If you ask a Portuguese what is a typical street food in Portugal, they will answer: a bifana. Now the question is “What’s that?” 

In Portugal, you will find a lot of sandwiches whose role it is to provide a quick meal, sometimes with only a bowl of soup to complement. I know for a lot of people a sandwich would be enough, but we like to have more filling meals.

You will know that one of the main sandwiches in the country, enjoyed from north to south, is the bifana. Simply put, it’s a steak sandwich. A pork steak, to be more specific, seasoned with garlic and spices, then put inside a bread roll. 

Seems basic enough, doesn’t it?

Yet, everywhere you will try one it will taste different.

And this is the beauty of it! How is it possible that a piece of steak can fit so perfectly in a bread roll and present you with a mix of flavors that will make your taste buds spin?!

In the North of the country, it is usually made with little pieces of steak that have been spiced and seasoned in a big pot with sauce, and it’s usually a bit spicy. The bread is a simple white bread roll, that ends up being moistened with the steak sauce. As you go further south, though, the steak is no longer cut and is instead beat with a mallet, it is mostly garlicky and not spicy at all – instead, they suggest you eat it simple or with mustard. Also, the bread is lightly toasted. And, sadly, there is less sauce as well.

But which one is the original?

It is said that the original one comes from the town of Vendas Novas in Alentejo, in the south of the country.

Anyway it is so typical in Portugal that also Mac Donald had to introduce a Mac Bifana in its menu. 

How can you make a Bifana?

Ingredients

• 4 sandwich bread rolls (Portuguese papo seco)
• 1½ lb pork cutlets , sliced very thin
• 5 cloves garlic , chopped
• 2 oz. lard
• ½ cup white wine
• 3 bay leaves
• Juice of a lemon
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Salt
• Pepper , freshly ground

Instructions

• In a container, place a layer of cutlets and season with salt, pepper, bay leaf, paprika, lemon juice and garlic.
• If necessary, make several layers with all the cutlets, seasoning them the same way at each layer.
• Finally, pour the white wine over the cutlets and marinate for 3 hours in the refrigerator.
• In a large frying pan, hear the lard over medium heat.
• Drain the cutlets and reserve the marinade. Fry them in lard over high heat, turning them constantly.
• Once the cutlets are fried, add the reserved marinade and cook over medium heat until the liquid has evaporated by half.
• Toast the bread loaves.
• Fill each bread with cutlets and drizzle with the remaining sauce.

The sauce that coats the clams is prepared with olive oil (of very good quality as it is the star ingredient of the sauce), garlic, cilantro, salt, pepper and sometimes, as is the case here, some dry white wine to bring even more flavor. Then, the juice of lemon juice is drizzled before being served.

The Lisboetas and travelers returning from the Tagus river will speak to you with joy of the infinite pleasure of savoring amêijoas à Bulhão Pato by the sea and finishing the dish with a good bread to soak up the wonderful juice of the clams intimately mixed with the olive oil, garlic and cilantro. An easy and quick recipe for a short lunch break or at the end of the day, at sunset, at the Port of Lisbon.

Many of the emblematic dishes of Portuguese gastronomy are prepared with fish or shellfish. Nothing surprising for a country bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and whose capital sits on a bay.

The Algarve, the southernmost region of Portugal, enjoys a great reputation for the variety and freshness of its fish, shellfish and crustaceans. It is from this region that comes a large part of the seafood consumed in Portugal, including clams. Some are farmed and others are picked up by mariscadores, shellfish farmers.

In Portugal, the amêijoas are at the heart of many recipes such as cataplana (seafood dish with spices, white wine, tomatoes, etc.) or carne de porco à alentejana (consisting of pork, clams and accompanied by potatoes). And many others.

