Gastronomy
A moderate and healthy climate, a rich fishing coast, and smooth, protected valleys… Not surprising therefore that Portugal, wealthy in olive and wine, had already been grudgingly coveted by the Romans.
A Paradise of Fish and Crustaceans
The neighbouring Atlantic Coast naturally lead to a sea product oriented-gastronomy. There is, however, a first and unavoidable dish that is part of the Portuguese everyday menu: soup. The most popular soup in Portugal is the "caldo verde". The recipe is rather simple - green cabbage shredded in very thin strings and cooked in a light stock of potatoes and olive oil, spiced with a few slices of Portuguese pork sausage ("chouriço") . You will also enjoy the "cozido", the actual national dish, very similar to the Irish "beef and cabbage", and the tasty "caldeirada", prepared with the best fish in the country.
Dried codfish, "bacalhau", finds its place of honour several times a week at every table. . Among other fishing specialities, you will relish the sole ("Iinguado"), the red mullet ("salmonete"), the swordfish ("peixe espada") and the conger eel ("eiroz"). And last but not least, one of the less expensive but more tasteful fish - the sardine ("sardinha"), an essential delicacy in the barbecues and outdoor celebrations throughout the whole country.
Meat, fowl and game
ThePortuguese love meat and they cook it according to the most varied and flavourful recipes. The sautéed or grilled steak ("bife à Portuguesa"), very often cooked in a Port wine sauce, is served throughout the whole country. Just as popular is the kebab ("espetadas"), marinated in wine and garlic that add their special relish to the meat as it cooks. To the mutton ("carneiro") you will prefer the delicious kid ("cabrito") or the sucking lamb ("borrego"), either stewed ("ensopado") or marinated in spices and then baked.
Pork meat is also very popular. Do not miss the famous "carne de porco a alentejana", made with diced marinated pork meat with red peppers and clams or the roasted piglet ("Ieitão assado"), golden and crunchy as desired. The sausages are excellent and you can delight with the smoked ham ("presunto") and the smoked pork sausages like the "paio" and the "salpicão". For those who like tripe, the Portuguese have a dish that will totally seduce you! The "Tripas à moda do Porto" is a popular dish made of veal and chicken tripe, sausage, smoked ham, dried beans, onions, smoked pork sausage ("chouriço"), herbs and spices. In the fowl section, there is a dainty turkey ("peru"), the duck ("pato"), the partridge ("perdiz") and the pigeon.
Cheeses of Portugal
The most popular Portuguese cheese, the "Queijo da Serra", is a sheep cheese, made in the Serra da Estrela region, where the highest peak of Portugal is located. Its smooth consistency and delicate flavour are very much comparable to the best Bries.
You must also taste the delicious creamy little cheeses of Azeitão, especially popular in the spring. And rejoice in flavouring the "Serpa" from the Alentejo, sweet and unctuous when it is fresh, and stronger and dryer after one or two years of aging in a cool environment. Unless you prefer the "cabreiro", a strong goat cheese, or the "Queijo da Ilha", an extraordinary cheese from the Azores Islands that is also used grated (like parmesan) in numerous regional dishes.
The Desserts: Eggs, Sugar and Fantasy!
Portuguese people are sweet toothed! Their specialities include a least two hundred different types of pastries. The best among the egg paste pastries are the "ovos moles", originally from Aveiro. They play a major role in Portuguese pastrymaking, and you can find them in little shells, complementing tarts and pies or decorating cakes: sometimes these are sprinkled with cinnamon or with grated walnut or almond.
In this Portuguese paradise of daintiness, all you have to do is let yourself be carried away by the endwise varieties of "pão de ló" (light sponge cake), by the delicious "palha Abrantes" (golden thin strings of egg yolk based paste), by the rich "pastéis de nata" of Belém.
From the North to the South, the country is wealthy in good wines and, apart from the unique
Port and Madeira, there are more than one hundred different varieties of wines, ranging from table wines to special ones, all of them reflecting the individual character of their respective soil.
Port Wine:
With an alcohol content of 19 through 22 percent, this wine is subject to very strict production regulations, and it is classified according to the grape crops, the sugar content, the amount of added alcohol, the age and the type of wood of the barrels used in the aging process.
"Tinto aloirado" (rubis colour) - It has aged for a few years, has a golden red colour, equally sweet and with a strong fruity bouquet.
"Aloirado" (golden colour) - It is an older wine, the result of the combination of several special wines: it has a hot topaz colour: semi dry and sweet: it can be of very first quality.
"Aloirado claro" (lighter golden) - This is a wine which has reached the last stage of the aging process in barrels. It has reached the peak of its career: aged golden colour. These are the more common types of wine, but there are also numerous varieties of white Port Wine, especially within the dry and extra dry sector.
Madeira
Wines:
Sweet and mellow ("Malvasia"), dry and austere ("Sercial"), sombre and semi-dry ("Verdelho") or semi-dry, rich and full ("Boal"): all the varieties of this wine have a refined fruity bouquet that you will relish as a dessert or as an
appetiser.
Vinho
Verde:
It is a light bubbling wine, hardly sweetened and with a low alcoholic content (appr. 10 %); you will find it sometimes refreshing and other times warm; the white Vinho Verde is the perfect companion for seafood, fish and liver
pate.
Douro
Wines:
The fruity are wines of excellent quality, with strong colours and very refreshing. The white wines are also served with fish and liver pate. The red ones are served with game, fowl and strong cheeses.
Dão Wines:
They have an alcoholic content ca. 11-13 percent, and have a fine and velvety flavour. The red ones have a beautiful ruby colour, and can be harmoniously combined with game, spicy meat and cheese. The white ones are light, with a citrus tone, and are usually served with game, grilled meat and the strong cheeses of the region. The white wines are refined and
aromatic.
Alentejo
Wines:
The most famous vineyards of the Alentejo region are those of Borba, Reguengos de Monsaraz, Vidigueira, Cuba and Alvito. The white wine production is more Important than that of red wine. Nevertheless, both
types are ideal companions for the delicious regional specialities.
Colares
Wines:
The red
wines are a perfect complement to game and red meat, whereas the white should be served chilled with fish, pasta and powerful
cheeses.
Bucelas
Wines:
Very acid when young, and dry after aging; they should be served with not very spiced fish.
Setúbal
Wines:
The "moscatel" grape is grown in this region. The wine produced from such grape is smooth and perfumed, like honey, when it is five years old, or richer and even more subtle after reaching twenty five years of aging. It is to be served as a dessert wine.
Algarve
Wines:
These wines are light, velvety, fruity and not very full-bodied; its alcoholic content is higher than 13 percent. The red wines are served with grilled meat and codfish. The white ones are the perfect appetiser.
At the end of a meal, do not miss the hot burning ''bagaço" (distilled liquor) or the local liqueurs, such as the "amarguinha" (made from sour almonds). And do note that the bottle corks are of the finest quality. Two thirds
of the cork used world-wide comes from Portugal: it is the cork that conceals
the mystery surrounding the best special wines in the whole world.