I’d heard good things about Quinta do Sanguinhal and was not disappointed when we finally got the chance to visit this winery on a recent trip to the Silver Coast. The traditional wine estate is just outside the small town of Bombarral and has been in the same family sinceRead More →
Vinho verde is often badly translated as ‘green wine’ but it really just means young wine; light, fresh, slightly effervescent and best drunk within a year of bottling. Within this overall category of Portuguese wines, there’s a surprising variety of flavours, as I discovered when I visited Quinta de SantaRead More →
Over the last 16 years I’ve sampled a lot of different Portuguese food. Most of the time, it’s been a pleasure, although there are some things I will never touch (snouts, feet and ears) and others I refuse to repeat (tripe). Portuguese restaurants can range from Michelin star grandeur toRead More →
Christmas in Portugal is yet another excuse to break out the cakes. While the colourful Bolo Rei (King cake) may be the star of the show, the less glitzy Bolo Rainha (Queen cake) is the Portuguese Christmas cake for me. Especially since I’ve had the privilege of learning a few ofRead More →
Mention Portuguese food to a Portuguese person and you’ll uncover a deeply-rooted passion for their cuisine. Visitors to Portugal don’t always understand the appeal as it’s hard to know what to order and what’s worth sampling without guidance. These books about Portuguese food and drink can help at various stages of your gastronomic journey intoRead More →
For my Lisbon cooking class the chef, Patrícia, gave me the choice between learning how to make a bacalhau (salted cod) dish or polvo à lagareiro (baked octopus). The decision was easy. Bacalhau may have been first choice for many Portuguese people but I’ve been in love with octopus ever since I movedRead More →
When Célia Pedroso, co-author of Eat Portugal, invited me to join one of her Culinary Backstreets Lisbon food tours, I jumped at the chance. As well as being a well-established foodie, she knows the city intimately so who better to lead the way to Lisbon’s gastronomic highlights? Over the course of sixRead More →
Slightly sweet and moist with a crunchy crust. That’s the way I like my broa, aka traditional Portuguese corn bread. Broa is often served in the basket of bread you get served with olives in restaurants. Portuguese corn bread is more dense and filling than ordinary bread but, when freshly baked, is ohRead More →
“What do you want?” asked the Juiz (judge). “To eat chanfana!” I chanted, along with the 15 other initiates to the Confraria da Chanfana (brotherhood of goat casserole). We were on the stage in the Vila Nova de Poiares cultural centre wearing long black cloaks and wide-brimmed black hats. A waitress gave us each a tinyRead More →
