Portugal is a superb location to forget that diet and emerse yourself in the local cooking.
Don't worry if you don't enjoy 'haute cuisine" fare first thing in the day though, the natives often miss out on breakfast , mainly going for a snack and a coffee. Quite often you will usually see people having a quick bite in a cafe on their way in to the office.
Lunchtime and Evening meals are a entirely different and magnificently enjoyable experience.
The local inhabitants relish their cooking, and you are likely to be offered large portions when dining. The midday meal can be a pleasant, but lengthy affair, in general enjoyed between 1pm and 3pm, and no matter how hot the weather, the natives eat cooked food in cafes or restaurants. Dinner is taken between 7.00pm & 9.00pm, and once again, generally is a hot meal.
The real value of Portuguese food could be described as 'fresh, local ingredients, perfectly prepared'.
Portuguese cooking is in general based on superb quality, healthy local produce, featuring fish, meat, olive oil, tomatoes and spices.
The ideal meal in portugal should ideally start with a soup course.
The most famous portuguese soup, is called caldo verde, a thick, tasty soup made with shredded cabbage and kale, potatoes and linguica or chorico. Caldo Verde comes from the Minho province, but is widely available throughout Portugal, from lisbon to the holiday resorts in the algarve.
Here is a Caldo verde recipe that will let you bring a memory of portugal back home with you
Kale soup recipe (a traditional portuguese soup)
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1 pound (454g) beef, stewing (chopped into one inch pieces)
1/2 lb. (227g) linguica or chourico (chopped into thin slices)
6 cups (1.42 lt) water
A pinch of salt
3 large potatoes, cubed
three carrots, 1" cubes
1 1/2 lb kale, roughly chopped, or 1 package thawed frozen kale
0.5 finely chopped cabbage
1/2 pack macaroni (elbow)
1 tin white kidney beans (optional)
1 hot pepper, (remove seeds), roughly chopped
1/3 teaspoon paprika
1 tsp Olive Oil
Instructions:
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Peel and chop potatoes and carrots.
Fill a large pot with water and add the cubed beef, linguica or chorico and salt.
Bring to the boil and then siimmer and cover until such time as the cubed beef and linguia or chourio are as good as tender.
Then add the hot pepper, carrots, beans, paprika, cabbage and chopped kale and stir well.
Replace the pot lid and cook for three quarters of an hour or until the kale is fully cooked.
As soon as the chopped kale is ready, add the olive oil cubed potatoes and macaroni.
Occasionally stir the soup to make sure that the chopped potatoes and macaroni don't end up stuck to the base of the pot.
Bring to a rolling boil (keeping the pot lid on) until the potatoes and macaroni pasta are ready to eat.
This meal can be served as a starter or as a wholesome main meal.