But today, I decided  to feature the recipe of amêijoas à Bulhão Pato. It is named after Raimundo António de Bulhão Pato, a poet, gastronomist and epicurean, who was an important figure in the intellectual and artistic life of Portuguese society in the mid to late nineteenth century. He even participated in a culinary book, “The cook of the cooks” (O Cozinheiro dos Cozinheiros) by Paulo Henrique Plantier, published for the first time in 1870, which offered a chapter of recipes invented and made by famous Portuguese artists of the time.

So this is a nice tribute to this epicurean and lover of good food, that this dish that is so popular still bears his name today, and continues to challenge the curious foodies like us.

Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato – Recipe

Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato are a delicious traditional dish of the city of Lisbon that is prepared with clams coated with a sauce composed of olive oil, garlic, cilantro, and white wine.

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

5 mins

Total Time

15 mins

Ingredients

• 2 lb fresh clams
• ½ cup olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic , peeled and sliced
• 1 bunch cilantro finely chopped
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons salt
• Pepper
• 1 lemon

Instructions

• Soak the clams in a large amount of water with the coarse salt for 3 hours. They will desalinate and get rid of the sand they contain. Place in the refrigerator.
• Rinse thoroughly and several times in cold water to completely get rid of sand.
• Use a brush to scrape the shells to remove the last traces of sand as well as any marine residues.
• Pour the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the garlic and cilantro. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes.
• Add the dry white wine and bring to a boil. Add the clams. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cover and cook over medium heat until the clams open, about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Once all the clams are open, place them on the serving dish and let the sauce boil over high heat for 2 minutes. Pour the sauce over the clams.
• Sprinkle with lemon juice before eating.

Açorda, is a typical Alentejo dish. It is a gift of the presence of Arabs in our lands. It also seems that açorda is a subsistence dish, probably following food crises. And its arrival is due to its ease of preparation and above all to the simple mixture of basic products. Bread has always been, and still is, a fundamental food.

In Arab times on the peninsula, we found many soups to which crumbled or coarsely sliced ​​bread was added. This seems to be the origin of the açordas. However, almost only in the south of the country we assume the name açorda. This term never appears associated with bread soups that are still made today in Beiras or Trás-os-Montes.

And we have the great variant of açorda, which is no longer soup, and which has become a reference dish in Portugal. In a treatise on Arab cuisine by Ibn Abd al-Ra’uf, açorda is referred to, with the designation Tarid [thari: d] or Tarida, in Arabic, which means migrated bread, to which are added garlic, coriander and hot water.

In consultation with Arabic dictionaries, we also find the term Ath thurdâ, which means soup with bread.

Bread, even today, is a structural element of our food. In the past, bread would have to be consumed in its entirety for its value as a permanent support for consumption. Its application in soup would be a way to use the oldest and driest bread. It would be its full absorption.

In 1876 João da Mata publishes his “Kitchen Art” specially for professionals. Here we find açorda with cod, a Portuguese bread soup and other soups with bread.

But it is with Carlos Bento da Maia, edition of 1904, with the title “Complete Kitchen and Cup Treaty”, that the açordas appear as culinary confection and illustrated with eleven recipes, and doing well the separation of the many soups with bread.

But what is the reality of açordas in Portuguese cuisine? First we have the açorda / soup of which the Açorda Alentejana is the best example. Then the glorification of the açordas as a complete dish and the immense variety of recipes from the Douro, the entire Atlantic coast with fish and seafood, from Beira to Alentejo with cod, and the Alentejo with pork and sausages. We also have the concept of açorda as a garnish, or complement, of which we savor the excellent example with shad and respective roe açorda.

The authentic açorda is made with garlic, small slices of bread from the previous day soaked in very hot water, seasoned with raw oil, garlic, salt, and chopped coriander. There are variations where the açorda is finished with boiled or poached eggs, cod, hake and roasted sardines. Today, food from poor people, açorda is one of the best Portuguese soups.

