|
Gastronomy, wine, the simple act of sharing a meal or having a drink with friends are regular activities in Lisbon’s daily routine.
Due to the city’s proximity to the sea, the local gastronomy includes delicious fish and shellfish dishes, celebrated in the annual “Lisbon Fish Flavours” festival.
There are 1001 ways to prepare cod – all of them irresistible. In Lisbon, you will also find the finest Mediterranean cuisine - including bread, olive oil, cheese, sausages and a wide variety of snacks.
Portuguese Restaurants in Lisboa, Portugal: At restaurants, waiters will bring out bread, butter, maybe some cheeses and other little things. What you eat you pay, if you do not touch it, you should not pay for it. The daily specials are usually the best bet, especially with the fish, which should be fresh from that same day. About tips, just a couple of € is enough.
Some examples of Portuguese gastronomy that you can expect through Lisbon are below.
| | | Starters | The traditional starter in Portugal is soup. You can find it in many different recipes:
| Caldo Verde | Meaning "Green Soup", it is made of potatoes, fried onions and thinly sliced galician cabbage, served with slices of chouriço (cured spiced sausage). | | Canja | Chicken and rice soup. | | Sopa da Pedra | This soup is a very rich soup made of almost any vegetable or meat the chef can find. | | Sopa Portuguesa | Meaning "Portuguese soup", contains kale, beans, broccoli, carrots and turnips. |
| | | Main Dishes | Bacalhau: salted and dried under the sun, it is said that there are 365 ways to prepare cod in Portugal. | Pastéis de Bacalhau | Cod and potato croquettes. | | Bacalhau Cozido | Cod stew. | | Bacalhau Assado | Roast cod. | | Bacalhau Assado na Brasa | Char-grilled cod. | | Bacalhau à Brás | Typical of Lisbon: cod, onions and thin slices of potato, scrambled eggs, black olives and parsley. |
Other very common dishes in Portugal are:
| Caracóis | Meaning snails, this is speciality of the Lisbon region. | | Cozido à Portuguesa | A traditional stew from Lisbon’s old districts, which is now found all over the country. | | Carne de Porco à Alentejana | A typical dish from Alentejo, which is now very common at Lisbon restaurants. This consists of pork fillets cooked with garlic, spices, lard and clams. This dish is also sometimes made with ham. | | Sardinhas Assadas | Char-grilled sardines. | | Febras Assadas | Char-grilled pork. | | Bitoque | Pan-fried marinated thin beef steak served with french fries and egg. | | Bife | Pan-fried marinated lean beef steak served with golden fried french fries, lean ham and egg. | | Arroz de Marisco | Seafood with rice. | | Feijoada | Stew with different kinds of meat, potatoes and legumes. | | Açorda | Bread and shellfish stew. | | Caldeirada | Fish stew. | | Frango no Churrasco | Charcoal roasted chicken. |
| | | Desserts | | Arroz Doce | Meaning sweet rice, is basically a rice pudding, generally covered with cinnamon. | | Leite Creme | A sweet made from milk, eggs and covered in roasted sugar. Its name means cream milk. | | Baba de Camelo | A dessert made of condensed milk. | | Pastéis de Nata | A kind of round custard tart in a flaky pastry case sprinkled with cinnamon and icing sugar. | | Bolo de Bolacha | A cake made with butter biscuits and condensed milk. | | Mousse de Chocolate | Chocolate mousse. | | Pudim Flan | Flan. | | Pudim Molotof | Egg pudding that melts in your mouth. |
| | | Drinks |
Coffee: Coffee is a veritable institution in Portugal. People tend to drink coffee in cafés rather than at home. It is served in small shots and very strong.
| | | Wines | Portugal is a big wine producer and offers a very broad range of both whites and reds, which should have something to please everyone.
A Portuguese speciality: Vinho Verde. The name “Green Wine” indicates that the wine is young and its fermentation short, giving a low-alcohol, light, sparkling, fruity and slightly acidic wine.
Dão: grown on the granite slopes of the Dão valley, two wines are produced, a fresh white wine and a very soft, velvet-smooth red wine with a rich aroma, similar to Burgundy.
Bairrada: This traditional wine-growing region produces a robust and highly aromatic red wine.
Colares: a dry white wine from the Serra de Sintra, near Lisbon. A world-famous wine produced since the 13th century.
Moscatel: a sweet golden white wine from the Serra d'Arrábida, south of Lisbon. Usually drunk as an aperitif.
Portugal’s most famous wine is Port, sweet and syrupy, which can be either red or white, and is drunk as an aperitif or after a meal. The Port we know today has been made since the 1830s. It was developed as a result of trading alliances between Great Britain and Portugal.
|
|
|
