Food in Portugal: top 5 of my favourite Portuguese dishes

Food in Portugal is an integral part of Portuguese culture and tradition. In fact, here on this blog, I regularly share articles about Portuguese gastronomy. Why do I do this? For several reasons: because, like me, you’re big gourmets, but also because, in my opinion, discovering a country through its food is very interesting, especially as many Portuguese dishes have a real history.

So today, I’m sharing a rather personal article with you, as I reveal my 5 favorite Portuguese dishes. And I promise, these really are my 5 favorite Portuguese dishes 🙂

1: Chicken – Frango Churrasco

Forget the Sunday roast chicken you buy already roasted at your market or make in your oven at home. In Portugal, no roast chicken, but “Frango no churrasco”, which means “barbecued chicken”. In Portugal, barbecuing isn’t just for summer, it’s all year round! It’s a religion! Almost all chicken and fish is barbecued.

And I have to tell you: “Pun***se, it’s so good like that! For me, grilled chicken in Portugal is the “best chicken in the world” (I don’t own shares in Portuguese poulterers, I assure you). I love it so much that I eat at least one a week. It really is THE safe bet in terms of food in Portugal.

When it comes to accompaniments, this is Portugal! So if you’re used to reading my blog posts, you’ll know that the main accompaniments to many meat dishes in Portugal are French fries and rice. Yes, yes, you read that right: two starchy foods. Something that’s quite unusual in France, whereas in Portugal, it’s the norm! If you’re lucky, you’ll also get a lettuce leaf and a black olive as decoration to say there are vegetables on your plate 🙂 On the other hand, you should know that the fries are not the frozen fries you’re used to getting in restaurants in France, but “real fries” (in Portugal, it’s very rare to get frozen fries). And that makes all the difference!

Frango churrasco

2: The octopus – Polvo à Lagareiro

I can see some of you behind your screens reading “Octopus” and thinking: “Yuck! How can this be one of your favorite dishes”. Yes, it’s true, it’s a special dish and I’m well aware that not everyone likes eating octopus, but I love it, and to tell you the truth … cover your ears if it disgusts you … but … it’s MY FAVORITE DISH in Portugal! I love things with tentacles … hihihi!

Joking aside, if you’ve been following me for a while on the Villa Feria blog, you know that this is my “favorite” dish in Portugal. The dish is said to have originated in the Beira region, an area between the south of the Douro and the north of the Tagus. Octopus is often eaten in Portugal on special occasions, especially Christmas. The dish consists of roasted octopus, generously dipped in olive oil and often accompanied by “batatas a murro”. “Batatas a murro” means “potatoes with a thump”, and are mashed potatoes generously drizzled with olive oil.

Polvo à lagareiro” also includes the word “lagareiro”. You’ll find this word in many Portuguese dishes, such as “bacalhau à lagareiro”. This term refers to the “lagar”, the olive press from which olive oil is made. The “lagareiro” was the “lagar” worker. Thus, dishes that have “à lagareiro” in their title are dishes on which olive oil is generously drizzled.

Polvo à lagareiro

3: Cod – Bacalhau à Brás

There are 365 cod dishes in Portugal, so there’s plenty to go around, isn’t there? Cod is a staple of Portuguese food, but I have to let you in on a little secret: “I’m not a big fan of cod”. However, there’s one dish I love in Portugal, and that’s “bacalhau à Brás”. I’m a total fan!

What’s more, the good news is that it’s a very simple dish to make at home, and even I, a very bad cook, can manage it (you’ll know a lot about me after this article)

Bacalhau à brás is made with crumbled cod, finely chopped French fries, fried onions, eggs, olive, parsley and lots of olive oil, which, as you’ll have gathered, is omnipresent in Portuguese food 🙂 This dish is a favorite of young and old alike! The story goes that the recipe for bacalhau à Brás was invented by Monsieur Brás, a tavern-keeper in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto district.

Bacalhau à brás

4 – Chorizo – Chouriço assado

This must be on your “TO DO LIST” when it comes to eating in Portugal. You can find it just about everywhere. It’s not really a dish, but rather a dish to be shared as an aperitif, a “Petisco” as they call it in Portugal (see my article on petiscos in Portugal). A bit like the Justin Bridou sausage you eat as an aperitif in summer – what a great reference, isn’t it! 🙂

Chouriço in Portugal is not the chorizo you’re used to eating. It’s not spiced like in Spain, but smoked. It’s a pork-based smoked sausage. Chouriço is usually seasoned with paprika, garlic, cumin and white wine.

When you eat it, it’s a little show, as the Portuguese use a traditional earthenware dish exclusively for this purpose, and the chouriço is flambéed with brandy in front of you (see photo below).

Chouriço assado

5 – Duck – Arroz de Pato

Duck rice is a traditional dish from northern Portugal, with a crispy top covered in “chouriço” (the “chouriço” I was talking about earlier). Like bacalhau à brás, it’s a dish I really enjoy, and one that’s easy to make yourself. The great thing about this type of dish is that it’s easy to make, and both young and old love it.

Arroz de pato is said to have originated in Braga and was introduced to Portugal by Spanish women who cooked it to charm men. So, ladies, get cooking! You know what you have to do if you want to charm a man!

Arroz de pato

In conclusion

Now you know everything about my favorite dishes in Portugal. But I must conclude by confessing two things about food in Portugal:

> the 5 dishes I’ve presented are my favorites, but there are plenty of others I love too, like tosta mista, caldo verde, arroz de marisco…

> I’d also strongly advise you to try grilled fish in Portugal: sea bream, sole, sea bass … With its long coastline, fish in Portugal is fresh and delicious.

Enjoy your meal!

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