The range of cuisine on offer in the county of Portel is rich and varied. There are a thousand and one varieties of açorda (a kind of bread-based stew) and soup, as many as the imagination will allow - açordas and soups made with dogfish, garlic; others of purslane, tomatoes, broad beans, and still others with fried meat, depending on the season of the year. All of them of course make use of the magnificent olive oil from Portel, an essential ingredient.

In winter, pork is an important component of the migas (or bread soups), boiled stews with chickpeas or rechina (pig-blood soups). After a pig killing, pork offal prepared with blood is the compulsory dish, as are the various kinds of high-quality chorizos and blood sausages. As this is a region of game, you should not miss the chance to try out the many dishes based upon venison, wild boar, rabbit, hare and partridge.

The local people also retain some traditional habits, such as, in February and March, collecting cilarcas, a variety of mushroom that is a compulsory ingredient in the calducho (kind of migas with cod and pennyroyal), and in the lamb stews. Herbs like pennyroyal or river mint are precious condiments for dishes prepared with river fish.

Cheeses made of goats’ and sheep’s milk, and honey, are other specialities of the county. There are also regional sweets, such as the famous puff pastry cakes filled with chila (a kind of gourd); the bolo podre (literally ‘rotten cake’) of Portel, honey cake, pupias (cakes made of flour, eggs and lard) and biscuits. There are also fried sweets, like filhoses, corn pastries, borrachos or bêbados – prepared for Christmas and at Carnival, alongside sweet rice, which completes a vast range of irresistible specialities.