12 most outstanding traditional Portuguese dishes

Mediterranean food has a strong effect on Portugal traditional dishes. There is also a discernible Portuguese colonial influence, particularly in the assortment of spices utilized. In addition to black pepper and piri piri (a tiny spicy pepper), other spices include cinnamon, vanilla, and saffron. One of the main ingredients in Portuguese cooking and seasoning is olive oil. Herbs like parsley and coriander are also commonly utilized, as is garlic.

Because the Portuguese incorporated various culinary specialties discovered via their travels into their traditions, Portugal traditional cuisine is incredibly varied. Portugal features regional delicacies made from a variety of meat, fish, and shellfish. Atlantic fish (Gadus morhua), the national food, can turn into 365 distinct dishes.

1. Caldo Verde

Portugal is famous for its caldo verde soup. Regardless of the season, you can enjoy it all year round, although it’s particularly popular in the winter. This is a traditional Portugal dish.

Made using a variety of dark green cabbage that is unique to Portugal, the soup has a green hue. Other options are kale or collard greens.

Its amazing flavor combines sausage, mashed potatoes, and olive oil. This is a very tasty, easy recipe with lots of flavor.

2. Bacalhau

A visit to Portugal wouldn’t be complete without indulging in this customary meal. There are up to 365 distinct ways to prepare the cod fish bacalhau, one for every day of the year.

Cod, or bacalhau in Portuguese, is more than a traditional fish dish, it is a national feature. This Christmas meal even has the nickname “loyal friend.” Though there are as many as 100 variations and recipes, Bacalhau à Bras is the most popular. Cod, of course, is mixed with onions, potatoes, olives, parsley, and eggs to make Bacalhau à Bras. One of the venues in Lisbon that serves the best Bacalhau à Bras is Laurentina, a fish restaurant that opened its doors in 1976.

Cod can be cooked in a variety of ways, including fried, baked, grilled, and tinned. Either way, its flavor is unmistakable. The fish dish “Bacalhau à brás” is one of them. It consists of thinly sliced cod strips with potatoes, eggs, onions, garlic, and olives, with chopped parsley as garnish.

3. Grilled sardines

In Portugal, grilled sardines are a favorite summertime meal. The streets of Lisbon are always full with the aroma of grilled sardines in June. Lisbon’s most well-known sardine festival takes place during that time. Therefore, this is also considered a Portugal traditional dish.

Sardines are frequently marinated in olive oil, roasted over charcoal, and eaten with rice or salad. This recipe may seem straightforward, but it’s a “feast” for the senses.

4. Bifanas

Portuguese pork sandwiches known as “bananas” are so widely consumed that they may be found all around the nation. The “absolutely delicious” sauce, poured inside the bread, has white wine, paprika, and garlic as the ingredients. The cake’s exterior is crisp, yet its interior is tender.

Bifanas can serve as a whole lunch or dinner along with chips and a bowl of soup. In Portugal, it’s also a late-night snack.

5. Francesinha Sandwich

The most well-known sandwich in Porto, the Francesinha sandwich is quite outstanding and can be found on practically every menu. It consists of bread, ham, sausage, and steak, and it frequently has an egg and melted cheese on top.

The secret sauce, made in house at every restaurant, is what sets Francesinha apart. This is a traditional dish. The best part is that there is no additional charge if you need more.

This dish, which has a ton of meat, cheese, and sauce and frequently with fries, is extremely caloric.

6. Piri-Piri Chicken 

Portuguese explorers made numerous fresh spice discoveries throughout their travels through coastal Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. A little pepper known as Piri-Piri or Peri-Peri is one of them.

The modern accompaniments to Piri-Piri chili chicken are fries, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. This Portuguese meal is extremely famous.

7.  Polvo à la Lagareiro

Seafood of the Portugal traditional cuisine is famous for its deliciousness. Everyone enjoys various seafood in addition to cod or sardines. You may find polvo à la lagareiro, a well-known octopus dish, everywhere.

Boiled or grilled potatoes are served alongside octopus that has been cooked in olive oil. This is a really tasty, but simple dish.

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8. Porco Preto

One of the priciest hams in the world is Porco Preto. It is manufactured from pigs that are allowed to roam freely through rural areas and consume acorns.

Porco Preto ham, with its unique flavor, has black pigs raised in Alentejo as its main ingredient. Every piece of ham melts in your tongue and goes well with a variety of foods.

9. Pastel de Nata 

A well-known and iconic Portuguese delicacy is pastel de nata. This is a traditional Portugal dish. This egg tart, which is created with flour, butter, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and syrup, has an enticing sweet, greasy flavor. The crust gets even more aromatic and crispy by adding a large amount of butter.

10. Peixe Espada com Banana

The major element that makes this dish unique is the marriage of fish and banana. Maybe a lot of people are afraid to like it when they hear it for the first time.

The most significant fish on the Portuguese table is the black scabbard fish, which is elongated and has frighteningly small teeth. The meal has a wonderful flavor enhanced by the combination of soft and sweet bananas.

The banana variety in this dish is sweeter and tastier because the locals cultivated them locally. Many travelers were quick to praise this dish after trying it.

11. Alheira de Mirandela 

The Portuguese term for one of the cheapest and most well-liked foods is alheira, or chicken sausage. In 1948, during the Jewish community’s expulsion, Alheira was born. In the northeastern part of Portugal, in the mountains of Tras-os-Montes, many of them took refuge. Jews had to pretend to become Catholics in order to preserve their faith and way of life. Making, selling, and consuming chicken sausages is one strategy to elude detection by giving the impression that one has violated the stringent and intricate Kosher food regulations observed by Jews. This meal is still served on street corners today, but Cervejaria Bota Velha, a tiny eatery in Lisbon, has the tastiest chicken sausage appetizers.

This meal may still be found on each street corner nowadays, but Cervejaria Bota Velha, a tiny eatery in Lisbon, serves the tastiest chicken sausage appetizers.

12. Arroz de Tamboril

The Portuguese term for tilapia is tamboril. Though not as well-known as cod, malabar fish is one of the unique delicacies served along the shore. Similar to risotto—a risotto meal made of risotto rice cooked in a broth made with fish, beef, and cream—the tilapia is cooked with cinnamon, garlic, tomatoes, and rice. This meal is also known as fish cooked with rice (arroz de tam boril) since rice is used in it. The greatest Arroz de Tamboril in the region may be found at Cacarola 1, a coastal hamlet located 10 miles from Coimbra in the settlement of Figueira da Foz.

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