Page 128 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Lisbon

126  TR A VELLERS ’ NEEDS

The Flavours of Lisbon

Gastronomically, the Lisbon region is immensely varied,
bringing together many different foods from all over
Portugal. There is roast suckling pig from the north,
an excellent choice of fish and seafood from the Atlantic
coastline, plus unique cheeses and hearty stews from the
mountains. One popular dish, originating in the south of the
country and reflecting this diversity, is porco à alentejana,
a mixture of pork and clams spiced with paprika. Cuisines
old and new, exotic and familiar, blend with one another Sardines
in cosmopolitan Lisbon’s many quality restaurants.

cuisine, from paprika-hued be kept more for cheese
chouriço sausage to dark and production than meat. Ewe’s
intensely flavoured Ibérico ham and goat’s milk cheeses are of
(made from pigs fed on acorns) exceptional quality, and are as
and morcela blood sausage delicious when they are fresh
seasoned with cloves and and soft as when they are long
cumin. Kid (cabrito) is also matured, firm and piquant.
popular as a roast or in stews. Portugal’s most famous cheese,
Beef is served less often but is the distinctive and buttery
of high quality (look for the Serra, is made from ewe’s milk,
names Barrosã, Mirandesa or and the rounds are wrapped in
Fresh cheeses on sale at Lisbon’s Maronesa), while sheep tend to muslin to maintain their shape.
celebrated Mercado da Ribeira
Serra da Estrela Queijo fresco
Meat and Dairy Saloio Palhais
Pork is the most commonly Alavão
eaten meat in Portugal. Spit-
roasted suckling pig (leitão)
is a traditional favourite, and
the meat of the black Iberian
pig (porco preto) is prized.
Pigs’ trotters with coriander
(pézinhos de coentrada) are
considered a delicacy. Cured
pork products (enchidos) –
spiced, salted or smoked – are
an essential part of the national Fine ewe’s and goat’s milk cheeses from Portugal

Local Dishes and Specialities
Much traditional Portuguese cuisine is that of
a hard-working, frugal people who preserved
and used everything they could produce.
Hence the predominance of cured
meats and dried bean stews (often
incorporating ham or sausage
for flavour). Favas à Portuguesa
is a Lisbon favourite. The capital is
not just the place where all the flavours of
Portugal come together, but also where the
Paprika
influences of Portugal’s 16th-century overseas
expansion get their strongest expression. This
applies equally to older influences, long since assimilated into
local cuisine, as well as to newer ones, from Cape Verdean Feijoada is a paprika-spiced
restaurants to sushi bars. Frango à piri-piri, barbecued chicken stew of beans, vegetables and
with chilli, is a favourite dish, originating from Portugal’s former cured meat (usually pork), with
colonies in Africa. many local variations.

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