I have heard many foreigner complain about the Portuguese
food. I have also had many a Portuguese try to convince me
that theirs is the best cuisine in the world . I suspect that
the truth lies somewhere in th e middle.
Portuguese food is indeed quite healthy, in that most people
outside of the big cities, grow and consume their own close
to organic vegetables. A kale-like cabbage is seen growing
everywhere, and together with bacalhau (dried salted cod)
could probably be called the staple foods of the Portuguese
diet.
Unfortunately with the rise in affluence after the 1974 revolution, the population has also taken to feasting
on meat on a great scale and this has not been conducive to building health.
Serra cheese is one of the specialities of Central Portugal where
it is produced in the mountains from the milk of the sheep which
roam there. Soft and creamy inside with an outer bandaged crust.
Yummy ! Very, very expensive too !
Chouriço - a spicy, rustic and chunky pork sausage, still made and
smoked at home by most women in the villages from the pig they have
fattened in a darkened sty during the summer. From the blood mixed with
flour they make a version of black pudding and another version called
"farinheira", is one made from flour and fat. All of these are boiled and
served with bread and Serra cheese often as "lancha" which is similar to
the British "high tea".
Bacalhau is dried and salted cod fish. It is rumoured that there are 365
different recipes for preparing it. Prior to using it, it has to be soaked for
24 hours in water before cooking. Portuguese people love it and it can be
classed as one of the country's staple foods

Food........ lovely food !

Leitao - suckling pig roasted on a spit, is a speciality of many roadside
restaurants and attract whole families for Sunday lunch. It is served
as all meals are, with chips, a mound of white rice and a plain green
letuce and tomato salad. Cooked vegetables are not common restaurant fayre but will be served if particularly requested
Couve is a kale like dark green loose leafed cabbage. It is
served boiled with olive oil dribbled over it on the plate. Very
delicious. Like the bacalhau it is eaten as a staple food and
can be seen growing on its high stalks in just about every
garden or field in Portugal. Being so proliferous, it is also fed
raw to the chickens and other livestock.
Caldo Verde means "green broth" and is made from the thinnest sliced
couve leaves (described above) in a potato base and served with
slices of chourico. It is considered one of the delicacies of Portugal.
For the recipe click here >>
Caldeirada is a fisherman's type stew containing mixed fish types.
It is served from a steaming casserole dish placed on the centre
of the table. The fish is generally cooked whole or chopped into
big pieces and one thus has to be careful to remove the fishbones before consuming .

Fish market in Nazare


Languages spoken: English / Portuguese / Dutch

A personal experience