Portugal in 2020
/PORTUGAL!!! There – I've said it. I am adding a new tour to my offerings in Europe for September 2020. I first visited Portugal in 2001 when I was writing about food and fado (fado is the achingly beautiful singing that is principally performed in Lisbon), both of which are utterly langourous and delicious. I discovered, to my surprise that Portuguese food was the best kept secret in Europe and that the Portuguese people are sweet, serious and kind.
This tour is concentrated in southern Portugal – Lisbon, Evora and Algarve so we will be eating fabulous food – lots of fresh fish like grilled sardines, trout & octopus, crabs, clams and oysters, bacalao salt cod, smoked sausages, chourico, presunto cured smoked ham, pork, morcelas black pudding, pomegranates, figs, aromatic goat & sheep's cheese, fabulous Portuguese bread, lamb slow cooked with bacon, red wine & nutmeg, tomato jam, custard tarts, chocolate salami ... the list goes on! We will learn how to paint traditional Portuguese azulejos (tiles), drink port (which comes from Porto), drink zesty, lemony, green wine vinho verde (referring to its youth, not the colour which is white) and drink lusciously fruity red Alentejo wine. I'll be using my fabulous friends at Mimo Algarve to manage this tour .... they do such an amazing job for me on my Basque tour – why would I go anywhere else .. you can't beat perfection! So what are you waiting for .... bookings are OPEN!
Peta Mathias Culinary Adventures Portugal – in a nutshell
When – 13-19 September 2020
Where – Lisbon, Evora, Algarve
Cost – Euro 3,575 per person (based on twin share)
Full details – visit the Portugal tour website page
Maximum of 12 guests
We spend our first 3 nights in Lisbon – the biggest, hippest, snootiest city in Portugal with the maddest footpaths made from wave-pattern mosaic tiles. After the earthquake of 1755, it was redesigned with practicality, symmetry and grandeur in mind, so is graced with wide avenues, stone pillars and a grid pattern of streets leading inland down to the elegant, burnt pink Praca do Comércio at the river. We will visit the bohemian quarter of Bairro Alto, full of narrow roads, peeling balconied houses, bars and fado houses. There's lots of good street food in Lisbon, great markets and exciting cooking lessons. By the way, the Portuguese make really good shoes – just saying for the shoppers.
Next we head to Evora for a night – the stunning, medieval, white walled city inland from Lisbon in the Alentejo region – it is a gastronomic stronghold, has a chilled out vibe and is unusually beautiful with its strong pure colours, white houses and endless blue sky. It sits on the gentle slopes of a wide hill on the dry, red Alentejan plain surrounded by olive trees, wheat fields and vineyards. They eat pork and clams together – some people like it, some don't. They also make a really good duck and rice dish, thick soups, quinces baked in port and butter, pastries full of honey, pinenuts, orange water and almonds. Most Portuguese olive oil is produced in this region – mild, sweet, fruity and well-balanced.
Our final 2 nights are spent in the Algarve – the fabulous amphitheatre facing the sea, rich with almond, carob, olive and fig trees and acres of juicy navel orange trees. The country roads are lined with bright yellow buttercups, the pink -tinged white blossoms of quince trees, irises, mimosa, golden narcissi, jonquils and red and white asphodels. They grow strawberries, tomatoes, grapes for the local red wine and avocados. There are roof terraces, skinny chimneys and inner patios and the people look different - darker skinned and more extrovert and hot-blooded, unlike the rest of Portugal. The evenings are fragrant and purple and the sea is transparent with gaily painted fishing boats. We will have cooking classes and a boat trip for oyster tasting.