What to eat Lisbon? culinary specialties and gastronomy

If everyone knows the Spanish tapas, Portugal has nothing to envy on this point to its great neighbor and offers delicious small bites and starters called petiscos. Like their cousins, they are usually eaten before dinner, in tascas - understand "taverns" - or more precisely in a petisqueira. The menu includes many seafood products such as the unavoidable pataniscas de bacalhau, cod croquettes with herbs, while the ovas em azeite de alhos, more surprising, are small pockets of fish eggs sautéed in olive oil with lots of garlic. A little toasted bread(pao) is served with a creamy pasta de sardinhas - sardine mousse. The salata de polvo or octopus salad marinated in olive oil is a classic. On the land side, moelas à portuguesa are chicken gizzards in a thick tomato sauce that you can eat with bread. Caracóis à portuguesa are snails with garlic and chili. The figado de porco grelhado are simply small cubes of grilled pork liver, while the peixinhos da horta, which could be translated as "little fish from the garden", do not contain an ounce of fish, but are presented as green bean fritters. It is assumed that they are the origin of tempura, introduced in Japan by the Portuguese Jesuit missionaries. The bolinhos de feijão branco are fried croquettes with white beans. Of course, among these small bites, there are many cheeses and cold cuts, often little known in France.

A meal in Portugal often begins with a soup. The country has a wide variety of them. Among the most popular, the very rustic sopa de pedra (coconuts, chorizo, bacon and pig's ears simmered in a casserole) or theaçorda alentejana (prepared with garlic, coriander, olive oil, bread, topped with an egg). Sopa de camarão (shrimp soup), sopa de grão (chickpea soup), sopa de puré de feijão (red bean soup) and sopa de cação (light fish soup) are also very popular.

Portugal has almost 2,000 km of coastline completely open to the Atlantic Ocean, and Lisbon, located along the mouth of the Tagus River, is well stocked with fish and seafood. It is of course impossible not to mention the famous cod or bacalhau. A bit of a cliché, but the Portuguese have known how to prepare it in a thousand and one ways. The main cod dishes are bacalhau com natas (the famous cod brandade au gratin), bacalhau à lisbonense (crumbled cod with mashed potatoes, onions, parsley, all bound with scrambled eggs and decorated with green olives) or the simple bacalhau assado (oven-roasted cod). More surprisingly, linguas de bacalhau (cod tongues) are fried and served with an olive oil sauce flavored with garlic and parsley. Other fish-based recipes include arroz de tamboril (rice with monkfish and tomato), peixe escabeche (slices of fish in escabeche) or caldeirada (stewed fish with shellfish). On the seafood side, try the choco frito (fried cuttlefish), lulas com camarão (squid and shrimp in tomato sauce), favas com chocos (cuttlefish with beans) or lingueirão à bulhão pato (razor clams with garlic and coriander).

But there are also many meat dishes that deserve attention. Theensopado de borrego (lamb stew), the frango assado (grilled chicken with paprika) and thearroz de pato (a kind of duck paella with chouriço) are just a few examples. Common in bistros, the bitoque is a full plate of steak, fried egg, French fries and salad. Pork lovers will love Portugal for its many pork-based dishes such as cozido a portuguesa (stew), feijoada (a black bean cassoulet where the duck is replaced by smoked sausage and pork) or more simply leitão (baked suckling pig). More delicate are the lombinhos de porco com castanhas (filet mignon with chestnuts). Some sausages such as chouriço or morcela are often grilled on the barbecue. There are also land-sea dishes such as carne de porco alentejana(pork stew with clams) or carne de porco com lulas (pork with squid), amêijoas na cataplana (shellfish casserole with chorizo) and chicharro no forno (fish with bacon and potatoes).

As in Spain, many Portuguese pastries were created in monasteries as early as the Middle Ages by nuns and monks and sold as a way to supplement their income. The main ingredient in these pastries was egg yolks. Indeed, at least until the 19th century, egg whites were used in the production of white wine to purify the alcohol and filter out any suspended particles. The winegrowers found themselves with a huge surplus of egg yolks and donated them to the convents, which is why the names of these desserts are generally linked to monastic life and the Catholic faith. Therefore, one can enjoy the specialties with names that are sometimes quite comical, such as barriga de freira (nun's belly), papo de anjo (angel's double chin), toucinho do céu (heaven's bacon) and other baba de camelo (camel's slime). But don't worry: the barriga de freira is a turnover filled with almond cream, the papo de anjo is a small baba with syrup, the toucinho do céu is an egg custard and finally the baba de camelo is only a caramel cream.

