I make no secret for my unwavering love of Portugal, but ever the hispanophile, I can always argue that people from Andalucía are some of the most passionate people on the planet. There is something about the fiery, passionate nature of Southern Spain…
Whether it’s the 80-something year old man who works in the alimentacion around the corner from my house in Seville, who enthusiastically greets passers-by from his seat, where he has this feet up as he watches sport on the TV; the taxi drivers who, whether they have been on the job for two years or 20 years, will excitedly inform their foreign passengers – regardless of whether or not they can understand their thick Andaluz accent – that Seville is THE best city in the world; or the group of locals whose conversation slowly escalates from words to borderline shouting, although there is no anger in the conversation – only emotion; every expression, every movement, every word, seems to have a good dose of passion. And then, well of course, there is the food.
From the local vendor who barely lets his guests leave without making sure they KNOW that his bar was the first bar in the city to sell this particular wine, the espinacas con garbazos – a tapa which tells its own story about Andalucia’s colourful past, or the proclamation that you’ll never find a better [insert dish here] than in the exact bar you are currently standing, food is something which makes the passion of the Andalucía, and los andaluces, shine through.
But cross the border to Alentejo, the central-southern region of Portugal, and the food there tells a story of passion too. Much more than I ever expected.
There were so many lemon trees to be found on my travels around Alentejo!
The remote Alentejo coastline and Arte e Sal
The village of Sines was nothing more than a small Alentejo fishing village until the 1970s, so given this and our proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, the salty air of which I can smell as soon as I step out of the car, it’s only appropriate that my first meal in Alentejo is going to be one of something that I love. Seafood.
Across the road there is nothing except for wet sand, dark sea, and a horizon of grey skies, but in front of where we have pulled in to park there is a lone building. Our destination for lunch. It’s a restaurant called Arte & Sal, and it is self-proclaimed casa de peixe (house of fish).
Lunch at Arte e Sal in Sines, Alentejo: Mackerel with garlic, clams, blue mussels in tomato sauce and our first of many desserts containing oranges and egg yolk!
On the menu today are clams, blue mussels cooked in a tomato sauce, mackerel with whole garlic, John Dory which is carefully filleted and served on our plates, and a dose of heartwarming hospitality and education about how serious the Portuguese take their food from Carlos Barros, the owner, our lunch host and everything in-between, as well as Ruben, my host during this trip to Alentejo.
Carlos, the owner at Arte e Sal, with the main event of the day – the fresh John Dory fish.
We are the only group dining in the restaurant, but it’s a Monday which is not a popular day for their typical clientele – the locals. Ruben explains that for Portuguese people going to lunch is like going to Church, so despite the fact that Arte e Sal is more than 1.5 hours drive from Lisbon, on the weekends this is a popular place for Lisbon locals to come for lunch.
Although I do mad things in the name of a good food, it does seems like a long way to drag the whole family for a meal. But when Carlos announces that the fish we are eating was still swimming in the sea this morning, I quickly understand why locals would make this pilgrimage. In the name of fresh fish, I would do crazy things too.
Scenery and flowers on my drive around Alentejo.
Horta da Moura and the olive oil tree
Across the complete opposite side of the region, there is a lake that borders Spain and Portugal. It’s one of the largest artificial lakes in Europe, and it is so big that it crosses five municipalities of Alentejo. One of them is Reguengos de Monsaraz, which is home to a small hilltop town, Monsaraz.
This walled town could have been painted on the horizon by Walt Disney. It’s existence is barely known outside of Alentejo, yet it’s one of those places that is not just symbolic of this region, but perhaps of Portugal as a whole.
However, it’s best kept secret is hiding just a few kilometres outside the town at Horta da Moura, a rural hotel and restaurant that has more to offer that some good food and comfortable lodgings which, with their blue and white paint, resemble a typical Alentejo style quinta (farmhouse).
A donkey operated water mill at Horta da Moura, a rural hotel and restaurant in Alentejo.
Walking around the property of Horta da Moura, the sight of a donkey pulling a water mill leaves me feel like I’ve been transported back decades. But in a moment, I’ll feel even further back in time.
We wind down the path through the property, passing under lemon trees, wandering past onion patches, taking photos of flower beds, until we arrive at a large olive tree. Underneath the tree on side is a plaque, and on the other is a table adorned with a red and white table cloth.
How’s that for a birth certificate? This is the official certificate to verify the age of the nearly 3,000 year old tree.
There are several olive trees on the property here on what has been named the Caminho das Oliveiras, the route around the property where the olive trees stand, but this one is extra special.
If there is something still standing in Alentejo that has seen everything over time, it’s this tree. It’s nearly 3,000 years old. And not only that, it’s still producing fruitful harvests.
The nearly 3,000 year old olive tree and our little picnic of olives, olive oil, cheese and wine. Absolutely perfect.
This means that the next part of the afternoon goes as follows: I stand under the 3,000 year old tree, nibble on olives that have come from the tree itself, eat queijo fresco – fresh cheese from Alentejo, and sip on white wine produced from Antão Vaz and Arinto – two grape varieties that are unique to Portugal are classic to this region.
