejo River from January into March. A rich-tasting, eel-like fish with an ancient pedigree, its preparation includes bottles of red wine with rice.

 

Soups and Meats

Soups constitute an integral part of traditional cooking, with all manner of vegetables, fish and meat used to create a variety of soups, stews and chowders. The substantial soups or sopas, many made with potato puree are very wholesome. Try the “caldo verde”, made from shredded kale, literally means green broth. “Açorda á Alentejana”, a bread soup made with coriander and garlic, includes a nourishing dollop of poached egg. A national dish made with meat, is “cozido à portuguesa”-  a thick stew of vegetables with various kinds of meat. The favourite kind is pork, cooked and served in a variety of ways. Roast suckling pig or “leitão assado” is popular in the north of the country, as are pork sausages called “chouriço” or “linguiça”. The Portuguese steak, bife, is a slice of fried beef or pork served in a wine-based sauce with fried potatoes, rice or salad. Some other main meals typical meat dishes include “carne de porco a alentejana” - pork with clams, “tripas a moda do Porto” - Oporto-style tripe, “figado com arroz” - liver with rice, “feijoada” - bean stew with black pudding. Broiled chicken or frango grelhado, seasoned with peri-peri, garlic, and/or olive oil, is one of the few things that has made its mark outside Portugal, where it can be found in cities with a large Portuguese population. The highly aromatic peri-peri chicken is often served in specialist restaurants.

 

Desserts

Those with a sweet tooth may be interested to learn that one of Portugal's best-kept culinary secrets is its vast and distinctive range of desserts, cakes and pastries. A staple of restaurant menus is chocolate mousse - richer, denser and smoother than foreign versions, while other favourites include arroz doce, a lemon and cinnamon-flavoured rice pudding. Portuguese enjoy rich egg-based desserts. These are often seasoned with spices such as cinnamon and vanilla. Perhaps most popular is leite-creme. In pastry shops, try the Belém tarts or any pastry that contains fios d'ovos  ( "thread eggs" ). Ovos moles or "soft eggs" use the same basic ingredients as fios d'ovos - egg yolk and sugar syrup but may be eaten with a spoon, like a pudding. For the ultimate in sickly-sweet desserts, buy a cake filled with ovos moles or fios d'ovos and decorated with ribbons of coloured sugar.Flan or crème caramel, is served just about everywhere, and chocolate mousse is often on the menu. Usually you'll see one or more variations on Pão de Ló, a rich yellow sponge cake made with egg yolks that may be flavoured with orange juice, lemon, cinnamon, vanilla, Port wine, or Madeira.

 

Cheese

Traditional Portuguese cuisine does not include cheese in its recipes, so it is usually eaten on its own before or after the main dishes. In a country of mountains and fine pasture lands, tending flocks for cheese making is an important part of economical and gastronomical culture. A uniquely exquisite selection is made from sheep, cow, and goat’s milks. And while the textures, flavours and shapes may vary from region to region, to this day, many cheeses are still made by hand. Azeitao, Castelo Branco, Sao Jorge, Serpa, Serra da Estrela and Terrincho are some of the different varieties of Portuguese cheese you must try and sample before you leave.

 

Don't be misled by appearances. Inexpensive, rustic-looking restaurants with plastic tablecloths often serve excellent meals. Although buffet-style breakfasts have become more common in international hotels, pensions and budget hotels may serve the traditional breakfast of coffee and rolls. (Fortunately, Portuguese coffee is among the world's best, and baked goods are often superb.) You will see most people have a quick bite in a cafe just before nipping into work. Lunch or almoco can be a long drawn out affair, usually from 1 - 3 pm, and even in the heat of the summer, the Portuguese eat hot meals in a cafe. Dinner or jantar is not eaten as late as in Spain - about 8 pm is the norm - and again is a cooked meal. The day's work is interspersed with numerous cups of black coffee. Port, a fortified wine, is another Portuguese specialty that you should try unless you're a teetotaler. Chilled white port makes a delightful apéritif, and a glass of vintage or tawny port is a nice way to finish off a meal. One thing you can do is ask for meia-dose or half-portion, which is quite legitimate. A service charge is not usually included; tip at your discretion, more at dinner than lunch.