#portuguese food

[faithhopeloveandtherapy]

Last nights icecream rose (tiramisu and caramel flavours) and today’s daily pastel de nata

[death-by-mercury]

𝙼𝚢 𝙼𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚊’𝚜 𝙿𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝙵𝚕𝚊𝚗 (𝙿𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚖)

[bluberimufim]

A short display of Portuguese Christmas sweets[1]

[1] I don't think "sweets" is the best translation but idk how else to say it, what I mean is "pastries and cakes", basically

Hello! This is very late (but tbh we eat the same stuff on Christmas and New Year's so ig I'm not that late)!!

I wanted to do this because it seems to kinda be in line with my Halloween folklore post and I want to share more stuff with you all! This one I know a little more about because I eat these things every year, but I promise I'll get back into folklore next because that's what interests me most. Please be aware that half of this is from my personal experience and may not be 100% accurate to most other people.

Bolo Rei (trans: King Cake)

image source: https://lmalimentar.pt/lojaLM/bolos-congelados/318-bolo-rei-cozido-1-kg.html

This is like, the cake people think of when they think of Christmas. It's some basic dough filled with nuts and sugared fruits. Then, it has more sugared fruit on top (I've tried to find exactly what fruit it is but every recipe just says "fruit" despite it always being very specific colours and the only place I could find that listed what it supposedly was said it was pumpkin and I don't believe it). This cake is inspired by the image of a jewel-incrusted crown and was created to honour the Three Magi. It's said that it was inspired by the French Galette de Rois but I've also seen people say it's similar to Italian Panettone.

Bolo Rainha (trans: Queen Cake)

image source: https://www.receitasdeculinaria.tv/receita-do-bolo-rainha/

For the cool kids who don't like the fruit part of Bolo Rei - this one is literally just nuts. This is also supposed to look like a crown but I can't find any source saying what it's supposed to represent, so I think it's just Bolo Rei 2.0. This one wasn't that big of a thing when I was a kid but it's gained a lot of traction in the last 10 or so years.

Pão de Ló (trans: literally "Bread of Ló" / "Ló's Bread", I'll explain in a bit)

There are two versions of this one but I'm gonna talk about dry Pão de Ló first.

image source: https://www.receitasdatiaceu.com/recipe/pao-de-lo-tradicional/

This is my personal favourite - literally my favourite cake of all time. I have never met someone who does not have this as their favourite Christmas food. This is a type of sponge cake you eat on both Christmas and Easter, although it seems it was originally just for Easter. This is one of those you absolutely can't make at home unless you're literally crazy because it needs to be baked in a clay mould with sheets of paper and I've heard it requires 24 eggs per cake (tbh seems unrealistic but Portuguese pastry is like 80% eggs so it's not that outlandish, and I'm inclined to believe it bc I've tried like 3 different home-made recipes with normal amounts of eggs and it never tasted right). The origin of the name is basically impossible to find because every source I see claims a different story, but "Ló" seems to be the name of its original creator. Also, this cake was brought to Japan during the Discovery Period and it's allegedly the origin of a Japanese sponge cake named Kasutera.

Pão de Ló de Ovar (trans: Pão de Ló from Ovar)

image source: https://iberismos.com/pao-lo-um-doce-com-muita-historia-iberica/?lang=pt-pt

Kinda like regular Pão de Ló but wet on the inside - the liquid-y part is egg. Its origins seem to be in conventual sweets (like, from a convent), which are known for using lots of eggs. But just like with its dry variant, there are a few different stories about it. Sometimes people argue about which variant is better, but it's really not that divisive. In fact, all the foods in this post often coexist at the Christmas table despite some being similar to each other.

Sonhos (trans: Dreams)

image source: https://claradesousa.pt/receita/sonhos-de-natal/

These are much simpler than the cakes. It's basically just fried dough topped with sugar (I've heard that Brazilians call them "chuvinha" aka "little rain" because of this, and I think that's kinda funny because most Portuguese sweets have sugar on top). This is kinda like a "base" because there are other sweets similar to it but with carrot or pumpkin on the inside, and I don't think there's much reason to get into them here - also I don't usually eat them. You can eat them dry or with syrup made with sugar, cinnamon and lemon/orange.