Today we are going to talk about a delicious Portuguese snack and with a very original story: Os peixinhos da horta

In the 16th century, more specifically in 1543, a Chinese ship with three Portuguese sailors on board, António da Mota, Francisco Zeimoto and António Peixoto, was going to Macau. The meteorological situation, translated into a storm, wanted the ship to move away to the island of southern Japan, Tanegashima. The sailors  were the first Europeans to set foot on Japanese soil.

The country was facing a civil war and began to trade with the Portuguese.

In this way, a post was created in the country, where arms, tobacco, soap, wool… and recipes were sold!

In 1639, when our ancestors were banished from Japan, they left an indelible mark on the local cuisine, a recipe for green beans, wrapped in purée and then fried, “our fish from the garden” A preparation that, in the long oceanic crossings, allowed navigators to conserve vegetables for longer periods.

And the thing caught on in Japan, so much so that today it is called tempura.

The term “tempura” originates from the Latin “tempora”, which referred to a period of fasting imposed by the Church.

Catholics were not allowed to eat meat and so the dish came.

By the time “our peixinhos” entered in Japan, they already had a career made in Portuguese territory. However, the origin of this deep-roasted snack in the region of Estremadura, which is simple in confection, is not known, which is an example of creative cuisine based on few ingredients.

A preparation that would replace the fish in periods of dietary restrictions and that will have gone to mint the name precisely to the format similar to that of marine species.

Peixinho da Horta is a dish that serves both as a snack and as a meal.

Basically it is tender green beans fried in a batter, we can make it very crispy and thin or we can make fish from the garden with spoonfuls of batter as if it were a patanisca.

Recipe

Ingredients

400g of green beans

150g of flour with yeast

2 eggs

1 dl of cold sparkling water

1 c. Of olive oil

Sea salt

Pepper q. B

Frying oil

Preparation

Clean the green beans, remove the wire and cook it in water seasoned with salt for 5 minutes.

Then drain and let cool.

Prepare the batter.

Pour the flour into a bowl, season with salt and pepper, add the eggs, the oil and the water in a wire, stirring constantly until it is a smooth purée.

Bring to a boil a pan with plenty of oil and let it warm up.

Dip the green beans, one by one, in the batter, let it drain a little, pour in the oil and let it fry until golden brown.

Remove and let drain.

When you’re in Portugal, don’t forget to try traditional snacks. It is eaten by hand, with a fork or spoon, bread on the side and a glass served. Preferably a very cold beer.

And please don’t call them tapas – a Spanish expression, not a Portuguese one. The Portuguese are very proud of their petiscos, because the food is about people – the kind of experience that includes licking your fingers, refreshing your soul with beer, tasting wines and socializing until you say enough.

The Portuguese people are petiscos-lovers, there is nothing to do and whoever takes away this tradition that goes from one or two things to twenty, takes away the good mood. Enlightened Portuguese cooks know perfectly well how good the peixinhos da Horta, fried to perfection, make us happy. Two imperatives just for the Portuguese practice to be fulfilled: table and company. A sweeping flight through the amount that is put on the table, with our eyes on happy harmonies.

The list of snacks can be very long, but let’s try to meet the most famous.

-Caracóis – Lisbon’s snails are undoubtedly something to try in the summer. You will find doses of different sizes in various snack bars, small family restaurants and some cafes

– “Iscas” – pork liver sautéed with garlic and white wine, sometimes you find a version with onions. Usually served with chips or boiled potatoes.

-Fava beans – when the fava season comes, a bowl of this delicacy simply stew is enough to taste well. Whether cooked alone, or enriched with slices of chorizo ​​and other meats, it is a delight.

-Peixinhos da Horta – a vegetarian snack, nothing less than breaded and fried green beans.

-Green eggs – boiled eggs, cut in half, stuffed, breaded and fried. The traditional recipe consists of yolk emulsified with olive oil, vinegar, spices and parsley.

-Sardines – starting in June is the ideal time to enjoy them. It is their time, as they became very fat and, consequently, tastier.

