Bacalhau, bacalhau, bacalhau, and more bacalhau!! If you love seafood, then Portugal is the place for you. Bacalhau, also known as cod fish, is a typical dish in Portugal.
Fun fact: It is said that the Portuguese know over 365 ways of cooking Cod, thus you can indulge in a different recipe everyday of the year!
As sushi is to Japan and pasta is to Italy, bacalhau (or seafood in general) is Portugal’s specialty. Luckily in Portugal seafood is really cheap; therefor, you can indulge in a nice seafood meal for about 10 euros! The Portuguese love the natural flavor or seafood and many other types of meets, and thus don’t tend to use a lot of seasonings. Its typical to have a piece of fish cooked with only salt and maybe pepper. Nonetheless, it is beyond satisfying! Most of my meals are provided to me by my host family. When living with a host family, they are required to provide you with breakfast and dinner 7 days a week. The only meal that isn’t included is lunch. However, food in Portugal is really cheap. For instance, you can find a full course lunch (fish, rice, bread, and desert, a.k.a prato do dia) for 6 euro’s maximum. Most of the time I go out for lunch; there are cafes and restaurants everywhere in Lisbon and are very cheap. My cheapest meal was 2.5 Euros and consisted of a ham and cheese sandwich on sweet brioche bread with a glass of orange juice and an expresso. Add a bag of chips and pay 3 euros in total! The school also has a café on campus that sells sandwich, soups, pastries, and even has a pasta/pizza/ and shawarma bar, as well as a place to get pratos dos dias (plates of the day). There is also a school cafeteria that is buffet style for the low price of 2.75 euros (with unlimited refills).
For breakfast, the Portuguese usually have a light meal consisting of fruit and a piece of toast (torrada). Lunches are usually heavier meals, however if you’re not into having a full course meal for lunch there are plenty of places to eat salads, soups, sandwiches, etc. Dinner is usually around 8:30-9pm and usually last about 1-1 ½ hrs. long. Traditionally dinner always starts out with an appetizer which is usually some sort of soup, followed by a main dish, followed by desert. Desert is usually a fruit salad or if your too full, just one piece of fruit. Occasionally you can indulge in sweets, but wherever you go you can always find fruit salads as an option under the desert menu.
During a surf trip in Ericeira, our group went to a small seafood restaurant for lunch. I decided to be adventurous and try out the one thing I didn’t know on the menu, cuttlefish. A cuttlefish falls in the same family group as a squid and octopus do. I have to say it was my most interesting meal thus far, but when cooked well it can be delicious! I have had so many delicious meals, its hard to choose which is my favorite one. With Lisbon becoming a main tourist site, one can try food from many different cultures. There are also many people of African decent that live in Portugal; so if you’re into something spicier and flavorful run on over to a Mozambique restaurant and definitely try the curry! As for portion size in Portugal, the amount of food one might eat for lunch is probably the same amount of food one eats for dinner. Thus meals are usually bigger than in the states. (Or maybe its just that I eat like I haven’t eaten before in my life and thus always have large meals!)
Fun fact: When the Portuguese eat, they always hold their fork in their left hand and the knife in the right. And they never put their utensils down until they are finished eating.
If you can’t tell by now I really enjoy eating and talking about the food here in Portugal! Check out my pics to see how I have been eating!
