What do you get when you enjoy a Mediterranean climate, the Atlantic ocean to your left, a seafaring heritage, and a plentiful harvest to your right? If you're thinking of the Portuguese cuisine, you would be correct. And the Algarve, the southernmost region of Portugal and the home to resort towns such as Albufeira, highlights a delicious blend of geography and history.

With the rich natural resource of the Atlantic coastal waters close by, this region has embraced the sea and its bounty in its cuisine. In addition to its fishing industries, this region has also developed aquaculture of sole, sardine, bream, cyprinid, and clam. For the visitor, this means that fish and seafood dishes sparkle in their freshness. Many Albufeira Hotels have excellent restaurants, well worth a try.

Fish Dishes

Popular fish dishes include the iconic Bacalhau, made from salted dried cod; Carapaus, or horse mackerels, which is generally boiled and served up with sweet potatoes, potatoes, or tomatoes; cuttle fish, or "chocos," generally served in a salad or fried with garlic in their own ink; or charcoal-grilled local fish, such as swordfish, snapper, bream, red mullet, sea bass, or sole, often served up with only sea salt and a squeeze of fresh lemon.

Sardines are ubiquitious, and show up at your table either freshly grilled, or served up as locally produced sardine paste in a starter course with bread, olives and butter.

The hunt for tuna was once a major fishing industry here, and recipes still abound for all parts of this fish. "Estupeta" is a salad made in part with thinly sliced raw tuna. A grilled tuna steak will generally be served with either a tomato or onion sauce. However, tuna also features in a wide variety of stews, soups, and other preparations.

Seafood Dishes

Popular seafood dishes include prawns, whether fried, boiled, or grilled; crawfish, or "lagosta," boiled and served up cold or hot; local oysters; clams in the "Bulhão Pato" style, simmered with olive oil, white wine, coriander, garlic and onions, and eaten with crusty bread on the side; and "Perceves," or goose barnacles, generally eaten with a dish of sweet potatoes.

Squid might be eaten stuffed, such as in the "Lulas Grelhadas" dish; fried with garlic; grilled; or served in a salad.

Combination Dishes

Some of the most beloved Portuguese cuisine comes in a combination of flavors. Seafood rice, dubbed "Arroz De Mariscos," cooks together shellfish, rice and tomatoes. The famed Cataplana combines shellfish--usually clams--with sausage and bacon in a copper pan which steams the contents and was brought to this region by the Moors. The Moors also introduced the dish called Xarém, in which shellfish and fish are cooked up with herbs in a maise-meal base. The Algarve's Caldereida blends both fish and shellfish flavors into a fisherman's stew.

One Portuguese dish which combines both pork and clams, Porco com amêijoas à Alentejana, is a noteworthy dish marrying land and sea flavors.

Meat Dishes

Bifanas are a marinated pork sandwich served at lunchtime; espetas are either a meat or seafood kebab. Portuguese beef steak, called "Bife," is cooked with thinly sliced ham. Chouriço, a spicy sausage which hales from the upland area of the Algarve, is another tasty treat. Smoked ham is called "Presunto."

Two combination dishes are well-known in the Algarve: Cozido à portuguesa, a stew featuring sausages, various meat choices, rice, beans and vegetables; and Feijoda, which has Brazilian fame but originated in northern Portugal. Trust the Algarve to add the treasures of the Atlantic to this dish: this region has substituted shellfish for pork in some of the local variations.

Colonial influences are evident in the fiery Chicken Piri Piri.

Other Tastes

And how can you visit the Algarve without sampling the national dish of Caldo Verde? Made throughout the country and in a variety of settings, this thick potage features curly kale, “chouriço” sausage, garlic and potatoes.

Alcoholic beverages include "vinho verde," a sparkling vintage; "aguardente;" and port wine. Portuguese cheeses include delicious versions made from sheep's milk, goat's milk, and cow's milk.

With orange, almond, carob bean and fig orchards dotting the Algarve, diners are assured of wonderful desserts. The Moors have contributed the use of honey and almonds to the local cuisine. Try "arroz doce," Portugal's take on rice pudding; Dom Rodrigos, which are sweets created from almonds and eggs; egg custard tarts called “Patéis de nata;” and chocolate, almond and fig sweets called "quiejo de figo." Those with a sweet tooth will also be interested in “filhós," a Portuguese doughnut; or "morgados," a sweet made from figs, almonds, cocoa, cinnamon, and lemon zest.

Much more exiting than fish and chips or hamburgers, don't you agree?

So do try the local cuisine at your albufeira hotel, or at any of the many Albufeira restaurants specializing in local dishes. You won't regret it.

 

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