travel diary
Eat and Drink Your Way Through Portugal’s Alentejo up this hearty wonder run long and deep - cider vinegar, bay leaves, pepper, parsley, cloves, onions, garlic, coriander – all of which combine into a soupy pool best sopped up with rustic pão Alentejano (local bread). Think cold winter nights, a glass of Alentejan red and a crackling fire. SERICAIA A typical conventual sweet (desserts traditionally made by nuns in convents). Its origins are said to be Indian or Brazilian depending whom you ask, but was indisputably perfected in Alentejo around the town of Elvas. If you like eggs, sugar and cinnamon, you’re in luck. Baked in the oven and sold in the same dish it is prepared in, the high heat causes the upper layer of egg whites to crack, giving the traditional sweet a notable appearance. It’s often served alongside local plums. It’s merely one sweet delight of many, but one not to miss. The culinary world has delighted in Portuguese cuisine over the last few years, but one of the best regions to indulge your inner foodie on a culinary adventure is Alentejo, where hearty, countryside cuisine may not be the country’s lightest, but surely produces some of Portugal’s most memorable meals. Here are a few treats not to miss when next in the area.
QUEIJO DE SERPA Every region of Portugal has its cheeses and it will take you ages to work your way through them all. In Alentejo, start with this
AÇORDA Most cultures have had a historical use for day-old bread and the Portuguese are no exception. This soppy dish, served throughout the country but especially in Alentejo, consists of mushed rustic bread with coriander, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, water, white pepper, salt and poached eggs. Often called bread soup, it has a porridge-like consistency than soup. In other parts of Portugal it can take on a seafood twist, with shrimp or salted cod added. Doused with a bit of peri-peri hot sauce, it’s a dream. ENSOPADO DE BORREGO Simmered to tenderness levels that will turn your taste buds on end, this traditional Alentejan braised lamb stew epitomizes home cooking in the region for many. The ingredients that make
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