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I'm Still Dreaming About the Food
By Liz Mercado
Spain was an amazing country, and had some of the most delicious foods I have ever eaten. During our first night in Seville, we ate in a restaurant called Perro Viejo, and got to try tapas, a popular Spanish tradition of sharing different dishes with groups of people.The first tapa that we were served was called Salmorejo. It's a traditional soup-like dish and is served cold during the warmer months. The dish is a type of puree, consisting of tomatoes, olive oil, salt, garlic and small pieces of bread. Our dish also included small pieces of ham. The Salmorejo was served with pieces of bread on the table, which I used to dip into the puree.I thought that this dish was delicious. It tasted mostly like garlic, but it wasn’t an overpowering- you could taste hints of tomatoes and olive oil. The small pieces of bread absorbed the garlic taste and also helped give it some texture. The Salmorejo also had a salty flavor, which worked well to balance the garlic aftertaste. Because this dish was made out of tomatoes, I wasn’t sure I’d like it, but I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it, and I loved the dish.
Another dish I tried for the first time while I was abroad was a traditional Portuguese soup called Caldo Verde. I tried this dish while we were watching a Fado show in Portugal, in a restaurant called Timpanas. Caldo Verde is made with onions, garlic, potatoes, and either kale or collard greens. It was served in a bowl with a piece of bread and meat on the side. The soup was mildly salty and the kale added both a rich flavor and green color. I also tasted hints of garlic in the soup. This dish actually reminded me of eating miso soup. Both miso soup and Caldo Verde are made from the same basic ingredients, and the seaweed found in the miso has the same salty texture as the kale in the Caldo Verde. *********************************************************************
The Only Place to Get the Real and Amazing Pasteis de Nata!
By Leana Pizarro
My favorite dish of course, had to be dessert. Specifically, Pasteis de Nata. These are very popular in Portugal. You can find them at every dessert store or even at restaurants. Pasteis de Belem are known to be the best in taste and I can agree on that! They are a Portuguese custard tart made from eggs that you can add cinnamon or sugar to. (Personally, I loved it all by itself.) On the website https://pasteisdebelem.pt/en/ , it shows us a bit of history. In the 19th century, in Belem, there was a sugar cane refinery attached to a small general store. In 1820, the liberal revolution forced all convents and monasteries in Portugal to be shut down. In an attempt to survive, someone from the monasteries offered this sweet pastries, which would later be known as ‘Pastéis de Belém’. During that period, Belem was considered far from the city of Lisbon and only accessed by boats. At that time, the Torre de Belém was attracting so many visitors and those visitors began to love and enjoy these amazing pastries. Now, this pastry still has an ancient secret recipe as it was handcrafted in the “secret room”. I learned that every year Portugal has a Pasteis de Nata contest to see who has the best pastry. Pastéis de Belém never enters the contest because then it means that they must disclose their recipe. Of course their pastries are so divine and delicious that they do not dare to give out the secret recipe. I feel very honored and amazed that I was able to travel and try these amazing, one of kind Pasteis de Nata. Here in Connecticut, they have so many at bakeries which i always loved but once I tried Pastéis de Belém, it completely changed my life. I know I will miss eating it and the ones back at home will not compare!
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