Top 15 Portuguese tapas you won’t want to miss!

November 19, 2021

Let’s start at the beginning. What is a “petisco”? As I was writing this article, I thought how best to explain it. And finally I’ve got it! Well, some Portuguese might not appreciate this comparison, but … You could call petiscos, Portuguese tapas, the equivalent of tapas in Spain, but obviously just in form, the recipes are of course “à la portugaise”.

Why did I make this comparison? Let’s face it, Spanish tapas are world-famous. If you talk to someone about tapas, they’ll immediately know what you’re referring to. But if you mention “petiscos” to someone, they’ll look at you strangely, without knowing what you’re referring to. And yet, petiscos have nothing to envy to the famous Spanish tapas, they’re just less well known. But if you’re reading this article, petiscos will hold no secrets for you.

As you’ll have gathered from this brief introduction, petiscos are typically Portuguese dishes, served in small portions to share as an aperitif, starter or aperitif-dinner drink. In fact, the verb “petiscar” in Portuguese means “to nibble”, which illustrates the principle behind petiscos.

There are many petiscos, and I discovered plenty of them via Food Lover Tour, during a gastronomic tour last year. I can’t give you an exhaustive list of all these little Portuguese tapas, but today I’d like to introduce you to 15 not to be missed during your stay in Portugal.

1 – Pão com Chouriço (bread with chouriço)

Quite simply, it’s bread baked in a wood-fired oven. The bread resembles a small baguette filled with chouriço (note that chouriço is not like Spanish chorizo – it’s much less pungent and more smoky). I recommend you eat it slightly warm for even more flavor … Delicious! I’m salivating just talking about it. This article is off to a good start! I’m not going to be able to write it without nibbling, or should I say “petiscar”!

Pão com chouriço

2 – Bolo do Caco / Bolo Lêvedo com alho (bread with butter and garlic)

I’m a big fan of these two breads, which are often eaten as petiscos. You can’t find them everywhere on the mainland because they come from the Portuguese islands. The first is from Madeira and the second from the Azores.

The Bolo do Caco is made with wheat flour, sweet potato, yeast, salt and water, giving it a delicious, slightly sweet taste. This bread doesn’t need an oven to be baked. Traditionally, it was baked on a basalt stone called a “caco”, hence the name. The bread was then heated over coals. Today, most people use a frying pan to bake them. It’s easily recognized by its shape. The bolo do caco is round and very flat. It comes in petiscos with garlic butter. A real delicacy!

The bolo do caco has a cousin: the bolo lêvedo. The Bolo Lêvedo has false airs of the bolo do caco and also has that delicious slightly sweet taste. It can be eaten in petiscos with garlic butter like bolo do caco.

Bolo do caco

Bolo Lêvedo, beurre à l’ail et au persil

Queijos (cheeses)

In Portugal, unlike in France, cheese is not eaten between your main course and your dessert. Cheese is eaten more as a petiscos, before your meal. There are a host of Portuguese cheeses, mainly made from sheep’s and goat’s milk. Among the best-known are :

Evora cheese in Alentejo.

Fromage da Serra da Estrela: the oldest Portuguese cheese (19th century).

Azeitão cheese, from ewe’s milk, Setúbal district.

São Jorge cheese from cow’s milk, native to the Azores.

Queijos

4. Charcuterie

In Portugal, cured meats are also eaten in petiscos, and there are many to choose from, including the best-known:

La morcela is a type of Portuguese black pudding (called morcilha or chouriço in Brazil).
Farinheira is a Portuguese smoked sausage, made mainly from pork meat and fat, garlic and paprika.
Presunto is a dry-cured ham, similar to the one we’re used to seeing in Spain.
L’ alheira is a traditional Portuguese sausage characterized by its horseshoe shape. It is smoked. One of the 7 wonders of Portuguese gastronomy, I tell you all about its special history in my article Portuguese gastronomy: a cuisine to discover
Chouriço is surely Portugal’s best-known charcuterie. It’s a smoked pork sausage. Not to be confused with the fattier, spicier Spanish chorizo. Chouriço is usually seasoned with paprika, garlic, cumin and white wine. The most common way to enjoy it is flambéed with brandy in a specially designed container, like the one in the photo below.

Chouriço assado

5- Rissóis (fritters)

Rissóis are small fried doughnuts in the shape of a half-moon, to be eaten hot or cold. They come in a variety of flavors, the best known being :

Les Rissóis de Camarão : shrimp fritters
Les Rissóis de Leitão : suckling pig fritters

Rissois

6- Gambas à Guilho or Gambas ao alho (garlic shrimp)

It’s simply shrimp with olive oil, garlic and bread. Mind you, if you take this petiscos, even if your mom has always told you that it’s bad to sauce, you’ll be tempted to take a piece of bread and dip it in the olive oil/garlic that has taken on the taste of the shrimp, and feast until your dish is clean 🙂 100% deliciousness guaranteed.

