Food and drink, Lisbon

Local traditions are fading, but some still have their followers. Ginginha is one of them: two tiny shops were the landmark of this cherry liquor, that, of course, you may buy everywhere, including shops and supermarkets. But the tradition was to stop, ask for a Ginginha at the counter, and drink it outside, watching the passing people.

Portuguese sanitary authorities forced the closing of the small stalls that traditionalists would like to reopen. Meanwhile, Largo de S. Domingos keeps being a talking area, only without the glass in people’s hands. Till when?

I was introduced to pasteis de nata, or custard tarts, during the Euromeet 2009 in Cascais. I thought they were delicious and right up my alley: soft and a little crunchy at the same time, with cream and not too sweet. Then I saw them in Beijing at a bakery and at KFC and revisiting Lisbon I had to have them once more :)

The most famous are the pasteis made in Casa Pasteis de Belem, where they're made for selling and for eating on the premises.

1 more image

Another yummy thing I tasted in Portugal: queijo fresco or fresh cheese. This is cheese made of cow or goat milk in a way that it must be consumed right away or the day after (if made the traditional way). Nowadays you can find some that have a slightly longer expiration date.

Consistensy wise, this cheese resembles cottage cheese but more solid. The usual way of eating this cheese is slicing it and adding salt and pepper.

Portugal is not particulary famous for its beer. Nevertheless, pale lager beers seem to be quite popular. I gave Sagres and Superbock a try.

Sagres beer is brewed by the Central de Cervejas brewery in Vila Franca de Xira. Since 2008 the brewery is under control of a joint venture of the breweries Heinken and Carlsberg.

Superbock beer is the most popular beer in Portugal and also well known in other countries of the world. It is brewed by the Unicer brewery, which is located in Leca do Balio in the north of Portugal.

Superbock: http://www.superbock.pt/

Sagres: http://www.cervejasagres.pt/

One of the typical foods in Portugal and very popular in the area of Lisbon are snails. Snails have a season and are normally eaten in a specific time of the year (June-August) when they are in their best shape to be tasted. Portuguese people sit in an esplanade with a beer, preferably after a day at the beach, and just relax snacking snails.
The snails are normally in nets at the door of the restaurants and are stewed with some spices. Snails are healthy, with a low calorie and fat and a high protein level. Produced in farms or caught in the nature they are actually molluscs like clams or squids. The snails eaten in Portugal are quite small and have nothing to do with the french escargot. The portuguese snails are small ones and are sucked directly from the shells.
Portugal eats 4.000 tons each year. In Lisbon, the area of Alcantara is probably one of the places with more concentration of places dedicated to the snailsmania but they can be eaten everywhere.
Snails are a tradition in many cultures and are eaten worldwide for thousands of year. Now it is up to youto try it or not...

2 more images

Chicken piri-piri is a typical dish selling in Portugal which you can find virtually everywhere. We simply call it Frango no churrasco (barbecued chicken). It is quite common for us to eat this either at home (we can buy it readily made almost everywhere) or in restaurants.
Piri-piri peppers (small and bright red, belonging to "capsicum" family) are native to Brazil, but were taken to Angola and Mozambique by Portuguese explorers and became such a part of the local cuisine that they eventually came to be known as Angolan peppers. Piri-piri is a Swahili word meaning “pepper-pepper” and the dish's African origins are clearly seen in its name but the dish became so popular in Portugal that it is regarded as a “Portuguese dish”. Actually many Portuguese keep a bottle of piri-piri sauce on the table and sprinkle it liberally on everything from fried potatoes to shellfish. The sauce should and must be quite hot, but it does not have to be unbearably hot.
Eventually the dish also became popular in Goa, India, another former Portuguese colony, and in South Africa, where there are many Portuguese workers. One of these, Fernando of its name, started a chain of food stores -Nando’s- that became quite popular all over the world, from London to Kuala Lumpur. He also chose for its logo another popular Portuguese item –the cockerel of Barcelos (see my Portugal General tip).

This is how I make the sauce at home. I don’t use to measure the quantities (everything “by eye”) and you also can try at your own. Trial and error is my best “recipe” in the kitchen.
Stem the peppers and coarsely chop (include the seeds); place in a shaker jar along with a dash of olive oil, sea salt (half of the peppers volume), and whisky enough to cover the all mixture twice. Cover tight, shake well, then store at room temperature and don’t use it for 1 month. Then you can use the sauce for about half a year. Shake the sauce every time you use it, and once you use most of the liquid part you can add more salt and whiskey.