-Pasteis / codfish balls: The small fried codfish cake, made of varying proportions of potato and cod, combined with olive oil and beaten egg, are one of the great glories of Portuguese cuisine. These pastries are either eaten by hand or accompanied with rice. Hot, warm or cold don’t lose their identity.

-Ham: The national smokehouse is an institution and on a well-cut plate of ham we set the conversation and socializing for an entire afternoon.

-Torresmos: Usually made from portions of pork rich in fat and with the main purpose of extracting the fabulous lard that fortunately remains alive in the daily recipe. In no way does it threaten the equally fabulous extra virgin olive oil that we worship in the kitchen and at the table. The crunchy and compact pieces that are extracted are an unavoidable snack

– Cod fish pataniscas: Patanisca is called various preparations nowadays, but when we call it snack here it is the one that fries the thin pieces of cod in egg and batter gains firm structure and is eaten by hand.

-Guambas a guilho: Either we call them prawns al ajillo, like the Spanish, or simply prawns with garlic. We know that corruptions like “guilho” are nonsense that mean nothing and we must be indifferent to them, honoring this snack of fork and bread by celebrating when it comes in the still boiling oil, the aroma of garlic and coriander.

-Cured cheese: The smaller and drier, the cheese from Nisa and Évora slice well and thin, with the flavor concentrated by the slow evaporation of the retained water, while at the same time concentrating the salt. Serpa and Serra da Estrela ones also age very well and lend themselves to snacks for hours on end.

– Cold octopus salad: We like octopus in every way, but chopping the tentacle logs cooked to the point and well drizzled with olive oil is almost transcendental.

-Roasted rice black pudding: A delight that is practically an entire meal, it will have been born between Leiria and Santarém, but today it is a national snack, with the blood sausage of great tradition. It is baked in the oven

-Fried sausage (choriço): Fried sausages are made in clay pots, which drip and smell a little throughout the national territory. It is eaten by a toothpick and is always shared as soon as the fire is extinguished at the table. You need thick sliced ​​wheat bread to impregnate yourself with the oil of the sausage.

-Pica Pau: The pica pau is a dish of very Portuguese origin composed of simple ingredients: fried pork – although it can also be made with beef – and pickles. It can also include olives and chillies. Originally from Ribatejo, the meat of this snack should have a soft texture. Snack is one of the specialties of many taverns in most of the country. Tastier in good company, do not dispense the bread to enjoy the sauce.

-Pregos and bifanas: Bifana is a typical dish originating in Vendas Novas. This snack includes pork stews cooked with garlic and wine. The meat must then be placed on warm bread. They can be seasoned with mustard or hot sauce. This is one of the dishes that are not lacking in popular festivals, particularly in summer, all over the country. The variants are many and can in some cases include cheese and ham or other complements. Similar, it is the prego with beef. Other typical Portuguese snack, like bifana, it is usually seasoned with mustard or hot sauce.

– Alheiras: Alheira or “Jewish chorizo” are the names for a sausage with a history of more than 500 years. Originating in Trás-os-Montes is a dish that the Portuguese eat at any time of the year as a snack or as a main dish. It is a classic of Portuguese gastronomy, in particular the Mirandela version.

– Pipis: “There are gizzards and pipis”. It is read on the doors and windows of dozens of taverns, cafes and restaurants in the capital and across the country. Pipis are bits of chicken stewed in a rich tomato, onion and garlic sauce.

Stewed gizzards: Stewed gizzards are a delicacy that is based on a small stew of onion and tomato to which are added chicken or duck gizzards.

And what is your favorite?

When you’re in Portugal, don’t forget to try traditional snacks. It is eaten by hand, with a fork or spoon, bread on the side and a glass served. Preferably a very cold beer.

And please don’t call them tapas – a Spanish expression, not a Portuguese one. The Portuguese are very proud of their petiscos, because the food is about people – the kind of experience that includes licking your fingers, refreshing your soul with beer, tasting wines and socializing until you say enough.

