I’ve touched on Portuguese cuisine a few times when cooking food from countries that were colonized by Portugal. This was enough to have me excited about cooking food from Portugal! I wasn’t able to make some of the dishes I wanted to, but I have put them on my list of things to try after this challenge.
Portugal is located in Southwestern Europe, with Spain to the north and east and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west.
The region has been inhabited since at least 5500 BC, and Celtic and Iberian people arrived a few thousand years later. The land was under the control of various powers since then, including the Romans and later a Muslim empire known as the Umayyad Caliphate.
During what is known as the Reconquista, crusaders passing through the area assisted the Portuguese Christians in expelling the Muslims from the region. The last city still under Muslim control was captured in 1249. During this time, Portugal began to evolve, transitioning from a county in the Christian Kingdom of León to a kingdom of its own in 1179.
Portugal made several important scientific advancements around this time, especially when it came to navigation at sea. Portuguese explorers ventured far and wide, becoming some of the first Europeans to explore and discover new lands and sea routes. The country established a powerful maritime empire, extending mostly along the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts.
However, in 1580, the last of the royal line died and there was a war of succession between a Portuguese claimant to the throne and his cousin, who was Spanish. The Spanish won, resulting in Portugal coming under Spanish rule. Portugal did regain its sovereignty in 1640, but this was followed by a long, costly war and an earthquake that destroyed its capital of Lisbon.
Portugal had to relocate its court to its colony of Brazil during the Napoleonic Wars, which ended in Brazil establishing independence. The Portuguese monarchy ended soon after, and although there was a period where there was an authoritarian government, democracy was restored in 1974.
Today, Portugal remains a democratic country with an advanced economy. Its impact on the world is still evident, with strong influences on Brazil and other former colonies such as Angola, Cabo Verde, and Mozambique.
What Do People Eat in Portugal?
Portuguese cuisine features lots of seafood, particularly in its coastal regions. One traditional staple that is still popular today is salted cod, which can be prepared in many ways. I wanted to try a salted cod dish this week but I was told on Reddit only to do so if I could find some good salted cod…and I couldn’t, not for a price I wanted to pay!
Pork, beef, and poultry are also common, as well as sausages such as linguiça, a pork sausage that originated in Portugal.
Portuguese dishes show a lot of influences from the Mediterranean region, including a love of olive oil for both cooking and flavoring meals. However, since the Portuguese used to venture all over the place exploring, they also brought back a variety of spices that may not otherwise be so popular today. Piri piri peppers, white pepper, saffron, paprika, cloves, allspice, cumin, cinnamon, and nutmeg all have their places in Portuguese cuisine.
To accompany meals, Portuguese people will often eat rice, potatoes, or bread as well as a wide range of vegetables. Fresh herbs are commonly used, such as bay leaves, parsley, oregano, thyme, mint, marjoram, rosemary, and coriander/cilantro.
When it comes to dessert, there are many types of cakes and pastries to be found in Portugal. Some common flavorings are cinnamon, vanilla, citrus, and aniseed.
What I Made
- Cozido à Portuguesa (Stew with Beef, Pork, Sausage, and Vegetables)
- Açorda à Alentejana (Bread Soup with Garlic and Cilantro)
- Arroz de Pato (Rice with Duck)
- Rissóis de Camarão (Fried Shrimp Turnovers)
Scroll down to read about other popular Portuguese dishes I didn’t make!
Cozido à Portuguesa (Stew with Beef, Pork, Sausage, and Vegetables)
This is a popular stew, with many variations involving different cuts of meat and vegetables. One thing that seems pretty constant, though, is the inclusion of various Portuguese sausages, and I could not find all of them. The recipe I used called for chorizo (the Spanish kind, rather than Mexican), farinheira, and morcela; I found the chorizo but used linguiça instead of the other two. At least that’s also a Portuguese sausage! So I feel that what I made is really a cozido-esque stew.
I began by seasoning bite-sized pieces of pork and beef with salt and pepper. Then I sautéed some bacon and set it aside. I browned the pork and beef, and also set them aside.
I added onions to the pot, followed by garlic and the meat. I added the chorizo and linguiça whole, along with bay leaves and enough water to cover the ingredients. I let everything simmer until the meat was tender, but I took the sausages out earlier as they didn’t need so long.
I added carrot and turnip, and sliced the sausages and returned them to the pot. Once the vegetables were tender, I stirred in some shredded cabbage. I let that cook for a few minutes before serving.
I ate this with rice, as suggested in the recipe. I thought it was pretty good; the broth had good flavor from all the meat. However, I wasn’t a fan of the chorizo I got. In Australia, it’s easy to find good-quality Spanish chorizo, but at my supermarket here in California, there was only one brand. I felt like it was too much like salami. I’ll definitely go looking for another option next time I need Spanish chorizo!
This recipe is from We Travel Portugal.
