Portuguese cuisine -- what's your favourite dish?

Question

A friend and I are going to a restaurant with really good, traditional Portuguese food. I've never had Portuguese food before -- do you have a favourite dish you would recommend?

Don't respond with "It would depend on the retaurant"... I know. I just want to know what your favourite dish is and I'll look for it on the menu.

Thanks!

Answer 1

You can start with cheeses, Traditional Portuguese cuisine does not include cheese in its recipes, so it's eaten by itself before or after the main dishes. Well known cheeses are Queijo de Azeitão, Queijo de Castelo Branco and Queijo da Serra da Estrela (D.O.P.) which is very strong in flavour, can be eaten soft or more matured. Serra da Estrela is handmade from fresh sheep milk and thistle-derived rennet

Or you might start with caldo verde, made from potato, thinly chopped collard greens and slices of chouriço.

Combine this with Vinho Verde, or green wine, is a specific kind of wine, which can be red, white or rosé, and is only produced in the northwest (Minho province). The term "Green wine" does not refer to the colour of the drink but to the fact that this wine needs to be drunk "young". A Green wine should be consumed as a new wine while a "maduro" wine usually can be consumed mature. Green wines are only produced in the north of the country and are usually slightly sparkling. Portuguese wine is of high quality and in last years has been considered by specialists among the best in the world.

Main dish I recommend
Caldeirada is a stew consisting of a variety of fish and shellfish with potatoes, tomato and onion.

Other option is a common Portuguese dish, mainly eaten in Winter, is the cozido à portuguesa, Its composition depends on the cook's imagination and budget. A really lavish cozido may take beef, pork, pork sausage, salt pork,hard ham, potatoes, carrots, turnips, chickpeas, cabbage and rice.

And the third option I can recommend is Alcatra, beef marinated in red wine and garlic and then roasted.


For dessert the Portuguese enjoy rich egg-based desserts. These are often seasoned with spices such as cinnamon and vanilla. Perhaps most popular is leite-creme (a set egg custard). Also popular is arroz doce (a typical and popular rice pudding, a must in Christmas time parties), although aletria (a similar dish this time based upon a kind of vermicelli), is common.

Be sure to try oporto, Port wine is a fortified wine of distinct flavour produced in Douro normally served with desserts.

Answer 2

Start with Caldo Verde (soup)

Then go for any Bacalhau (Cod) dish they have. NOTHING compares to it. There are many ways to prepare it. Each restaurant has a different way to prepare it.
I grew up in Brazil (which was discovered by Portugueses) and their cuisine is very strong there.

Answer 3

Alentejana, which is a pork and clam combination dish cooked with white wine, tomatoes, onions and garlic simmered until all the flavors mingled together! It's delicious and spicy! At home I also add or substitute mussels, and ladle it over pasta or rice.

Answer 4

For a restaurant i think the best Portuguese dish is "cozido à portuguesa". It is a very simple and yet a very sophisticated recipe!

You can find it here
http://www.internationalrecipes.net/recipes/view.pl?1298

Another excellent dish for a restaurant menu is "Frango na Púcara"
http://www.internationalrecipes.net/recipes/view.pl?3995

"Carne the porco alentejana" is also very interesting. One recipe here http://uktv.co.uk/index.cfm/uktv/food.recipe/aid/517559

The very popular soup "Caldo verde" is a must.
http://uktv.co.uk/index.cfm/uktv/food.recipe/aid/511870

Answer 5

I don't know the real name, but there's a dish that has chicken and root veggies thats baked with a yellow sauce that tastes milder than curry. It searved usually with fried rice.

Answer 6

Caldo Verde (Kale Soup)