Rabanadas (no clue how to translate this bc google suggests "french toast" and I refuse to accept that)

image source: https://www.pingodoce.pt/receitas/rabanadas/

This is a simple yet effective classic. It was originally made to utilize stale bread people had lying around (I've seen sources suggest it's because bread is sacred to Jesus even if it's stale and so it's bad to waste it). It's made with bread, honey or sugar, milk, and cinnamon, although I've seen people replace the milk and honey with condensed milk. It has been recorded since the 16th century, when it was used partially for medicinal purposes to help people regain their strength, especially after giving birth (which... thematically appropriate but it still surprised me when I found out).

I hope you had fun looking at all this tasty food - because I certainly did and this is my blog.

[anneowl2803]

Did I just have two fish’s heads for dinner? Yes, I did and it was soooo damn good with the tomato sauce and the boiled veggies with vinegar.

The eyes weren’t to my taste, but that’s what you get with mackerels. However, the general area of the cranium was so fatty and juicy, I almost cried.

[thelcsdaily]

Portuguese BBQ

One of those locations is The Pit, where the smokey smells tempt you inside to have a look. You'll add their number to your speed dial once you've finished all that BBQ. If you want to try some delicious BBQ or are seeking for a new restaurant to add to your list of must-try locations, look no further. The Pit is your best bet.

“Popcorn for breakfast! Why not? It's a grain. It's like, like, grits, but with high self-esteem.” ― James Patterson

[afrofeministe]

Pastel de nata [custard tart] / Photo Tatiana Bralnina x Anna Pustynnikova x Shutterstock

[dasistleeway]

We had dinner at the restaurant that our hotel reception recommended, it was nice, we even met other guests from our hotel...Recommendation becomes so important especially when my reliable sources, Michelin guide & Gault-Millau, can't provide enough choices...

[4mytravels]

Tasting the Town

All of these locations were in the center of Lisbon, and reached on foot in an afternoon.

Soup & sandwich at “0 Trevo,” with a beer to wash it down. This was a vegetable based soup with cabbage and carrot. The sandwich was sliced pork.

This kiosk is one of the only ones in the city that serves the seafood below: Salted Cod in Aioli / Octopus Tapas + Calamari Sandwitch

Sical is well known for their award winning Pasteis de Nata (custard tart). I had one, and ‘um cafe.’

[chefro]

Emanuel Santos

[bcwehavetocryandwehavetomakelove]

nata watch !!

[vulto-cor-de-rosa]

hallo rosa i wanted to let u kno i had Portuguese biscuits for the first time today n they made me think of you! not sure what they were called but one of them was lemony and covered in powdered sugar :D they were hella good im jealous that i cant buy them all the time over here,, sorry if this is a bit random btw,, hope ur doin alright :]

Are you talking about these bad boys?

If you are they're called "Areias" which literally translates to "sands"! There are a lot of Portuguese sweets that have lemon in them in some sort of way so I could be wrong but these are the ones that came to mind!

They are hella good, I'm so happy that you liked them and that you thought of me while eating them, I feel so honored. :}

Plus, they are really easy to make, I'm sure you can find a recipe for them on the Internet. And I'm doing great after this ask, thank you!

[coconutbara]

Portuguese Pastry

Portugal does not have the recognition it deserves. It is one of the oldest countries, one with the greatest history, with centuries of culture and customs yet it is not that well known. So today I’ll try to change that because eating portuguese pastry is literally eating heaven.

Here’s the TOP 20 MOST DELICIOUS/FAMOUS PORTUGUESE PASTRY

Pastel de Nata

Pastel de Tentúgal

Queijadas de Sintra

Tortas de Azeitão

Brisa do Lis

Bola de Berlim

Toucinho do céu

Clarinhas de Esposende

Pastel de Feijão

Ovos moles de Aveiro

Pão de Ló

Fidalgo

Bolo de mel da Madeira

Filhoses de forno da Terceira

Pampilhos

Jesuítas

Tarte de amêndoa

Travesseiro de Sintra

Queijadas da Graciosa

Cornucópia

(Pictures and recipes will be on my profile)

Really hope y’all try this and enjoy it!