This really is the “farm to table” approach, it really is “KM 0”, but it’s been going on here since before the culinary world even coined these terms.
Look at that amazing cheese!
One of the many quotes about the Portuguese and their food that Ruben has shared with me over the last couple of days is that for Portuguese people “food is pleasure”. Right in this moment, I am definitely feeling it.
The feeling of seeing the producer (the tree) with my eyes, touching the product (the olives) with my hands and tasting the liquid gold (the olive oil) all in the same moment is something that I feel lucky to be able to experience.
Forget those plastic bottles of refined olive oil lining the shelves of the local supermarket or pulling the ring top on a can of commercially produced olives. This is the real deal. This is real life.
The Gastronomic Brotherhood of Evora
Évora is a place that has long been on my Portugal “to visit” map. I guess for foreigners, Alentejo is synonymous with Évora, as it’s generally the only place in the region we know. A place like Évora is one of those places that you can’t describe without clichés and superlatives.
Despite being the capital city of Alentejo, it’s population is less than 60,000 people. It’s one of Portugal’s most beautifully preserved old towns, surrounded entirely by 14th century city walls.
But it’s not the town that I’ve come here to see. I’ve come to visit the premises of the Confraria Gastronomica do Alentejo, the Gastronomic Brotherhood of Alentejo.
The Confraria Gastronomica do Alentejo, the Gastronomic Brotherhood of Alentejo.
When the word “brotherhood” is mentioned I think of religion, something which I pay little attention to in my day to day life. But I guess you could say that activities of the Gastronomic Brotherhood of Évora is kind of like a religion.
A religion where food is God, and the stories and traditions are Jesus and the Virgin Mary, and the purpose is to preserve and protect the gastronomy and the recipes of Alentejo, without disrupting natural evolution. I would be a follower.
I knew that I was here to learn about gastronomy, but the first surprise in store was something a little more, well, entertaining. The Cante Alentejano (Alentejo song) is UNESCO Heritage Protected (yes, you read right!) folk music from Alentejo, and the brotherhood had arranged a local group of singers to perform the song for us.
The group of local men who performed the Cante Alentejano, Alentejo’s folk song that is UNESCO Heritage Protected.
If the music was to be associated with any social classes, it would be the rural classes that formed in Alentejo in the late 19th and early 20th century. The group of seven men stood in a small huddle at the front of the room, and with serious faces as they belted out the two part harmony of the Cante Alentejano.
They dressed the part, wearing clothes in a style that I can only dub as “rural smart” but despite the serious faces I think they were proud to show of such a unique tradition of their region. The Portuguese generally go about their business in a much more humble sense than their neighbours across the international border. *cough* Love you Spain!
After the Cante Alentejano I hover around the table, not wanting to the the first person to ruin the perfectly laid out food. The table is topped with plates of local Évora sheep cheese, cured meats and typical cakes. Local producers joined the men and women from the brotherhood, on hand to answer any questions about the products, or perhaps to see the reactions of curious foreigners as they try the typical dishes of the region.
I am sad that I can’t join in on taste testing everything, though to be fair, Alentejo is keeping me well fed so I’m not exactly hungry either. At least vinho is always gluten free!
Members from the Gastronomic Brotherhood of Évora with typical pastries, food and the book containing many of the regions recipes.
Once everyone has had a chance to taste the products on the table, an interesting revelation is made. In our presence is a large and heavy green book. This book is the “Carta Gastronómia Alentejo”, and is perhaps the largest project of the Gastronomic Brotherhood of Alentejo so far.
Me holding the “Carta Gastronómia Alentejo”. So many traditions, so much history, in between those two covers.
Members of the brotherhood travelled through the lands of Alentejo to 204 out of 250 of the region’s parishes to seek out traditional recipes from every corner of the region. This book is the result of this research.
Alentejo is a region where the population is shrinking, but this means that even as the older generation passes on without necessarily passing the recipes down in their family, these recipes and traditions will still be known.
I look around and think that if it wasn’t for the people in this room, the people who are dedicating themselves to the cause of preserving these recipes from their region, they would become extinct. Now they won’t. If that’s not passion, what is?
Me and two of the members of the Gastronomic Brotherhood of Évora. I always feel so tall in Portugal!
Here in Alentejo it’s all about basics. Things aren’t done with a fusion twist, and molecular hasn’t even entered the gastronomic dictionary. This is real food, real products and taking the best out of the products to use them to their full advantage. Simple, fresh and full of passion.
Have you visited the Alentejo region before? What were your experiences with the region and its food?
Thank you to the Alentejo Tourism Board and Aptece for inviting me on this tasty trip to Alentejo. Of course, all words and opinions are my own.
Anand BV says
Hey next week I was visiting Spain on my business trip!! Your article helped me to know few things about Spain and I’m glad I read it before visiting there!! thank you for sharing Cyra