LOCAL CUISINE
The local cuisine is simple and filling. No one will go hungry when Portuguese hosts are serving dinner. In the large tourist spots, you can choose from a diverse and authentic range of local foods, and barbecuing is particularly popular.
There is a huge variety of fish: sardines, shrimp, Norway lobster, swordfish, mussels and the popular “Balcalhau” (dried and salted cod), for which there are 365 different recipes.
Another local delicacy is the “Cataplana”, a one pot meal made with vegetables and fish or meat, named after the special pot it is prepared in. A must-try dish is “Frango Piri Piri”, a recipe that originated in the town of Guia and consists of chicken, rubbed with oil-based marinade of garlic and spicy pepper.
For dessert, there is a wide selection of sweet desserts and sheep’s or goat’s cheese from the countryside.
Portugal is famous for its quality wines but Portuguese beer is similarly delicious and cheap. Portugal has many natural water sources, for example Monchique and the mountains in the northern part of the country.