National_Geographic_Traveller_UK_June_2017

EAT
A TASTE OF
Alentejo
Carlos Barros of Arte e Sal
RIGHT: A range of sweet
desserts at Fialho
This place, owned by the jovial José Ramos
Cardoso, or Celso to his friends, grills
fish over a huge charcoal grill and offers
fantastic petiscos (snacks) as well as prawns
with garlic, and coriander and rice with
sweet, fragrant clams. The wine list here
is enormous, celebrating some of the 300
or so wine producers in the region, as well
as across Portugal. Celso presents me with
a plate of Serpa, which he says is the best
cheese in the Alentejo — aged for at least 30
days, it’s moist and creamy and I find myself
murmuring blissed-out agreement.
At the Saturday market in the town of
Estremoz, in the eastern part of the province,
I sample the various Portuguese sausages
that are a highlight of the region — chouriço,
linguiça, morcela and farinheira, the latter
an Alentejo speciality made from bread and
pork fat. As well as wonderful fresh produce
here, there’s a fabulous flea market. When I’m
done snacking, I head across the main town
square to Restaurante Mercearia Gadanha,
where those stunning tomatoes are presented
as fantastica sopa fria — a cold soup dressed
with strawberry, prawn and a basil ice. The
flavour is amazing. A puff pastry of partridge
(a local speciality) takes the Portuguese
fondness for pies and pastries to another level.
Some of the best places to get a true taste
of Alentejo are the vineyards themselves.
Herdade da Malhadinha Nova has a restaurant
on its estate, but I eat in the smaller dining
room in the country house. Here, I watch chefs
assemble plates that combine produce from
the estate with that of the wider region. Skilled
hands marry prawns with asparagus and
seared acorn-fed pork, all of it matched with
wine produced right outside the door.
At Herdade do Sobroso Country House,
in Baixo Alentejo, I meet winemaker Filipe
Machada and his wife Sofia, owners of a
4,000 acre property, of which just 130 acres
is cultivated for wine. Over lunch, Sofia
explains that they like to keep the food very
traditional. There’s good sheep’s cheese, their
own honey, salt cod croquettes and chicken
pies, and then a main course of cozido de grão,
a stew of chickpeas with lamb, pork, veal and
sausage. As I taste Filipe’s wine, I learn how
the nearby town of Vidigueira — ‘land of the
wine’ — brought the first gold medal for wine
back to Portugal more than 100 years ago. And
how, many years after he discovered India,
returning home with ingredients that would
change the cooking of his country and the
rest of Europe forever, 15th-century explorer
Vasco da Gama retired to this corner of the
Alentejo. As I glory in the simplicity of the
place, I can see why that great explorer would
happily settle into some lovely twilight years
under these astonishing blue skies.
visitalentejo.pt/en
TAP Portugal flies direct to Lisbon from Heathrow,
Gatwick, London City and Manchester. flytap.com
Herdade de Maladinha Nova offers double rooms
from £209; Convento do Espinheiro from £142,
including wine tasting. malhadinhanova.pt/en
conventodoespinheiro.com/en
ARTE E SAL
The day’s catch is laid out and
you can eat on the terrace by the
waves of the Costa Vicentina.
Owner Carlos Barros knows
everything about Portuguese fish,
but will bring a book to the table
to help you understand what’s
on offer. On my visit there were
petiscos of octopus salad and
home-made duck liver pate, and a
main of grilled sargo (sea bream).
HOW MUCH: Three-course dinner
from £20 per person (without
wine) but expect to pay more
should you order a big fish.
en.rotavicentina.com
FIALHO, EVORA
The tables of the region’s mostfamous
restaurant heave with
traditional Alentejo cuisine.
Meat pastries (pastéis de massa
en tenra) are glorious, as are the
chicken pies. Desserts include
encharcada, an Alentejo dish
of bruléed egg yolks, sugar and
cinnamon, and serricaia (an eggy
pudding) with sugared plums.
HOW MUCH: Three-course dinner
from £21 per person, without wine.
restaurantefialho.pt
DIVINUS RESTAURANT,
CONVENTO DO ESPINHEIRO
A stunning setting inside this
ancient convent is matched
with cooking that takes Alentejo
cuisine up a notch. Chef Bouazza
Bouhlani offers dishes such as
scrambled eggs with local, wild
asparagus and a trilogy of Alentejo
pork with asparagus migas (fried
richly-flavoured breadcrumbs).
HOW MUCH: Three-course dinner
from £35 per person, without wine.
divinusrestaurante.com
IMAGES: AUDREY GILLAN; VISIT PORTUGAL
58 natgeotraveller.co.uk