http://www.guardian.co.uk/life...o-portuguese-cuisine

Since there have been comments about food of Portugal here's an article about some interesting ones.Even meat free sausage !

I haven't read the previous comments mentioned but FWIW, I moved to Portugal about 18 months ago and have found the cuisine extremely varied from area to area and most of it is really great.

A few observations:

Bacalhau:

Can be really fantastic and there's no end of ways to prepare it but the key is in making sure all the salt is out of fish before cooking.

Cheese:

Lots of good cheese out here but bloody nigh impossible to get a decent cheddar and on the odd occasion you can, it costs a fortune.

Pork:

Is very popular out here and it's generally top notch. The black pig is especially good.

Fish & octopus etc:

I'm told the Portuguese eat more fish than any other race and the choice here is stunning. My only criticism is a lot of the sea bass and a few others are farmed and not a patch on the wild versions. The shellfish is some of the best I've ever had anywhere.

Cakes etc:

Pretty much every village in Portugal has at least one coffee and cake shop and usually more than one and they're an absolute delight to spend time in or even better, sitting outside. Not good for waistline though.

Chourico/sausages

Are extremely varied but most are tip top. There's no end of black pudding type things here and these are especially good.

Coffee:

I always thought the Americans took their coffee seriously but nowhere near as seriously as the Portuguese. Not only is it bloody good stuff but it's as cheap as chips. Coffee and cake for two can usually be had for less than E5.

Booze:

I'm not too keen on the beer out here but the wine, port and agua-diente is stunning and all are often made in local homes. Nearly every house (including my own) has grape vines and an adega (wine making room & storage cellar).

The wines are many, varied, invariably great and most of the best ones are home produced so rarely if ever make it onto the commercial market. As an example, my neighbour keeps me supplied with most of my wine (FOC) and it comes in 5 or 6 litre plastic water bottles. I can honestly say, it's better than some of the RSA wines I've bought for special occasions that cost the equivalent of US$70 per bottle. It's similar to a really good RSA Merlot but deeper, richer & more complex. Most are fairly strong though so caution is advised.

I should say I live right in the heart of what is probably one of the best wine regions in the country though. FWIW, although I get most of my wine for free, local wines can be bought from about E0.50 per litre.

Everyone knows Port but the white Port here is especially good and also very cheap.

Agua-diente is the local home brew white lightning and is a bit too strong for me to enjoy but a splash in coffee is pretty good.

The main thing about Portugal and the Portuguese is they couldn't sell a 15 minute liaison in a house of ill repute and so nothing but nothing is properly marketed and you need to actively investigate to find what's good here and that includes the food and drink....... but that investigation makes for no end of fun!

I'm comin over