Joanna James
Ocean fresh ingredients and lush elements from verdant hills of Portugal go into the delectable dishes of Algarve. Food and wine co-join while spices influenced by a Moorish past add loads of flavour.
Anyone who has tried this amazing dish will eagerly place it on a pedestal as the 'best chicken ever'. It just maybe for the dish is made by grilling chicken that has been carefully marinated in an exotic blend of spices and herbs. Small sized chickens are used for the dish which comes with a fresh salad and potato chips. A favourite and must try it's on the menu of all Vilamoura restaurants.
This is grilled sardines served by the beach, at the local pub and even villages in the hills; it is a dish that symbolises summer. The sardines are seasoned with salt before being put on the grill; it is then served with new potatoes and a crunchy salad. A tasty and healthy meal that's best washed down with a glass of chilled Vinho Verde; this dish should be eaten Bohemian style with your fingers and a slice of bread to soak up the nutritious Omega 3 oils.
Salted cod fish or Bacalhau is a staple Portuguese dish that varies according to the day of the year. Instead of fresh cod the salted variety is used for preparing these dishes since in the olden days salting fish was how it was preserved before the refrigerator. Cod is often the main ingredient in many Portuguese dishes; especially at Christmas.
A lovely spicy dish of Monkfish and rice Arroz de Tamboril is considered a delicacy. The dish is a marriage of fresh herbs and spices and is always a firm favourite at any seafood restaurant. Variations of this dish consist of octopus rice, codfish rice and seafood rice; either way the dish is super when paired with the right wine. Places like EMO accessible to guests at Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort is a fine example of one of Portugal's wine oriented restaurants where every dish is paired with the perfect drink.
Pork and cabbage stew does not get any better than this. A filling country dish that is slow cooked Cozida sees a fin blend of flavours that permeate the meat and vegetables. Pork meat together with cabbage and other seasonal vegetables go into the pot which is a favourite for Sunday lunch.
Feijoada is made with a blend of pork, cabbage, beans and sausage. The most popular version of this dish in Algarve is Feijoada made with whelks or cuttlefish. Either way it is a very flavoursome and filling dish.
Caldeirada is a fish stew that is a combination of white fish, shellfish, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, onions and spices. The success of the dish depends on how well the ingredients are layered for the perfect combination. The final ingredient is a good splash of white wine that together with fresh herbs brings this bubbling pot to the table with the most irresistible aroma.
This is quite simply prawns cooked in various ways. Boiled, fried, sautéed and even cooked with their heads on prawns are a firm favourite. The best is fried prawn with garlic and piri piri sauce.
A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought.
A travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
