Characteristic products

The Algarve is a paradise for lovers of fishing products. On the coastline and even in the nearby lands, it is easy to taste them: grilled, fried, boiled. They are usually excellent, served grilled with salads, grilled peppers or three potatoes and some vegetables. Sardine, sea bream, monkfish, swordfish, tuna, sea bass, sole, mackerel, turbot as well as a host of seafood: octopus, squid, cuttlefish, lobster, crab, prawns and other clams. Often very fresh, fish and seafood are usually cooked with rigour in the great restaurants as well as in typical taverns and regional bistros. The town of Olhão is famous for its lively fish market.

And of course it is impossible not to mention the cod, the emblem of Portuguese cuisine. As early as the Middle Ages, sailboats set out to conquer the cold seas to bring back this manna which is going to dry on the windy beaches. Salted and dried fish is indeed a food that can withstand days of transport in the worst heat and thus offer cheap proteins. Portugal has therefore invented more than 365 recipes based on cod, including the famous brandade, which is the best known recipe in Portugal. It is also the main course of the Christmas meal.

If beef is rare enough we will eat more pork, rabbit or poultry. Cold cuts will be the main dish with presunto or dried ham, the tasty enchidos (sausages and associates), especially chouriço and morcela (black pudding). Many Portuguese cheeses(queijo) are produced in the north of the country and the Azores. They are mostly in the form of more or less thick tommes, often made from sheep's milk.

Pesticos

As in Spain, the Portuguese like to peck at appetizers with a glass of wine, which is called petiscos here. While the classic trio of cold meats, cheeses and olives is the same, in the Algarve there are more elaborate recipes such as amêijoas na cataplana, clams simmered with tomatoes and chouriço, caracóis in Algarvia, snails with sweet pepper and lemon or choquinhos in Joaquim Gomes, small squid sautéed with garlic. Not forgetting the conquisilhas in Algarvia, tellines - shellfish - cooked with garlic and coriander. Carapaus alimados is a recipe of horse mackerel - a fish - marinated with vinegar, onion and olive oil. The conserva de cenouras in Algarvia is a salad of cooked carrots.

The classics of Algarve cuisine

Soups are common starters in Portuguese cuisine. In the Algarve, we can observe the classic arjamolho, quite similar to the Andalusian gazpacho, or the crema de camarão da Quarteira, a shrimp velouté. Other examples include sopa de conquilhas (with tellines), sopa de lingueirão (with knives, a shell), sopa de pão com tom ate (with bread and tomato), sopa de peixe (with fish) or, more exotic, sopa de cação (with shark meat). Otherwise the sopa de feijão à portimonense is a thick soup of white beans while the caldeirada à algarvia

is a soup filled with fish and seafood with potatoes and peppers.

As you can see, the Algarve cuisine is based on seafood. For example,atum à algarvia is a tuna stew simmered with potatoes, tomato and onion. The bife de atum (meaning "tuna steak") is often served with a tomato compote. Of course cod is just as popular here as in the rest of Portugal. One example is the classic bacalhau à algarvia, a kind of shredded cod gratin covered with potato and onion strips. More refined, the cataplana de peixes mistos à algarvia is a stew containing monkfish as well as shrimps and clams, all simmered with tomato and potato. Tamboril com massa is also a stew with monkfish, tomato and small shell-type pasta. Papas de milho com sardinhas is a cream of corn flour close to polenta, flavoured with tomato and served with grilled sardines. Close enough, xarém

is a thick soup made of corn flour, clams and bacon.

On the seafood side, let's mention theaçorda à algarvia, which could be similar to a creamy risotto but based on bread topped with a variety of seafood. Feijoada is a Portuguese speciality - also very popular in Brazil - based on beans and usually meat. In the Algarve, however, it is accompanied by seafood such as cuttlefish (choco), knives (lingueirão) or a variety of seafood (marisco). Otherwise the lulas cheias or squid stuffed with rice in tomato sauce could delight gourmets, as well as ostras à algarvia

, oysters au gratin in the oven with white wine, butter and coriander.