The Portuguese people are petiscos-lovers, there is nothing to do and whoever takes away this tradition that goes from one or two things to twenty, takes away the good mood. Enlightened Portuguese cooks know perfectly well how good the peixinhos da Horta, fried to perfection, make us happy. Two imperatives just for the Portuguese practice to be fulfilled: table and company. A sweeping flight through the amount that is put on the table, with our eyes on happy harmonies.

The list of snacks can be very long, but let’s try to meet the most famous.

-Caracóis – Lisbon’s snails are undoubtedly something to try in the summer. You will find doses of different sizes in various snack bars, small family restaurants and some cafes

– “Iscas” – pork liver sautéed with garlic and white wine, sometimes you find a version with onions. Usually served with chips or boiled potatoes.

-Fava beans – when the fava season comes, a bowl of this delicacy simply stew is enough to taste well. Whether cooked alone, or enriched with slices of chorizo ​​and other meats, it is a delight.

-Peixinhos da Horta – a vegetarian snack, nothing less than breaded and fried green beans.

-Green eggs – boiled eggs, cut in half, stuffed, breaded and fried. The traditional recipe consists of yolk emulsified with olive oil, vinegar, spices and parsley.

-Sardines – starting in June is the ideal time to enjoy them. It is their time, as they became very fat and, consequently, tastier.

-Pasteis / codfish balls: The small fried codfish cake, made of varying proportions of potato and cod, combined with olive oil and beaten egg, are one of the great glories of Portuguese cuisine. These pastries are either eaten by hand or accompanied with rice. Hot, warm or cold don’t lose their identity.

-Ham: The national smokehouse is an institution and on a well-cut plate of ham we set the conversation and socializing for an entire afternoon.

-Torresmos: Usually made from portions of pork rich in fat and with the main purpose of extracting the fabulous lard that fortunately remains alive in the daily recipe. In no way does it threaten the equally fabulous extra virgin olive oil that we worship in the kitchen and at the table. The crunchy and compact pieces that are extracted are an unavoidable snack

– Cod fish pataniscas: Patanisca is called various preparations nowadays, but when we call it snack here it is the one that fries the thin pieces of cod in egg and batter gains firm structure and is eaten by hand.

-Guambas a guilho: Either we call them prawns al ajillo, like the Spanish, or simply prawns with garlic. We know that corruptions like “guilho” are nonsense that mean nothing and we must be indifferent to them, honoring this snack of fork and bread by celebrating when it comes in the still boiling oil, the aroma of garlic and coriander.

-Cured cheese: The smaller and drier, the cheese from Nisa and Évora slice well and thin, with the flavor concentrated by the slow evaporation of the retained water, while at the same time concentrating the salt. Serpa and Serra da Estrela ones also age very well and lend themselves to snacks for hours on end.

– Cold octopus salad: We like octopus in every way, but chopping the tentacle logs cooked to the point and well drizzled with olive oil is almost transcendental.

-Roasted rice black pudding: A delight that is practically an entire meal, it will have been born between Leiria and Santarém, but today it is a national snack, with the blood sausage of great tradition. It is baked in the oven

-Fried sausage (choriço): Fried sausages are made in clay pots, which drip and smell a little throughout the national territory. It is eaten by a toothpick and is always shared as soon as the fire is extinguished at the table. You need thick sliced ​​wheat bread to impregnate yourself with the oil of the sausage.

-Pica Pau: The pica pau is a dish of very Portuguese origin composed of simple ingredients: fried pork – although it can also be made with beef – and pickles. It can also include olives and chillies. Originally from Ribatejo, the meat of this snack should have a soft texture. Snack is one of the specialties of many taverns in most of the country. Tastier in good company, do not dispense the bread to enjoy the sauce.

