Delicious’ first project trip: Lisbon (Portugal). Part 1
DELICIOUS project aims to raise awareness on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle. Sustainable, local and seasonal ingredients, as well as physical activity are part of the Mediterranean culture and way of life and have been internationally recognised as one of the healthiest. Our consortium consists of 7 case studies in 5 Mediterranean countries: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Egypt and Lebanon. In order to get to know the gastronomy and lifestyle of these countries, part of our team will be travelling to those locations to capture the Mediterranean essence in each of them and taking notes for the rest of the project tasks.
The first stop on the way was Lisbon, the beautiful capital of Portugal, where two of the school case studies are located: Maristas Carcavelos and Maristas Lisboa. Part of the team travelled there to visit the schools and sense the city life, street foods, restaurants, bars, cafés, bakeries and typical gastronomy. Portugal is a country with a very long coastline where fish – especially sardines and cod (bacalhau) – is a very important part of the Portuguese cuisine.
Pasteis de bacalhau (cod pastries)
One of the city’s specialities are the pasteis de bacalhau (cod pastries). Below you can see some pictures.
These balls are made out of potato, cod, onion, eggs and spices like parsley. They are formed and then deep fried. It is possible to eat them on their cold or hot version as appetizers or as a meal accompanied with other food. There are hundreds of recipes of this fish, as it is really typical in the country.
Sardines
The sardines have a long story in all Portugal. They used to be not very much appreciated, besides being really typical, but they experienced such a boom, that nowadays it is forbidden to pass preserved sardines tins in the airport. Portuguese people as well as foreigners started to value this tasty fish in its two typical Portuguese versions: grilled and preserved.
Pasteis de nata
If we talk about the sweet side, there is a clear winner among all: pasteis de nata, or typically known as pasteis de Belém. It is said that these pastries started to be prepared in Belém, outside Lisbon. They are made out of a pastry dough and the filling has a base of egg yolk, milk and sugar. They really look tasty. Don’t they? As you can see, long ques are formed in front of the main pastry factory to enjoy them.
Portuguese gastronomy in general involves a lot of dish recipes, but also meat ones consisting on mainly beef and pork. There are also a lot of stew recipes which can combine clams and meat, meat with legumes and fish or meat with vegetables. Also, grilling fish and meat is quite typical. Our team took good notes of street food, restaurants, pastry shops, markets and the most beautiful venues in Lisbon. What is your favourite Portuguese dish?