How can we talk about Portuguese pastry without mentioning the more than famous pastel de nata(pastéis in the plural) also called pastel de Belém. This strictly Lisbon specialty is a small flan made of a very crispy puff pastry shell filled with an egg cream, flavored with vanilla, lemon or cinnamon. This recipe, whose success has spread far and wide, seems to have been created in the 19th century by the nuns of the Hieronymites monastery in the small town of Belém, now a district of Lisbon. Since 1837, the store Fábrica dos Pastéis de Belém has had the exclusive right to use the name Pastel de Belém due to its handcrafted production. Gourmets do not hesitate to queue for several hours to be served. The main difference between the pastel de nata and the pastel de Belém is a question of name. Other desserts include bolo de arroz, a rice flour muffin, pudim flan, an egg and caramel flan, torta de laranja, a delicious orange roll cake, and queijada, a soft fresh cheese cake from Sintra, north of Lisbon.

While tea is popular in the country, the Portuguese are most fond of coffee, which they sometimes call bica, especially when referring to espresso. Portugal has long secured a supply of quality coffee directly from its former colony of Brazil, now the world's largest producer. Lisboners also enjoy cafés - the place this time - where they can enjoy a hot drink and pastries. Among the most sumptuous in the city, of course you can't miss A Brasileira, opened in Lisbon in 1905, with its superb Art Nouveau entrance, or more simply the Fábrica dos Pastéis de Belém with its blue and white azulejo façade. Otherwise there is the Pasteleria São Roque, , whose tiled counter and moldings are also worth a visit.

Perfect places to mingle with the locals, Lisbon's markets are also ideal for sampling some of the city's specialties on the go and, above all, for buying delicious Portuguese products directly. Among the most interesting markets in the city is the Mercado d'Arroios. Located in the heart of Mouraria, the city's most cultural district, this establishment, opened in 1942, offers a wide range of restaurants. The Mercado de Campo de Ourique, inaugurated in 1934, also has many stalls where you can come and taste some ultra-fresh products. Finally, the oldest, the Mercado da Ribeira, opened in 1882. With its superb facade and its huge wrought iron roof where it is good to come and eat, it definitely deserves a visit and also some shopping. You'll have to visit its spectacular Time Out Market Lisbon food hall, opened in 2014, to discover the wealth of Portuguese terroir and know-how.

Among the products to bring back in your suitcases, you obviously can't miss the Portuguese charcuterie, quite unknown in France. Let's take a look at the unavoidable presunto, which is the Portuguese counterpart of the Spanish jamón, of which there are six varieties that benefit from denomination (IGP or DOP) among the most famous: the presunto de Barrancos, the presunto do Alentejo or the presunto de Barroso. We continue with the chouriço. Although quite similar to the Spanish chorizo, the Portuguese version is sometimes smoked. Also it is not automatically dried and therefore can often be cooked. There are several varieties such as chouriço de carne, the leanest of its kind, while chouriço corrente is the fattest. The chouriço de sangue or morcela is a kind of black pudding flavored with cumin and cloves. Many Portuguese chouriços have designations like chouriço Doce de Vinhais or chouriço mouro de Portalegre. The cacholeira branca de Portalegre is a white sausage resembling a saveloy, while the linguiça is a pork sausage seasoned with garlic and paprika and smoked. Thealheira can be made from a variety of meats (usually pork, veal, duck, chicken, or even quail or rabbit). More delicate, lombo enguitado de Portalegre is a kind of cured pork tenderloin, while paia is similar to Italian pancetta.

Although the Portuguese cheese production is still rather unknown, some delicious cheeses do make their mark, such as the queijo São Jorge or queijo da Ilha, from the Azores, which is furiously reminiscent of cantal or sometimes parmesan cheese, so dry. But the best are the cheeses from Castelo Branco, Alentejo de Nisa, Serpa, Azeitão or Serra da Estrela, made with sheep's milk. The latter is eaten with a spoon. They can be a bit expensive, but their full-bodied flavor and melting texture are unforgettable.

Finally, it is unthinkable to discover Lisbon without tasting the local wines. Although they are not as well known as port or Madeira, they deserve a proper tasting. To the west and north of the city of Lisbon, the wine region was until 2009 known as Estremadura, including a slightly larger area than the current one centered on the city and its surroundings. Although it is a small region, it has nine DOCs, more than any other Portuguese region, namely Bucelas, Colares, Carcavelos, Alenquer, Torres Vedras, Arruda, Óbidos, Lourinhã and finally Tejo. In this mild climate, the grapes can ripen at leisure and produce at best very good concentrated red wines and white wines with good fresh acidity. On the western side of the region, where the sea breezes are strongest, light, dry white wines are produced, including a low alcohol white called Vinho Leve, as well as some of Portugal's best sparkling wines. Lourinhã or Aguardentes da Lourinhã also has a DOC. This must brandy, similar to cognac, is produced in the vineyard of the same name. Finally, no grapes, but cherries with the ginjinha, or simply ginja, that Lisboners love to sip at any time of the day.