-Pregos and bifanas: Bifana is a typical dish originating in Vendas Novas. This snack includes pork stews cooked with garlic and wine. The meat must then be placed on warm bread. They can be seasoned with mustard or hot sauce. This is one of the dishes that are not lacking in popular festivals, particularly in summer, all over the country. The variants are many and can in some cases include cheese and ham or other complements. Similar, it is the prego with beef. Other typical Portuguese snack, like bifana, it is usually seasoned with mustard or hot sauce.

– Alheiras: Alheira or “Jewish chorizo” are the names for a sausage with a history of more than 500 years. Originating in Trás-os-Montes is a dish that the Portuguese eat at any time of the year as a snack or as a main dish. It is a classic of Portuguese gastronomy, in particular the Mirandela version.

– Pipis: “There are gizzards and pipis”. It is read on the doors and windows of dozens of taverns, cafes and restaurants in the capital and across the country. Pipis are bits of chicken stewed in a rich tomato, onion and garlic sauce.

Stewed gizzards: Stewed gizzards are a delicacy that is based on a small stew of onion and tomato to which are added chicken or duck gizzards.

And what is your favorite?

The famous Bolo Rei is one of the best known Christmas traditions in Portugal. There is hardly any Portuguese family that does not respect this tradition. Round, with a hole in the middle and filled with candied fruits and nuts, they are the delight of the whole family.

Until a few years ago, this typical cake brought a metal object that was, however, prohibited in 1999 for safety reasons – and still a broad bean (which also came out of its composition). According to Portuguese tradition, the person to whom the slice of cake was served with the broad bean was the person responsible for, in the following year, buying the Bolo Rei.

Over time, this tradition has also been adapted, and there are now several variants of this traditional Christmas candy, such as Bolo Rainha for those who don’t like candied fruit, Chocolate King Cake and even the Bolo of Rei de Gila or with apple.

The story goes that the son of Baltasar Castanheiro, owner of the National Confectionery in Praça de Figueira, during a trip to Loire, France, tasted the galette des rois for the first time and, in love with the cake and the tradition of the bean, who decided who bought the cake the following year, imported the tradition in Lisbon. Nowadays, we can try this cake more or less between November and February at Confeitaria Nacional where, on December 23, the queue shows the importance of this tradition.

In Porto, the recipe is introduced by Confeitaria Cascais, which imported the tradition directly from Paris.

With the proclamation of the republic, the cake was in danger of disappearing because of the name “king”

Other names were proposed: national cake according to the National Confectionery or ex-king cake. Republicans proposed Bolo Presidente, Bolo Republicano or even Bolo Arriaga in relation to the first president of the Republic

But the tradition of this Christmas cake, besides being Portuguese, is found in different ways in many other countries:

– Galette des rois in France in brioche version or frangipane version with almond cream

– Dreikönigkuchen (the cake of the three kings) in Switzerland

– Roscón de reyes (galette des rois) in Majorca, much like the Portuguese version

– Brioche des rois in the Provencal Alps

– Rosca de Reyes in Mexico

– King Cake in New Orleans, official Mardi Gras (Carnaval) cake with colored sugar.

– Tortell of kings in Catalonia that can be simple or filled

And what will be your Christmas cake?

The octopus à lagareiro is a very typical recipe of Portuguese gastronomy in which the octopus, the main ingredient of many Portuguese cuisine dishes, becomes the protagonist here. First it is cooked and then taken to the grill where it acquires the crispy and delicious texture. The name of this recipe comes from the figure of the Lagareiro (an individual who works in a mill in the production of olive oil) and is applied in this recipe due to the large amount of oil that is used to water the octopus.

In historical terms, the mill was a rustic tank where handcrafted olives were worked and crushed into pastes, to be pressed in large millstones to extract the oil. The lagareiro, therefore, was responsible for the progress of the entire process.

In addition to the tasting, savouring the oil, some preparations were made as a test to check and classify the properties and qualities of the oil. They also served as a check on the performance of workers, unless whether disasters and / or pest attacks were recorded. Another factor that could compromise the qualities of olives and olive oil, but no less important, was the improper handling of the fruits, from harvesting and transportation to pressing and storage.

