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Portuguese cuisine · Bacalhau, olive oil and a pastry clock: grilled sardines, vinho and the Atlantic pantry.

The dishes that carry Portuguese cuisine are the ones a market cook and a home kitchen would both recognise.

Eight signatures below explain the table to a first-time diner and to a grocer stocking the aisle.

Podium

Pastel de nata
Pastel de nata
Portugal
2
Bacalhau
Bacalhau
Portugal
1
Grilled sardines
Grilled sardines
Portugal
3

The legends

1
Bacalhau from Portugal Karl Ragnar Gjertsen Krg This photo was taken by Karl Ragnar Gjertsen . Please credit this photo Karl Ragnar Gjertsen in the immediate vicinity of the image. · CC BY-SA 3.0

Bacalhau

Portugal · staple

Salt cod in claimed "365 recipes" — the national protein.

Story

Bacalhau is cooked from Lisbon to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Portuguese cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is bacalhau / wine / vinegar beside bread / rice / potato.”

Reach
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Craft
kitchen
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2
Pastel de nata from Portugal Mon Œil · CC BY 2.0

Pastel de nata

Portugal · Lisbon pastry

Custard tart from Jerónimos lore and every pastelaria.

Story

Pastel de nata is cooked from Lisbon to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Portuguese cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is bacalhau / wine / vinegar beside bread / rice / potato.”

Reach
icon
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative
3
Grilled sardines from Portugal TANAKA Juuyoh (田中十洋) · CC BY 2.0

Grilled sardines

Portugal · summer street

June festivals and charcoal smoke.

Story

Grilled sardines is cooked from Lisbon to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Portuguese cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is bacalhau / wine / vinegar beside bread / rice / potato.”

Reach
known
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative
4
Caldo verde from Portugal Mateus Hidalgo · CC BY-SA 2.5 br

Caldo verde

Portugal · Minho staple

Kale and potato soup with chouriço.

Story

Caldo verde is cooked from Lisbon to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Portuguese cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is bacalhau / wine / vinegar beside bread / rice / potato.”

Reach
known
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative
5
Francesinha from Portugal TheRealDapperDan · CC BY-SA 4.0

Francesinha

Portugal · Porto

A covered sandwich that is a dare and a civic identity.

Story

Francesinha is cooked from Lisbon to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Portuguese cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is bacalhau / wine / vinegar beside bread / rice / potato.”

Reach
known
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative
6
Cataplana from Portugal Sevinha · Public domain

Cataplana

Portugal · Algarve

Clam-and-copper stew of the south.

Story

Cataplana is cooked from Lisbon to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Portuguese cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is bacalhau / wine / vinegar beside bread / rice / potato.”

Reach
known
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative
7
Arroz de pato from Portugal silvar.net · CC BY 2.0

Arroz de pato

Portugal · home feast

Duck rice, a Sunday bake.

Story

Arroz de pato is cooked from Lisbon to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Portuguese cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is bacalhau / wine / vinegar beside bread / rice / potato.”

Reach
known
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative
8
Piri-piri chicken from Portugal Bovineone at English Wikipedia · Public domain

Piri-piri chicken

Portugal · African-Portuguese

Chili-oil grill that empire and labour brought home.

Story

Piri-piri chicken is cooked from Lisbon to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Portuguese cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is bacalhau / wine / vinegar beside bread / rice / potato.”

Reach
known
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative

Stats are relative 0–100 marks within this cuisine, for comparison only.

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Debate

Home pot vs export icon

Does Bacalhau abroad still count as Portuguese cuisine when the pantry is rewritten?

Whose regional recipe?

Capitals claim Pastel de nata; provinces disagree, loudly.

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