gastronomy
Eat to your heart's content
No holiday is complete without delicious food and drink to enjoy. Thankfully, Portugal is full of unique eating and drinking options sure to whet your appetite and quench your thirst! These are just some of the delectable opportunities available as you travel in your VW camper.
lamprey
Looks can be deceiving
Lamprey is an ancient species of eel-like fish, and while they may not be much to look at, they can make for quite a tasty meal.
It is very popular in Portugal as a dish served with rice.
Served in a variety of styles the black pork of Alentejo is famous throughout Portugal. It is eaten as stew, ribs, roast or most famously as a Bifana. This is a piece of pork served in a bun with mustard chilli oil and garlic. Eaten all day from morning snacks to post club comedowns.
ALHEIRA
Alheira is a famous type of Portuguese sausage made with meats other than pork and break. Garlic is another common ingredient, making for an aromatic flavour which you’ll want to keep ordering again and again.
Bacalhau is dried and salted cod, Portugal's national dish. It is said there is a recipe for every day of the year, however most Portuguese agree there are many more than that. It is often served on Christmas Eve, but you can enjoy it at any time of year.
These expensive and peculiar looking crustaceans are a unique Portuguese delicacy, and much like the lamprey, taste much better than they look. It is said you can taste a little bit of the sea in every one. They are harvested from below the tide line in areas of very rough surf, a pretty risky undertaking
ginjinha
Another popular native drink of choice is Ginjinha, which is a delicious liqueur made by infusing ginja berries. It is most often associated with Obidos, served in a shot glass or even a glass made of chocolate, and is notoriously refreshing.
Like its more famous siblings "Porto Branco" (white port) comes exclusively from the Upper Douro valley. Uniquely, however, it is often served in a tall glass mixed with ice and tonic, the perfect drink to sip while watching the sun set into the ocean.
The strawberry tree is a shrub which bears its fruit all year round. Not only is the fruit delicious, the plant is also beautiful thanks to the combination of green foliage, white flowers and red fruits, making for the perfect Portuguese palette cleanser.