The olive oil manufacturing process is very delicate and requires agility, which requires the maximum attention of those who work in it. The time between harvesting the olives and processing them, should be done as soon as possible, so that they do not ferment. If this happens, there is a high probability of bacteria multiplication, with consequences that can be tragic for the degree of acidity of the final product.

A dish that started to be quite appreciated from the first crop of olive oil to be produced, was lagareiro cod, which in the original versions, dating back many centuries ago, says that this fish was desalted, breaded with leftover ground bread, fried in olive oil taken directly from the mills, ending up being savoured with raw or roasted garlic. This recipe had its origin in the Beiras, between the South of the Douro River and the North of the Tagus River, where the oldest urban centers and villages were built even before the official consolidation of the Portuguese nation.

The preparation of cod in the mills, when the olive oil corresponded to the expectations of the products, went beyond what should be a simple test, acquiring festive contours.

Thus, the months of hard work were celebrated. The story goes that as soon as the Portuguese and Spanish ships brought the potatoes, the perfect mix was found and from there arises the expression that in Portugal, a dish with cod, has potatoes. Later, cod ended up being replaced by octopus, reaching a greater number of consumers.

For this recipe to be called “lagareiro”, the predominant ingredients included boiled, roasted and pounded potatoes, onion, garlic and at the end, all dipped in olive oil, the main ingredient of this dish.

Recipe Octopus à Lagareiro

Ingredients

1 kilo and a half of octopus

250 ml of olive oil

2 heads of garlic

1 onion

Salt q.s.

900 grams of small potatoes

2 bay leaves

White pepper

Parsley

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

Put the octopus in a large pot with 5 liters of water, 5 ml of oil, a chopped garlic head and an unpeeled onion and cook for 40 minutes until tender.

Check by pricking with a fork in the thickest tentacles.

Season with salt and let cool in the water itself.

Separate the head from the tentacles and set aside in an optimal dish for oven.

Wash the potatoes well and wrap them in salt. To be soft, bake at 160 degrees for 35 minutes.

Shake the salt from the potatoes well and add to the tentacles. Increase the oven temperature to 180 degrees.

Sprinkle the octopus and potatoes with 200 milliliters of olive oil, distribute the crushed garlic cloves and bay leaves over the platter and sprinkle with white pepper.

Take it to the oven and when the octopus is very golden, it will be when it is ready.

Sprinkle the dish with chopped parsley and serve the octopus immediately.

We cannot speak of Portuguese gastronomy without mentioning sausages. From chorizo ​​to black pudding, through farinheira, no one refuses a good sausage.

But among the various sausages, there are two that we can find only in Portugal: the alheira and the farinheira. The difference with the other sausages is in the fact that, when they were invented, these two sausages were produced without pork. Nowadays the original recipe is not always respected, but in its origin the farinheira was prepared with flour, wine and spices and the alheira with game or poultry meat, bread and spices.

But what is the origin of the idea of ​​producing a chorizo ​​without pork?

The story begins in 1492, when Fernando de Aragão and his wife, Queen Isabel of Castile, conquered the last Moorish bastion of the Iberian Peninsula – Granada – and invaded the Alhambra Palace. Profound Catholics, kings believed that practicing Jews could encourage those who converted to Christianity to return to their original religion. They hired interrogators to pursue Jews in their kingdom: we are talking about the Spanish Inquisition.

Faced with the Spanish Inquisition, Spanish Jews fled to Portugal, where King D. João II gave him hospitality until the 16th century. At the time of the Great Navigations, the Jews played an important role in the discoveries in Portugal, collaborating with the opening of new maritime and commercial routes.

This was the main reason for D. João II to allow refugees to enter in the Portuguese territory. The number surpassed 120 thousand people, according to the official site of the country’s Jewish Network. Some went to stay and others used Portugal as a transit.