7- Pastéis / Pataniscas / Bolinhos de Bacalhau (cod fritters)

I’ve already mentioned it in a number of other articles on the blog linked to Portuguese gastronomy, but cod (bacalhau) is a must in Portugal. So it’s not surprising to find cod in petiscos. There are many different cod fritters to choose from. These often vary according to the shape of the fritter.

Pastéis de Bacalhau This is a mixture of potato, egg, parsley and onion that is fried in oil. They are shaped like a dumpling. They are said to have been invented during the monarchy, in 1904. This petisco made it to the final of the 7 wonders of Portuguese gastronomy, but didn’t win (Reminder: to find the 7 wonders of Portuguese gastronomy, go to my article Portuguese gastronomy: a cuisine to discover). For those with a sweet tooth, I recommend you try the one at casa Portuguesa do pastel de Bacalhau. These are pasteis de Bacalhau with cheese from the serra da Estrela. Tell me about it! Yes, purists will take offense because there’s cheese added to Bacalhau pastel, but it’s worth taking offense… because it’s a little nugget to be savored!
Pataniscas de bacalhau Originating in the ancient region of Extremadura, these are shredded pieces of cod fried in a flour-based batter, seasoned with salt and sometimes pepper and parsley. Pataniscas de bacalhau are recognizable by their flat, wafer-like shape.
Bolinhos de Bacalhau Literally “little cod balls”, these resemble cod acras. They’re made with cod, potatoes, eggs, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and parsley.

Pasteis de bacalhau

Pataniscas de bacalhau

Bolinhos de bacalhau

8 – Caracóis (snails)

Whichever country you’re in in the world, if you mention snails in terms of gastronomy, you’ll immediately be reminded of French gastronomy. However, in Portugal, snails are also widely eaten, but they’re nothing like the big French snails you may be familiar with. Portuguese snails are tiny snails that are eaten as petiscos before eating. You’ll find them mainly during the summer months, and you can easily tell which restaurants or bars serve them, as they proudly display on a sign: “Há Caracóis” . They are mainly found in the southern regions of Portugal, from Lisbon to the Algarve. They are cooked with a garlic sauce (very present in Portuguese dishes).

Affiche “Há Caracois”

Caracois

9 – Ovas de bacalhau (cod roe)

Cod roe is a less common petisco than the others presented so far, but it also exists in Portugal. In particular, it can be found in the Setubal region south of Lisbon. The cod roe is cooked, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with fresh coriander. It may look disgusting, but it’s very tasty. The firm texture pairs well with crispy toast.

Ovas de bacalhau

10 – Chocos fritos ( fried cuttlefish )

I continue in the Setubal region, with THE specialty of the town of Setubal: chocos Fritos. A delicious snack with a little lemon juice. You’ll find them in several towns, but I recommend you try them in Setubal, as they’re the town’s specialty.

Chocos fritos

11 – Ameijôas at Bulhão Pato (clams)

These are clams, and all the subtlety of this petisco comes from the broth. The clams are cooked with garlic, olive oil, white wine, fresh coriander and lemon juice. This is undoubtedly one of the most popular summer pesticides.

Ameijoas a bulhão pato

12 – Pica-Pau

Originally from the Ribatejo region, Pica-Pau literally means “wooden pick”, and the dish owes its name to the fact that it is usually eaten with toothpicks. It consists of small pieces of meat marinated in garlic, oil, white wine, bay leaf, piri-piri (ground chili pepper) or mustard. It is usually served with olives and pickled vegetables, such as carrots, onions and cauliflower. You’ll find it in many of Portugal’s tascas. Here, too, you can have bread and gravy 🙂

13 – Moelas (gizzards)

Moelas are chicken or duck gizzards. They are usually sautéed in a pan with a spicy tomato sauce, then served with bread. Traditionally, when you slaughter an animal to eat it in Portugal, you must use all its parts. The gizzards, small organs located in the digestive tract, can be cooked until tender in a rich tomato sauce. This sauce is strongly seasoned with red wine, garlic and bay leaves. They are often served hot with Broa. If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you’ll know that this is MY favorite bread in Portugal. It is a corn bread.

14 – Peixinhos da Horta

Peixinhos da horta

“Peixinhos da horta” literally means “little green fish from the garden”. These are green beans coated in batter and fried. It has nothing to do with fish. It was this petisco that gave rise to the famous tempuras in Japan. I tell you all about it in my article Portugal et Japon: L’influence portugaise dans la cuisine japonaise.

15 – Salada De Polvo / Bacalhau (octopus / cod salad)

If you’re an octopus fan like me, try our octopus salad. Octopus salad consists of boiled octopus cut into small pieces in a marinade flavored with olive oil, vinegar, garlic and fresh herbs such as coriander or parsley. Its sister, cod salad, is prepared in the same way.

Salada de polvo

In conclusion

As you can see, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to petiscos in Portugal, and this article only reveals a tiny fraction of them.

As quickly mentioned in the introduction, last year I was lucky enough to discover many petiscos on a gastronomic tour with Food Lover Tour. If you’re passing through Porto or Lisbon, I highly recommend discovering their tours, which combine Portuguese culture and gastronomy. An atypical way to discover Portugal and its petiscos in particular.

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