Merry Christmas in Portugal

Christmas is a very important season in Portugal: families get together, people get closer to each other, business thrives and delicious food is cooked.

Portugal is proud of its cooking. I have travelled quite a bit and I can say that the Portuguese food is one of the best in the whole world.

On the 23rd of December women (as tradition dictates) start cooking and preparing the meal for Christmas Eve. This may sound odd, but preparing the sweets is hard work, and it seems to take forever.

I now invite you to get to know a bit of the Portuguese Christmas menu.

The table is set on the 24th of December.

Dinner on Christmas Eve

The Portuguese tradition is to eat cod-fish (either boiled and served with potatoes, cabbage, carrots and bathed by olive oil; or cooked in the oven with cream and veggies or even grilled with roasted potatoes showered by olive oil); but we also eat roasted lamb or turkey (a borrowed tradition, from the Anglo-Saxons).

(Roasted Lamb)

(Cod-fish with roasted potatoes)

Even though I do not celebrate Christmas, I must confess that I love profiting from all the cooking done in this time of the year.

Look at the sweets below...

Sweets

This first image depicts "Sonhos" [translation: dreams] (a fried dough, that afterwards is either eaten with syrup [made of sugar, cinnamon and lemon peal] or sugar and cinnamon) - they are a must in every Portugese Christmas table; and their flavour is absolutely dreamy!

(Sonhos)

This second image shows us the Rabanadas (fried bread, that afterwards is either served with with syrup or sugar and cinnamon) - it is best eaten on Christmas morning with a good cup of coffee.

(Rabanadas)

This third picture shares the image of Filhoses de abóbora (fried pumpkin dough which is served with sugar and cinnamon, although in some parts of the country it is served with syrup) - I only have one word to describe these filhoses [the "lh" sound in Portuguese is like the double L in Spanish): Yummy!!

(Filhoses de Abóbora)

And this last picture, but not the least, shows the legendary Arroz Doce (Rice Puddin sprinkled with cinnamon). There is not a Portuguese home or restaurant where you can't find this wonderful dessert. And its presence is vital during Christmas time (although we eat it all year round).

(Arroz Doce)

These sweets garnish wonderfully any Christmas table and lash the air with its delightful perfume (cinnamon does wonders to the senses).

They are also the reason why the reasonable Portuguese spend January, February and March exercising to burn off all these calories.

Now you know a bit about the Portuguese eating habits and I hope it raised, in you, the curiosity to one day try our cuisine.

But while you do not...

Happy Festivities!!

Images: found through Google Images