With nowhere to go, the Jews of the Iberian peninsula found a way to circumvent the punishments of kings by pretending to be Christians. Thus, they participated in the Masses, discussed excerpts from the Bible and wrote their texts in Hebrew, never in Aramaic. From 1496, Portuguese Jews were also forced to convert or, alternatively, to leave the country. For the next ten years, more conservative citizens killed Jews daily. In 1536, the Inquisition formally arrived in Portugal and both Jews and converted Jews (the so-called New Christians) were captured and burned alive on the pyre, in front of a sea of ​​people, in Rossio.

Jews began to hide and form communities in which they pretended to be Christians: they wrote in Hebrew and pretended Catholic rituals so as not to arouse suspicion.

But in Trás-os-Montes, the disguise was more original.

One of the main ways that members of the Inquisition had to discover fugitives was to understand whether they ate pork or not – because the Jewish religion forbids their consumption. In Mirandela, 426 km from Lisbon, it was common for families to leave bunches of pork sausages outdoors and, thus, it was easy to identify “foreigners”. The Jews then created a “sausage” made with bread and chicken, which looked like the traditional pork sausage, the alheira, which deceived royal officials for many years.

The original recipes demand many pieces of bread, because it was the way found by the Jews to give consistency to the sausage. Inside it were beef, chicken, rabbit, turkey or duck. Then, when the inquisition ended, the alternative sausage would have fallen in the use of the Iberian Christians themselves, who started to eat it and incorporated it into typical dishes – today, it is considered one of the seven gastronomic wonders of Portugal.

And from the Trás-os-Montes mountains it spread to the rest of the country.

Nowadays, the alheira is served with french fries, rice and a fried egg on top.

Today we are talking about a soup typical of Portuguese gastronomy, very nutritious and perfect especially during the winter. A soup that was born in Almeirim, in the district of Santarem. This soup has a very curious name, the stone soup, and even more curious is the legend that is the origin of this name.

It is said that one day a monk found himself in a land he did not know. He was hungry, but he didn’t have any money with him. He begged here and there, but on that sad day no one was interested in helping him. So, he picked up any stone he saw on the way and, approaching a popular who had not yet spoken to him, told him that he was planning to make a soup from the stone.

The expression on the man’s face was one of great confusion. “Stone soup? Does it exist?” Three times the monk said yes, and three times the man was incredulous. Then, the religious man offered to cook this soup, in order to prove its complete veracity. The man, in the greatest curiosity, naturally accepted it.

Then, the monk started by heating a pot with water and placed the stone inside. Waiting for a few minutes, he tasted some of the broth with a wooden spoon and said “Um … it is very good, this soup from the stone, but it would be even better with some beans.” The man gave him the beans. Minutes later the scene was repeated – “Do you know what would look fantastic here? A pig’s ear.” Again, the man gave him that suggestion. And so the orders were repeated, again and again, with the monk asking for other ingredients – a little chorizo, a few grams of bacon, onions and garlic, a few potatoes, slices of bread, a pinch of salt …

Soon the pot began to boil and let out a delicious aroma.

After the friar was eating, the owners of the house, now looking suspicious, asked at the end when the pot was empty and clean.

– And what about the stone?

The friar, a little sly, replies:

– The stone will wash it and take it with me again.!

Curious to try this soup at home? Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

Stone’s Soup

Ingredients

– 750 g of potatoes

– 150 g of streaky bacon

– 1 kg of red beans

– 2 onions

– 2 garlic cloves

– 1 black chorizo

– 1 meat chorizo

– 1 bay leaf

– 1 coriander sauce

– salt and pepper

Preparation

– Soak the beans.

– Take the beans to cook in plenty of water, along with, the chorizo, the bacon, the onions, the garlic and the bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper.

– If necessary, add more boiling water.

– When the meat is cooked, remove and place the potatoes, cut into squares and chopped coriander, in the pan. Let the potatoes cook.

-As soon as the pan is removed from the heat, introduce the previously cut meat and, to respect the tradition, a well washed stone.