[caraalee]

Ribeira and Douro Valley: Porto

We headed out of São Miguel before dawn and caught an early flight to Porto. After an overlap with a Frankfurt flight and an April Fool’s landing, we made it in about two hours. Taking an Uber from the airport, it looked like your everyday city, but once we approached Ribeira and saw the Douro River and bridges, it was pretty magical.

Day One: Ribeira

After three years inside, I had forgotten how romantic and whimsical European cities are 🥰. We dropped our bags off at the hotel, Hotel Carris Porto Ribeira, which was in a great location—close to the river, restaurants, and sites. After walking around for a little bit, we had lunch at Terreirinho, a tapas place. It was very charming, and the food was perfect for light bites. 

Afterward, we walked to and across the Don Luis Bridge, which the metro shares with the pedestrian walkway—scary! The views from the bridge were beautiful. 

Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped inside a mini mart across the street to pick up a bottle of green wine and saw they had pasteles de nata—like one-fourth of the reason why we were in Portugal! We picked up a couple, and they were among the best we had in both Porto and Lisbon!

SO good. Compared to dan tots, they were sweeter with a crispier crust. We digested and hung out at the hotel before heading out to dinner. We tried to go to the highly rated Taberna dos Mercados but didn’t realize they require reservations, like, years in advance. Restaurants close at 3 and then open at 7, so dinnertime means swarms of tourists frantically looking for places to eat. Luckily, we are 90 years old and were among the first wave of dinner goers. We walked around and stumbled upon Adega Dona Atonia and lucked out. The staff was so nice, and the food was delightful. We shared cod dumplings, seafood rice, and rosé. 

After dinner, we enjoyed the views of the bridge from our hotel balcony. It was worth splurging a bit to stay in the center of the city and get room with a view. 

Day Two: Douro Valley

For our only full day in Porto, we booked a tour in the Douro Valley to take in some valley views and valley vinho. We woke up early and found a café that was technically open, but they were not pleased we showed up exactly at 7 a.m. It wasn’t great, but the old pastries and latte gave us some sustenance before our drive. We were picked up by our tour guide, Ricardo, and the rest of the tour group, who were CHATTY. They hailed from Rochester, Montreal, and Seattle. We sat in the front and mostly listened in on their conversations. Ricardo was not the best tour guide��nowhere near Fernando in São Miguel. And he was an insane driver. But the tour was good overall. Our first stop was at Croft where we tried three ports and cheese. 

Next, we went on a boat ride in the river. It was cool but felt like a time filler. Bring me to the next vineyard, please!

I can’t remember where we had lunch (Ricardo was not good at keeping us in the loop). But it was pretty good. I had the shredded cod, Roobz got the pork, and we also got carrot soup and chocolate cake. Outside the restaurant, there were random peacocks, so that was fun!

Our last stop was at Quinta dos Castelares. We tried their rosé, moscato, and red wine from an oak barrel. We saw the views of the valley on the way back—lovely!

The drive back was wild and rainy. Ricardo told us about a good fado place and made a reservation for us, which was the only nice thing he did. It was at Galeria de Paris and was great, but he failed to mention it was 19 euros per person, so Roobz had to run to an ATM. Classic Ricardo. It was nice, though, because they only served drinks so you could really take in the music and learn the history of fado without the clinks and clanks of people eating. 

For dinner, we were without a plan, so we had to wander in the drizzle a bit until we stumbled upon Porto à Noite. We may have just been hungry and grumpy from the rain, but I loved everything so much. We shared the seafood salad, I got their salted bacalhau (cod), and Roobz got the pork chops. It was the best meal we had in Porto, and the waiter was also funny. 

I’m glad we stumbled upon good places to eat and fun activities for such a short stop. I could have spent a day or two more to really take in the city, but it was a good amount of time for a two-week vacation with four stops. I’m glad we had an enjoyable experience and no food busts like in Rome #neverforget. With that, we were ready to head to our final stop: Lisbon, baby!

[sheikh-n-bake2]

🇵🇹💪🏽

[afrofeministe]

Arroz de marisco [seafood rice] / Photo Natalia Mylova x Shutterstock