Ahhhhhhhhhhh sun!!! Sunny, warm, light, big blue skied Portugal. Sighhhhhhhh. Ah the sun. I love you sun. I missed you sun.
I missed you too, Portugal - a land where heavenly creamy dreamy tarts (the sweet kind) are interlaced with simple and sensational seafood...all under the bluest sky you could ever imagine.
This was my fourth trip to Portugal in as many years - I am lucky enough to have a very dear friend, my Brazilian sister who I lived with as an exchange student 22 years ago, now living in Lisbon. OH YEAH BABY!!! Now this sis of mine, let's call her Carmen (as in Miranda), happens to be just as much of a foodie as I am - and the two of us together...well, all I can say is, don't ever get between either of us and a Portuguese Tart - it's ugly! When I visit we eat, talk, laugh and start back at the eating again.
So, when I rang her from Ireland to tell her I was on my way in for a short but sweet visit, she prepared the agenda - all revolving around food. We had just 2 full days and 3 nights to make it count. And make it count we did!
Day 1 - Evening
Whisked away from the airport by Carmen's hubby, I was told that unfortunately due to Carmen feeling a little under the weather, planned Stroganoff (my all time fave Brazilian meal) for dinner was to be postponed to the following evening. Bugger. But no worries, hubby was going to nick down to the local takeaway chicken place for us...and he did. OH MY GOD - this was real Portuguese Chicken!!!!!! Look up there at pic 1, glistening roasted chicken, salty, a little spicy, smokey...oh my word...the thing was divine, how on earth can one go back to Nando's after that????????? I sucked the bones dry. Chicken does not get better than this (and I should know!). I was in for a GREAT few days.
Day 2
Sun. Mmmmmmmm. Off to Cascais we went. I'd driven through here before, on my way to Sintra, but we'd never stopped. Carmen knew I'd never checked it out, so off we went. You can see how pretty the place is in pics 2, 3 and 8 - it's about 15 mins out of Lisbon, and is "the" place for the rich, famous, and cool to hang out. That's why we were there (we're cool). We were there to eat seafood, outside in the shade of a tree, and eat it we did. You can see my Sea Bass up there...it was incredible. The Portuguese cook very very simply, a bit of oil and salt, and that slightly smokey charred flavour...sigh, it's like a tropical island party in your mouth.
After fish, we headed to the most famous ice-cream place in all of Portugal. Santini's. It had just been given a facelift - check out the cool red and white renovation - it's been her for like centuries, run by an Italian family for eons. They make and serve their own true gelato and it was muito gostoso!! I had Acai & Banana with Pineapple....mmmmmm...fantastic.
So, of course after fish and icecream, one needs a light snack to get you through to dinner. It was time. Time to go to one of my favourite places in the whole wide world. The place where heaven is made. Yes, ladies and gents, it was time for Pasteis de Belem to eat those sacred of all tarts...Pasteis de Nata, or Portuguese Tarts to you and me. I won't carry on any further here, that's for the next post! Suffice it to say we indulged, as you can see above, plus we had the pleasure of a blind man from the hospital across the road sharing our table...what a wonderful afternoon.
And our culinary day was not yet over. Oh no no no.
Dinner. Carmen had the eye fillet of beef in the fridge for my Stroganoff. Now this Stroganoff isn't that boring, creamy, needs-more-flavour Stroganoff, no sireeee. This is the packed full of punch, tangy, mustardy, served with rice and french fries for texture Stroganoff. MMMMMMMMMM. So, Carmen and I spent our evening dicing and chopping and mixing and stirring, and producing that wonderful brown stew thing you see above. When I took my first mouthful, I literally just closed my eyes and savoured the moment...the flavour, the memories, and the flavour again. Thank you Carmen, it was one of your finest.
Day 3
Ater a taxing morning of getting our nails done, we opted for leftover Stroganoff for lunch - and let me tell you Sportfans, that some things taste even better the day after - this is one of those things. So more obscene mmmmming and ahhhhing occured at lunch as we devoured the last of that heavenly dish. Then it was off in search of dessert.
Well it wasn't really a search. Carmen knew exactly where she was taking me. Now I have to warn you that this part is controversial and has raised more than one set of eyebrows. Carmen took me to a local Pasteleria where she swears the Pasteis de Nata (Portuguese Tarts) are better than Pasteis de Belem. GASPPPPPP. I know. Sacrilegious. Unheard of. Heresy. Off we went to check it out. You can see their Tarts up there above (pic 12) - and you'll have to wait till the next post to find out if Carmen was right!
After our little afternoon snacky, we took a turn around the local food market which you can see above, lots of fab cheeses and cured meats...mmmmmm.
Then it was dinner time.
Hubby took Carmen and I to a very traditional and famous Portuguese restaurant found in one of the oldest suburbs in Lisbon, the Alcantara district. The restaurant, Solar do Nunes has been operating for a billion years, with the same wait staff I believe, and is the perfect example of a traditional Portuguese restaurant. We arrived to a table already set with appetizers, which is the Portuguese way, they are there waiting or put down in front of you and you pay for what you eat. It's bizarre, but it works. Of course we ate all ours!!!
You can see there we had olives, cured Portuguese ham (like jamon), pickled liver, cheese from the Serra de Estrela (a mountain region of the North), fried beans, and peixinho mini - which are those gross looking fish, which in fact were delectable to eat, they were like a fried and pickled fish, in Portuguese these ones are Carapau de Escabeche. Mmmmm.
For mains, I had wild boar (pictured), Carmen had venison, and hubby had a fish and bread stew. It was all fantastic. And the atmosphere was great - all locals, and not a word of English being spoken. It's the place to go.
And then there's dessert. I had something I've never had before. Sericaia com Ameixas de Elvas - which means this light as light eggy whipped and baked cake type thing, with wonderfully glaceed plums...it was magical. I'm going to look for a recipe for this cake when I get home, because it was so light, not too sweet, and would be perfect with poached or fresh fruit with a drizzle of honey over the top. It was a magnificent meal with magnificent people. Sigh. Wonderful.
So, there you have it. Three days after flying in, I waddled to my departure gate (after having bought 8 Pasteis de Nata and being given one to try from the Duty Free gourmet shop at the airport) to hop my plane back to the land of Primrose Bakery, London. What a gastronomically amazing 3 days.
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