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Cuisine

Portuguese

Atlantic cooking of salt cod, sardines and seafood, pork, olive oil and bread, plus the egg-yolk convent sweets and spices brought home by a seafaring empire.

Flavour character: Simple and savoury: olive oil, garlic, bay leaf and coriander; chilli heat in piri-piri; smoky chouriço; sweet egg-yolk and cinnamon desserts.

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Caldo verde , a typic soup of Portugal

History

Portuguese fishermen fished cod off Newfoundland from the 16th century, and bacalhau (dried salted cod) became a national staple, said to have hundreds of preparations. As pioneers of sea routes to Africa, India, Brazil and East Asia, the Portuguese carried chillies, maize and other American crops to Africa and Asia and brought spices home; piri-piri sauce developed in Portuguese Africa. Convents used leftover egg yolks (whites were used to starch linen and clarify wine) for sweets such as pastéis de nata, first sold near the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém in the 19th century.

Commonly told; not firmly documented

Geography and influences

A long Atlantic coastline with a green, rainy north (Minho) and hot, dry plains in the south (Alentejo) and the Algarve.

  • Moorish rule in the south
  • Atlantic fishing
  • Overseas empire (Brazil, Africa, Goa, Macau)
  • Convent pastry-making

Regional variations

Minho and Porto
Caldo verde, francesinha, tripas à moda do Porto, vinho verde.
Lisbon
Bacalhau à Brás, pastéis de nata, petiscos.
Alentejo
Bread soups (açorda), pork with clams, black pork.
Algarve
Cataplana, grilled fish, almond and fig sweets.

Festive and seasonal food

  • Bacalhau with potatoes and kale on Christmas Eve (consoada)
  • Bolo rei at Christmas
  • Grilled sardines at the Santo António and São João festivals in June
  • Folar at Easter

Signature dishes

Not on the site yet: Cozido à portuguesa, Cataplana de marisco, Polvo à lagareiro, Leitão da Bairrada (roast suckling pig)

Portuguese recipes

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