In Portugal rice is cooked by absorption but often contains more broth than paella. There are associations containing cockles (arroz de berbigão), cuttlefish (choco), octopus ( polvo ), monkfish (tamboril) or conger (safio). The arroz de pescada in algarvia

contains white fish, tomato, chilli pepper and lots of parsley. The cabidela de galo à portimonense is a chicken stew that contains the blood of the animal, usually cooked with rice. Otherwise the galinha cerejada à loulé is a tasty recipe of chicken braised with chouriço and smoked bacon. Concerning the meats we can mention the very simple but very tasty assadura à monchique, a grilled pork with garlic and parsley. Another rural dish, the cabrito à bicho is a recipe of grilled kid with potatoes. Earth-sea mixtures are not uncommon, such as lombo de porco à algarvia, a roast pork cooked in a clam sauce. Other dishes are more complete, such as cozido, a speciality halfway between a potée and a cassoulet. The cozido de grão mixes chickpeas, carrots, bacon and sausage while the cozido de repolho à algarvia contains cabbage, beans as well as chouriço and sausages. Otherwise one can be tempted by ervilhas à portimonense (peas, chouriço, tomato and fried egg) or favas à algarvia (beans with chouriço). Finally the fígado de vitela à algarvia is a recipe for veal liver with potatoes and onions.

Desserts and hot drinks

Historically egg yolks were given to the monasteries by the winemakers who used the whites to filter the wine residues. Thus many pastries in Portugal - as in Spain - came from the monastic world. The best example is the pastéis de nata, which originated in Lisbon, but can be found without any problem in the Algrave. Otherwise one could name the famous pudim de agua, a kind of egg pudding without milk, or pudim de laranja, flavoured with orange. You can enjoy more classic cakes such as the bolo amendoado - with almonds - or the bolo de chila - made with mashed pumpkin. Not forgetting the bolo de mel à moda de Sagres flavoured with honey or the morgado de figo

, a very dense cake similar to a fruit paste made from figs.

Egg yolks are used in the composition of fios de ojo, a kind of egg yolk vermicelli cooked in a sugar syrup. This preparation is used to make the florados de Lagoa and the Dom Rodrigo. Also noteworthy are the beijinhos de amêndoa and the queijinhos de amêndoas, two small almond-based cakes, not forgetting the morgado de Silves

, a pumpkin paste cake with almonds, covered with a richly decorated white icing. The alfarroba or carob was introduced to Southern Europe by the Moors to feed animals. This tree produces enormous pods whose pulp and flour are sometimes used to imitate chocolate and cocoa in the country. In Portugal, coffee is delicious. Tasting this hot drink is a real institution and, moreover, coffee still plays an important social role in everyday life, especially in the Algarve where, as soon as the fine weather returns, cafés do not hesitate to open their terraces. Coffee comes in different forms such as bica (espresso), bica pingada (espresso with a drop of milk), galão (large coffee with milk), carioca (light espresso) and café com cheirinho (espresso with a drop of brandy or aguardente).

Wines & Beers

Portugal can pride itself on being one of the 10 largest wine producing countries in the world. The clichés have a hard skin and it is often reported that the Algarve does not produce good wine. Although it is not Portugal's leading wine-producing region, far behind the Alentejo and the Douro, there are nevertheless many wineries that produce quality wines that deserve to be discovered and tasted. The Algarve offers an ideal natural amphitheatre for wine, the sun is present more than 300 days a year and the soil is sandy and clayey. Recently, producers have been using international varieties such as Sauvignon or Chardonay. The Algarve region benefits from four Appellations of Controlled Origin: Lagoa, Lagos, Portimao and Tavira. In the Algarve, you will find local wines, but also wine imported from other regions of Portugal.

While wine is very popular, the Portuguese also love beer or cerveja. You can ask for a 50 cl caneca or a 25 cl imperial of lager(loirinha) or dark beer(preta). Two main brands share the market: Super Bock and Sagres, but there are others, such as Cintra and Imperial. Otherwise, you can also try the medronho, an arbutus brandy, the fruit of a local tree. It has found its preferred place in the hills and valleys of the Algarve, especially in the Serra do Monchique.