Top 05 Food to Try Out in Lisbon – Forget Weight Watchers and Tuck In

This dish is just one of many that show the Portuguese love for olive oil, in fact, a lagareiro translates to mean something like 'in the style of an olive oil producer' or 'he who has a tank of oil at his disposal'. The dish is made by roasting octopus tentacles that have been marinated in salt and garlic, in loads of olive oil. It is eaten together with batatas a murro, punched and boiled potato; punched to loosen the skin.

Alheira has an interesting story behind its invention. It is believed that in the 16th century Jewish families trying to escape Portuguese inquiries pretended to have converted to Christianity. They were however weeded out due to the lack of pork sausages hanging in the pantry. To avoid this Alheira was invented; it is a mix of chicken, bread and garlic – sometimes the game is used instead of chicken, which is made into a sausage and smoked. They have a slight acidic taste and are often served with a fried egg. Most restaurants today will grill or fry the sausage; a must try when eating in Lisbon.

This dish too is made with a 'fake' sausage. Farinheira is a smoked sausage posing off as a pork sausage but made with a mix of fat, flour and the flavouring ingredients of a chourico, which are paprika, garlic and salt. It is a starter dish that is made by adding bits of the sausage to scrambled egg, once cooked the sausage tends to soften to the consistency of a dumpling. Get into the centre of dining action by choosing accommodation that is in central Lisbon; like AVANI Hotels and Resorts you will find loads of good hotels in Lisbon that are within walking distance to the many eat streets and restaurants.

Yes, the Portuguese do love their sausages and seem to have mastered the flavours. This is a dish of cured sausage that is slow cooked in a mix of broad bean stew. The sausage part is made up of three types; farinheira, chourico and morcela which is blood sausage. This together with broad beans are cooked with belly pork and short ribs. Coriander and mint leaves too are added in good quantities to render a rich flavour to the stew.

This is not a dish that will come to your table looking aesthetically pleasing; the name meaning 'stew Portuguese style'. It's made by placing a mix of sausages at the base; on top of this pork and beef chunks that include pork feet, belly, ears and nose are placed. On top of the meat vegetables like cabbage, potato and turnip are added, topped up with water and boiled. The dish despite this unappealing mix turns out to be full of flavour and is often eaten with pasta that is boiled in the resulting broth.