Today I’m going to share about the cuisine of Portugal. It only seems fitting as this week is the week of Thanksgiving! But a quick reminder first, if you have not yet filled out my Reader Survey please do so! I LOVE hearing from you. So many of you have already shared with me and I want to say thank you! I’ll be announcing the Target gift card winner on Wednesday so stay tuned. And, if you want to catch up with me and see more of my “life” – you can see my life page for other fun posts.
Now on to all things food…
Portugal Life ~ Cuisine
This post could be super detailed and long, as there is so much I could share and talk about. I’m going to instead go through some of the highlights and lowlights and just try to give you an overview.
Produce, Pastries, & Coffee
We love the produce in Portugal! The produce is SO fresh and SO good. We mostly shop at our grocery store(s) but occasionally we haul our granny cart and load up at the Wednesday and/or Saturday Farmer’s Market. I find the prices to be pretty comparable between the two and they both provide lots of fresh produce.
Breakfast in Portugal is simple, a bread of some sort coupled with a strong (and delicious) coffee. I have converted to a somewhat regular coffee drinker, it is just SO fantastic. I order a “galao” – basically a latte. (And I use only one of the sugar packs, even though they usually provide two.)
Steak & Salad
One of our favorite things is that you can get a steak at a restaurant and they bring the steak to you on a VERY hot stone and you get to cook your own steak. We laugh because the potential for injury is high but in Europe the mentality is so much more relaxed. There is much more of a focus on personal responsibility, which is refreshing. The steak is delicious and they usually serve it with french fries and several dipping sauces.
Speaking of steaks…I need to mention that hamburgers are not generally the same. They typically do not come with a bun and often have an egg on top. While at first this didn’t make much sense to me, I actually now sort of like it! This picture below was from our date night this past Saturday night. It is very common to get white rice AND fries with a meal, something that I think is funny and fantastic all in the same. #carbloading
One disappointment (for me) in the food department, is the lack of good salads. They try, see below, but all in all you can’t really find the same variety of salads that you can find in the States. I do like that their salad dressings are simply – olive oil and vinegar.
Wine & Petiscos
Portugal is known for their wines. They produce wonderful wines. I personally do not really care for wine, so I’m not a good one to explain the differences. But what I do find interesting, is that here wine (or beer) is a very normal part of lunch. I snapped this picture of us eating at the mall. Wine with your lunch, no problem. And look at how they served it, so cute.
Appetizers, also known as Petiscos are awesome. Usually you are provided with olives, cheese, bread, and even a pate. Then similar to Spain you can have a complete meal of appetizers or petiscos. Some of our favorites are Pica Pau (the beef dish pictured below), Lascas (french fries made from the potato peels), and Salada de Polvo (octopus salad), and Cogumelos (stuffed mushrooms).
Obviously being so close to the ocean we have lots of fresh seafood. We like to even do fish fries at the house and just grill on the BBQ. In my grocery shopping post I showed you what the national dish – Bacalhau looks like. I’m not a huge fan, but you can get it here, everywhere!
And…one of our favorite offerings that you can find in the cooler months of the year, are castanas. Roasted chestnuts. They are yummy. People are usually set up all over and have them for sale fresh on the street.
Fellowship & Fast Food
One of the best parts of the cuisine in Portugal is not just the food, but the emphasis on meal time. Meals are meant to be savored, enjoyed, and they are generally a very relaxed experience. You usually have your table for as long as you want it and the emphasis is on embracing the time versus racing through the time.
This restaurant below is one we shared a wonderful meal with our friends (pictured above) when they came to visit us last summer.
And last but not least…fast food is very popular here too! In fact, the McDonald’s near our house and the one at the mall are usually always packed. Burger King doesn’t do so bad either! There are not a lot of fast food options available, but the ones here seem to be doing just fine. (And there’s been a night – or two – that we’ve swung through the drive-thru as an attempt to just get dinner resolved.) I’m thankful for these options when I don’t feel like a three-hour dinner that can’t start until 7pm.
The food is amazing here in so many ways. I’ll miss some of my new favorites and I love that we’ll take a part of Portugal cuisine with us wherever we go next! Never be afraid to try something new, you just might discover a new favorite!
What else do you want to know? Any questions about the food, drink, cooking, etc…? Leave me a comment and I’ll be sure to let you know!