ANGELICA G WRITES

I’ve been living in Portugal for coming close to 2 years now, and what still baffles me is how I spent 22 years of my life without ever tasting any of this crazy good food. I grew up in Australia, which I consider a very multicultural country. I mean, according to the Australian Human Rights Commission, one in four of Australia’s 22 million people were born overseas. You can find almost every type of cuisine in Australia’s big cities, and for me, that’s one of the best things about the country. When my friends and I would go out into the city (in Sydney – where I’m from) for dinner, we always knew we would get great food whether we chose Korean, Japanese, Thai, Italian, Mexican or others. The options are endless, and you can really feel the authenticity of each cuisine.  But somehow, despite all of the multiculturalism and diversity of cuisines in Australia, I had never tried Portuguese food until I visited Portugal for the first time in March 2018.

Now, I take full responsibility for this, if I really wanted to, I’m sure that I could’ve found some great Portuguese restaurants in Sydney, especially in the ‘Little Portugal’ of Sydney- a neighbourhood called Petersham. But truth be told, I just had no idea what Portuguese food consisted of. The biggest ‘well-known’ Portuguese food joints in Australia that I’m aware of -are all grilled chicken restaurants (usually takeaway) like Nandos, Oporto & Frangos. From what these restaurants were selling, one would think that all Portuguese food was chicken burgers with Piri Piri sauce. I’m embarrassed to say that back then, my naïve and unaware self would’ve probably thought that Portuguese cuisine was essentially Spanish cuisine- tapas bars and sangria. I know, I know……

Ever since I first visited Portugal, I’ve found myself regularly asking myself the question: Why doesn’t the world REALLY know about Portuguese food? After meeting & starting a relationship with my Portuguese boyfriend, and moving my life to Lisbon in 2019, my appreciation and respect for Portuguese cuisine has grown significantly. Something I’ve found so interesting is that around 95% of the Portuguese people I meet & talk to- think their cuisine is the best in the world. And I have learnt to understand why they think so. It’s fucking good. I’ve been thinking how each world cuisine usually has some key characteristics that define it. For example (and in my opinion): Italian- tomatoes, pasta, olive oil. French – butter, cream, cheese, butter. German- potatoes, pork, cabbage. Mexican- corn, avocado, chilli. I know I’m really generalizing here, but just go along with me.

Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love all of those cuisines, however what’s so unique about Portuguese cuisine is that it’s so incredibly varied. It’s hard to pinpoint just 2 or 3 key flavours or ingredients that dominate the entire cuisine. I mean, olive oil is definitely used in almost every meal, but each dish has a special combination of flavours and foods that is unlike any other dish. If you feel like fish, choose from the hundreds of fish dishes available. If you feel like meat, choose from the hundreds of meat dishes available. If you feel like veg, choose from the (well maybe not hundreds!), but many veg dishes available.

I attribute the vast diversity of Portuguese cuisine partly to the long and captivating history of Portugal- which has seen so many different civilizations and cultures both settle in and pass through the country over time. The Portuguese were also huge explorers and discoverers, bringing various spices and other foods from different parts of the globe over time. When you look closely at the food, you can definitely see bits of Islam, Africa and South & East Asia intermingled throughout the cuisine. I bloody love that. I believe that when cultures come together, whether that be in society or in food – magical things arise. And that for me is why Portuguese food is so fascinating, and so delicious. I’ll be posting more about specific Portuguese dishes that I’ve fallen in love with soon, stay tuned!