Açorda à Alentejana (Bread Soup with Garlic and Cilantro)
I was intrigued by this dish as it looked different from anything I’d tried before. It’s basically a soup that’s made by soaking bread in the broth until it becomes kind of like a porridge. It’s usually served with a poached egg, so of course that put it right up my alley.
I’m not sure if this part is authentic, but the recipe I used started with crisping up some chorizo pieces to use as a garnish later. Then, I cooked onions, garlic, and a serrano chili in the same pot. I stirred in a lot of cilantro, then poured in chicken stock.
Next, I added chopped bread. I used homemade bread—just a simple no-knead white bread. I continued to cook the soup, stirring often and adding more chicken stock as needed, until the bread had softened and become porridge-like. I added more cilantro and seasoned with salt and pepper.
I served the soup with a poached egg and a garnish of chorizo, green onions, and more cilantro. I thought it was excellent! It was very easy too so I will probably make it again.
The recipe I used here is from Serious Eats.
Arroz de Pato (Rice with Duck)
I love duck but before this week, I had never actually cooked it before. This seemed a safe introduction, since I was just simmering duck legs rather than attempting to cook duck breasts perfectly. Duck rice is cooked in a flavorful duck stock, and also often has chorizo.
First, I cooked my duck legs in oil until golden and removed them from the pan, as well as most of the fat. I added carrot and onion to the same pan, followed a few minutes later by garlic, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves. I deglazed the pan with port wine, then returned the duck to the pan along with the half or so chorizo sausage I had left from my previous dishes.
After the duck stock had simmered for a while, I removed the cooked duck and the chorizo and strained the broth.
I added some of the reserved duck fat to the pan, then sautéed diced onion. I also chopped up some of the chorizo and added that. I took the duck meat off the bones and shredded it, then put that in the pan. Next, I added tomato paste, followed by rice, duck stock, salt, and pepper.
I let the rice simmer until nearly cooked through. Then, I sliced the remaining chorizo and spread the slices over the top of the rice. I put the pan in the oven and let it finish cooking, until the rice and chorizo were starting to get crispy.
I served this with a little parsley on top, and with a simple spinach salad on the side. I really loved this; the rice took on all the duck stock flavor so it was delicious.
This recipe is from Gastro Portugal.
Rissóis de Camarão (Fried Shrimp Turnovers)
These are little pastries, filled with shrimp, then breaded and fried. Although they are a little fiddly to make, I was eager to try them since they sounded so good!
First, I made the dough. I boiled water with butter, salt, and lemon zest, then added it to flour in my stand mixer. The dough seemed way too wet, so I added a bit more flour. It still seemed too wet, but I thought maybe it would dry more as it sat, since I needed to let it cool down.
I cooked the shrimp for the filling by simmering them in salted water just until cooked through. I removed them from the pot, reserving the cooking liquid, and chopped them into small pieces.
I sautéed some diced onion in butter, then stirred in flour until it got lumpy. I slowly poured in milk, some of the shrimp cooking liquid, tomato paste, and lemon juice, whisking constantly to combine. I seasoned with salt and white pepper, and continued to cook until I had a thick paste. I stirred in the shrimp and some chopped parsley, and set the mixture aside to cool a bit.
Next, I tried rolling out the pastry. But I could already tell that the dough was still way too wet. I don’t think I messed up the measurements. But anyway, I had to add quite a bit more flour to form a dough that I could roll out. And even then, it was a messy, sticky process.
I formed the rissóis by placing a spoonful of the shrimp mixture on my rolled out dough, then folding the dough over and using a round pastry cutter to both cut and seal. This resulted in half-moons that were sealed pretty well. This was my first time using this technique; usually I would cut out the circles and then fill them. If the dough were not so hard to work with, I may have appreciated this method more.
I coated my rissóis in beaten egg, then breadcrumbs, before deep-frying them until golden brown.
I have to say, these were amazing! I did leave most of them unbreaded, and froze them to be baked later (purely for health reasons) but these were definitely worth the calories!
The recipe I used for these is from Photos and Food.
Other Popular Portuguese Dishes
- Bacalhau à brás – made from shredded salted cod, onions, thin strips of potatoes, and eggs. It will usually be garnished with black olives and parsley. Bacalhau—the salted cod—is considered Portugal’s national dish.
- Polvo à lagareiro – an octopus dish which also features olive oil, potatoes, broccoli rabe, and garlic.
- Caldo verde – a soup made mainly from potatoes and greens, such as collard greens or kale, flavored with onions and garlic.
- Pasteis de nata – custard tarts, made with puff pastry and a creamy custard which may be flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, or citrus (or a combination). The top is usually caramelized, like crème brûlée.
Final Thoughts
Everything this week was great! I would have really liked to try a dish with salted cod, but I will have to do that another time. Out of the dishes I tried, my favorite food from Portugal was the açorda à alentejana, though the rissóis were a close second!
Next week, I will be cooking food from Qatar.