Portuguese Cuisine

It’s not just about the seafood, but yet it is.

One of my favorite things about traveling is the experience of new food and Portugal did not disappoint. There is so much to choose from, but I picked out a few of my favorites.

Pastéis de Nata

This lovely little pastry filled with custard is an absolute delight. The first time I tried one was from Mantegaria in Lisbon. Our tour guide for the day said they were her favorite, so she took us by there and we bought six. The pastry is so thin and crumbles as your mouth fills with this luscious custard.

The original pastry was made at the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém about 300 years ago. The nuns and monks would use egg whites to starch and clean their habits and robes and that left many egg yolks to waste. They came up with these beautiful pastries and sold them to make money for the monastery. Today, you can get these pastries at Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém. If you want them to go, be prepared to stand in line. But if I were you, I’d sit and have a café and enjoy them.

Francesinha

When you are having lunch in Portugal, you have to try their signature sandwich, the francesinha. This sandwich can be made in a variety of ways, but the basic layout is simple. Put several layers of meat (whatever you want but usually steak and ham) in between two soft pieces of bread. Cover it with cheese and put a sunny side egg on top. Cover it in a red beer sauce and enjoy all the flavors and richness.

At first, I was apprehensive about this sandwich. You have to eat it with a fork and I don’t really like eggs. But all of the flavors together in the sauce are just so delicious, that I got distracted and didn’t mind the egg. It is usually served with fries so that you can dip them into the sauce.

Seafood is a MUST

Portugal is known for its fresh fish. On our first night in Porto, we took a taxi down to the Matosinhos District to find some seafood. The restaurant we wanted to visit was closed, so we just walked down to find another. We ended up at Theresa’s, a lovely little place that had the best port wine (See my other article on Sippin Wine in Porto). We started with sardines. Neither my fiance nor I had ever had them and our waiter was so polite as to show us how to eat them. We made a bit of a mess but it was totally worth it! Grilled sardines are scrumptious!

This is also one of the first times I have ever had a waiter bring me the fish before it was cooked. We chose to split a sea bass and he brought it out to show how big and fresh it was. It was so flaky and tender and grilled to perfection

I also need to mention that you should try the octopus salad. Octopus can be quite chewy, but this was not. It was tender and savory. You must also try gambas con alho which is shrimp in garlic sauce appetizer. They are also famous for a dish called bacalhau which is dried codfish. This is served in stews, fritters, and grilled if it is fresh. I had the grilled version and loved it, but it was a bit salty.

Two of my favorites were the Arroz de marisco which is a seafood stew with rice. The other was cataplana. This is a seafood stew made in a copper pot. Ours had lobster as well as shrimp, clams, and monkfish. Amazing!!

As you can probably tell by the lack of pictures in this post, we were so enamored by the food, we completely forgot to snap a photo.

For those of you that are not seafood fans, please know that Portugal also offers some of the best pork and lamb dishes I have ever had. I highly recommend the pork short ribs that have been marinating in port wine. Absolutely fabulous. I’ve been looking for a similar recipe since we returned so if you know one, please comment.

I also want to give a shout-out to the charcuterie we had on occasion when we needed a nibble with our wine. Their boards were gorgeous and too much for two people.

This post has gotten a little too long, but there is just SO MUCH to say about Portuguese cuisine. The desserts are also fabulous but we were often so full at the end of the meal we didn’t have many. Mostly there was custard very similar to creme brulé, a cake soaked in port wine (see a pattern here?), and this wonderful meringue and custard dessert. Unfortunately, I don’t know what it is called but I ate it so fast it didn’t matter.

I do want to mention Ginjinha. This is a cheery liqueur drunk after a meal. You can find this in several little Ginjinha shops in Lisbon. I think it is best served in a chocolate cup you can eat!

No matter what your tastes are, Portugal has something for everyone. I look forward to going back in the winter and trying their soups and stews. I am also going to be researching recipes on Pinterest, so if you know any good ones, link them in the comments!

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