But the piri-piri sauce is not all the story about the chicken piri-piri. The process of marinate the chicken is very important, namely the use of an acidic liquid (usually lemon or lime juice, or vinegar, or possibly wine or liquor) which adds a tang and tenderizes the chicken. Also the power of the grill is important, and the particularly aromatic wood chip to add smoke in the barbecue. In general, the amount of piri-piri that is used before grilling will determine flavor as most of it will fall into the coals or the grill pan and creates smoke that will lend a nice, smoky taste to the meat. The amount put on afterward will give it the extra punch and determine the level of spicy heat.

The marinade I prefer is a mixture (no quantities again) of oil + butter + lemon juice + red wine vinegar + crushed garlic (generous) + salt + paprika or cayenne pepper + laurel (grind). I prepare the marinade mixing all of the ingredients in a glass bowl. Let the marinade "age" for a while to allow the flavor to develop.
Then I cut a cleaned whole chicken down the center to allow it to lie flat (without cutting it into two pieces), then flatten it (usually people say “like a book” or like a “butterfly”). Then I rub the chicken all over with the marinade and allow the chicken to marinate for at least some hours, overnight if possible

I place the chicken on an outdoor grill over direct heat and grill for 15 minutes, turning frequently. Then move the chicken to the indirect side of the charcoal grill, turning the chicken every couple of minutes to prevent the skin from burning. Baste frequently with the rest of the marinade where, meanwhile, I add extra oil and piri-piri sauce. Remove from the grill when it’s done (depending on taste you can overcook or not). Then it’s time for the extra piri-piri sauce –a matter of taste again.
Serve with additional fried potatoes, a simple salad, and maybe some rice, and accompanying with olives and maybe some pickled vegetables. But people use to bring this king of chicken cut into pieces to picnics and just accompanying with bread.

Frango da Guia is a good restaurant chain (franchising company) that will be spotted in different shopping malls and tourist areas in major towns. In Lisbon area one of the best restaurants known for its frango do churrasco, which can be served with or without piri-piri, is a Churrasqueira do Campo Grande (actually is one of the best restaurants in the city for a grill meal, not just for chicken and one of my local favorites is grilled cod fish with punched potatoes, olive oil and lots of garlic). Just across the metro station in Campo Grande (green and yellow lines), Campo Grande 402/410, phone 217590131.

Note: You will find very cheap ready piri-piri sauce to sell in the supermarkets. Nevertheless, has nothing to do with the one I use to prepare at home.
If you want to buy some when in Portugal try this brand "Margão". They come grounded -you only have to add the salt and whiskey.

1 more image

Portuguese beers are not as famous as the ones from northern and central European countries (Belgium, Czech, German, Ireland, etc.). Nevertheless, pale lager beers are quite popular mostly among young people (the elders prefer the wine).

The 2 most spread and well known trade marks are Superbock and Sagres.
Superbock (http://www.superbock.pt/EN/index.asp) is the most popular beer in Portugal and also well known in other countries of the world. It is brewed by the Unicer brewery (http://www.unicer.pt/), which is located in Leça do Balio in the north of Portugal.
Sagres (http://www.cervejasagres.pt/) is brewed by the Central de Cervejas brewery (CentralCer, http://www.centralcervejas.pt/default.htm) in Vialonga. Since 2007 it’s owned by a consortium between Scottish & Newcastle, Carlsberg, and Heineken (which means that they also produce Carlsberg and Heineken here in Portugal).

Both companies have quite different labels from lager to pils, dunkel, stout or alcohol free, and some fancy labels (with lemon, etc.)
I personally enjoy very much some dark ones, especially the old recipes Abadia Rubi and Abadia Gold (from Superbock, http://www.unicer.pt/gca/index.php?id=436) and Bohemia (from Sagres, http://www.centralcervejas.pt/default.asp?s=11727&parent=11975).
Cintra (http://www.cervejacintra.pt/) brewed in Aveiras close to Santarém, and Coral (http://www.cervejacoral.com) brewed in Madeira are other companies with less market, and in my opinion, the beers they trade are not so good... but of course it is a matter of taste.

Generally speaking in Portugal you can get a 33cl beer for 0.7€ on the supermarket, 1.2€ in most of common restaurants, 2-2.5€ at bars and upper class restaurants, 5€ in more fancy places. A nice website to compare the prices over the world http://www.pintprice.com

Unicer and CentralCer welcome visits to their factories. In that case email them directly and you can visit the factory and enjoy their products at the bar at the end.

Note: most of these pages are in Portuguese and according to the law these companies have a question to let you in their pages -"Are you over 18?" (or 16). In that case answer "SIM" on their webpage

A blog related to Portuguese and Spanish beers http://cervejapt.blogspot.com/

Cheers

The Portuguese people drink their Sagres, a beer produced in Portugal. Very good and you have many different tastes of it. Enjoy it as the Portuguese people do in a bar and watch a football game at tv at the same time. Here they discuss everything about life, from football to politics and so. You find the similiar life in other latin countries too. Dont be afraid, enjoy the people in the talk.