Simple, packed with flavours and soul-satisfying are just a few words to describe Portuguese cuisine. Unlike its neighbouring countries like Italy and Spain, Portugal has a different flavour profile altogether. That hint of spice each dish has is not only a surprise to your palate but what makes it so tasty.
The Portuguese love their seafood and red meats. In fact, pork and beef are their favourites. Smoked and grilled is a popular method of cooking their meal. Cured meats are a speciality too. And the flavours are brought in using the must-have spices like paprika, peri-peri, bay leaves and garlic.
Having said that, it’s not just a meat capital though. They also use a lot of potatoes and fresh vegetables to have balance the meat.
Some of the dishes made have a story to tell. Let’s take codfish for example. It’s said that in the 15th century when Portuguese sailors travelled the world, they needed to carry food that wouldn’t perish soon.
Codfish was that one item, when dried and salted, would last for a long time and give them the energy they needed to sail.
Since then, it’s become a national obsession. The fish is called Bacalhau and because they love it so much, it’s said that they have over 365 different ways to make it — one for each day!
Using wine to enhance the flavour is also practised in Portuguese cuisine. Be it chicken, pork or beef, whether it is a jus or any other type of sauce, cooking with wine helps bring out the flavour.
A dish called ‘Carne de Porco à Alentejana’ has pork, clams, potatoes and coriander. The pork gets its flavour as it’s marinated in white wine, paprika, chopped garlic, coriander, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Depending on the meat and the characteristic that one is looking for, wines also change accordingly.
Soups and stews also play a prominent role in Portuguese cuisine. The ‘Caldo Verde’ is a simple soup but there’s so much goodness in it that you will be full by the end of a hot bowl. Usually made with potatoes, collard greens, olive oil, garlic and onion, some recipes also include meat for that extra taste.
If that’s not all, Portuguese cuisine is not complete without its cheese. They use everything from cow, goat and sheep milk to make their flavourful and fragrant cheeses.
Interestingly, they don’t use the cheese in their dishes. It’s usually eaten on its own before or after the main course.
It’s not just the sour or pungent taste of the cheese that is loved here; there’s a ‘Queijo São Jorge’ which is made with cow’s milk that has a spicy taste to it.
Desserts don’t boast of sweetness here. The ‘Arroz Doce’ is made of rice and milk with cinnamon and raisins for more taste. It’s quite similar to our Indian kheer or payasam.
Tarts are also a popular item here, especially the custard tart called ‘Pastel de nata’. ‘Caramel Custard’ is probably a familiar one to ours but Portuguese make it slightly differently. It has a flan texture than of a custard.