Portuguese Food

The alheira, a type of fowl sausage, is one of the cheapest and most common Portuguese dishes with a fascinating history. When the Jewish population was expelled from Portugal in 1498, many hid in the mountainous region of Trás-os-Montes in the northeast of Portugal, practicing their religion in secret while pretending they had converted to Catholicism. One way to do this was to ostensibly make, display and eat sausages so that everyone would think they were no longer keeping kosher. Nowadays, the dish is available in any corner eatery.

Tamboril is Portuguese for monkfish and while not as locally popular as the traditional cod, there is still an astounding variety of dishes served on the Portuguese coast that include it. It is often cooked in a laurel, garlic and tomato stew with rice, almost like a risotto, to become arroz de tamboril.

Codfish, or bacalhau in Portuguese, is more than simply a traditional dish, it is a national obsession. The dish even has its own nickname, “the faithful friend”, and is traditionally consumed on Christmas Eve in Portugal. There are hundreds of different recipes and versions of this classic, but bacalhau à brás is one of the best; a combination of onions, chips, olives, parsley, egg and, of course, cod.

Aveiro, located between Porto and Coimbra, is famous for its eels which are most often eaten simply fried or in a soup. Fishermen at Murtosa and Torreira beaches, just outside Aveiro, make an eel stew seasoned with saffron and accompanied by bell peppers, combining beautifully with the crisp white wines of the Bairrada region, just south of Aveiro.

Snails are readily available in many restaurants across Lisbon and Southern Portugal, but they are a seasonal treat. During summer, you’ll see small restaurants (locally known as “tascas”) advertising them. It’s also likely that you’ll simply notice locals having them as appetizer or afternoon snack in tascas and cafes, along with local beer or wine.

A serving of caracóis is fairly affordable. If you’re not sure if you’re going to like them, ask for a pires (plate) instead of travessa (serving plate). The serving on the photo above is a pires and it cost less than 5 Euros.

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Cataplana is a seafood stew cooked in a copper double-pan and served with rice or chips. While the region that traditionally prepares it is the Algarve, one of the best places to try it is the fishing hamlet Porto Brandão, just across the river from Lisbon.

It can be reached by car but most locals will take the ferry that leaves you directly in front of the small huddle of restaurants. In addition to the beautiful food, enjoy the glorious view across Lisbon on the way there and on the way back again.

The signature dish of Porto, the francesinha is not a meal for the fainthearted. The dish comprises of two slices of bread interspersed by steak, ham, sausage and chorizo, covered in melted Edam and drizzled in a secret, spicy, tomato based sauce, all served with chips and optionally crowned with a fried egg.

Called “the queen of fruits”, the health benefits of strawberries include improved eye care, proper brain function, relief from high blood pressure, arthritis, gout and various cardiovascular diseases. Used in many desserts in Portugal do not go without trying one.

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The porco preto, or black pig, is a native Iberian species of the common domestic pig, found mostly in the central and southern regions of Portugal and Spain and always kept free-range. Pata negra smoked ham gets its particularly smoky flavor in being made from porco preto and so are the secretos, a special cut usually served with salad and chips.

Most porco preto farms are located in the Alentejo, in the south of Portugal, and it is there that one can find the best restaurants to enjoy this national dish.

Portuguese cuisine is renowned for its seafood, often prepared in the simplest of manners; ask for fresh fish directly grilled over a slow fire before being seasoned with lemon and rosemary and you’ll enjoy one of the best meals in the country.

Sometimes, however, a little technique is needed. Such is the case with polvo à lagareiro: a whole octopus is first boiled and then roasted in the oven with plenty of garlic and olive oil.

Portugal’s response to a French chateaubriand steak or Italy’s Fiorentina steak is the posta mirandesa. This consists of a thick tenderloin beefsteak cooked over a strong fire. The secret to the incredible flavor is the fact that the meat is sourced from free-range Mirandesa cows, a breed originally from the Trás-os Montes region and found only in Portugal.

While tubarão is the common word for shark in Portuguese, once it reaches your table it becomes cação. The fish is marinated in coriander, lemon and garlic before being brought to the boil and the soup is commonly eaten with bread, particularly a corn-flour type known as broa.