Five fab Portuguese foods!

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1. Liquid gold

There are endless olive groves in Portugal. Olive oil is the basis of Portuguese cooking - to slow-cook salt-cod, dribble into soups or simply to soak up with hot-from-the-oven bread.

Exports have quadrupled over the past decade as the world wakes up to the quality of Portugal's liquid gold, either from big-time producers like Gallo and Oliveira da Serra, or hand-crafted, single-farm oils.

2. Bacalhau

Apparently, Portugal has 365 recipes for cooking salt cod. In fact, there are many more.

Bacalhau is served "a bras" with scrambled eggs, olives and fries; as fish cakes ‘pasteis de bacalhau’, barbequed, oven-baked or simply boiled with cabbage and carrots, then drizzled in olive oil. Bacalhau is always close to the Portuguese soul.

3. Say queijo

Portugal's cheeses are sumptuous but still relatively unknown. Creamy Serra da Estrela from the milk of ewes raised in Portugal's loftiest mountain range; hard, pungent cow's-milk cheeses made on the precipitous mid-Atlantic slopes of Sao Jorge Island; or peppery Terrincho produced in remote Tras-os-Montes, remain largely unknown.

4. So much wine

For a small country, Portugal makes an astounding variety of great wines.

There are summery vinho verdes from the green northwest, full-bodied reds and fruity whites from Douro, Dao and Alentejo. Bubbly from Bairrada, honeyed Moscatel from Setubal, not forgetting legendary port and Madeira vintages.

5. Pastel de nata

These cinnamon-sprinkled rich egg custard tarts were invented before the 18th century by Catholic monks in Lisbon's Belem district. As convents and monasteries used large quantities of egg whites for starching the nuns’ habits, the leftover egg yolks were used to make cakes and pastries. These tarts are perfect with a coffee at any time of day.

The Portuguese love good food and cooking using the freshest local ingredients - this deeply rooted simple joy infuses all aspects of life. Imagine sampling these delights from your own dream home in the sun. Contact our team of experienced Property Advisors: info@PortugalProperty.com or call us on +351 308 800 878 or 0800 014 8201 free from the UK.

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