Portugal

Portuguese cuisine is the food of the explorers. Portuguese travellers played a key role in food globalisation, for example, they were the first Europeans to explore China, Japan and Ethiopia, bringing back new foods like rice and tea from Asia and coffee from Africa.

From the 15th century Prince Henry the Navigator requested for any exotic foods to be brought back from the voyages. Hence, the cuisine has been mixed with richness of ingredients from all over the world.

Like in the Spanish cuisine, it was the Romans who introduced the Mediterranean triad (wheat, olive oil and wine) to Portugal. The Moors (Arabic influences) brought rice and citrus fruits, and planted almond trees throughout the Algarve.

Portuguese food varies from region to region, but of course the star of their menu is the seafood. Bacalhau, traditional salted cod, has been popular since the 16th century, when Portuguese ships went to the Americas. Sailors salted and sun-dried the fish to last the long journeys ahead of them. It is said that there are at least a thousand ways of preparing cod, so you could eat a different cod dish every day for 3 years.

The Catholic religion has impacted Portuguese cuisine significantly. From the 16th century, the clergy used egg whites to make communion wafers. The leftover yolks turned into sweet treats.

Nuns started to prepare amazing pastries to supplement their income. Some examples of the creative names given to those creations include ‘barriga de freira’ (nun’s belly) or ‘papos de anjo’ (angel's chest). Pastel de nata, the famous custard tart with cinnamon was invented in Jerónimos monetary near Lisbon and is known to be Portugal’’s national dessert.

Portuguese food had a significant effect on Brazilian cuisine, which we are yet to try. The love of sweet treats in Brazil was actually introduced by the Portuguese, who brought with them desserts. Other traditional Brazilian dishes took inspiration from the Portuguese classics, but more about that once we get to Brazil.

White, Red and Green wines are traditional in Portugal. Vihno verde (green wine) is a young wine which can be red, white or rose and is produced in the northwestern province. Being a new wine, it often has a hint of sparkling, as it hasn’t fully gone through the fermentation process to become a mature wine.

As we must not forget about port wine, often served with desserts. It is generally produced near the Douro River in the north of Portugal. Only port-style wines from Portugal are allowed to be labelled ‘port’ (like sparkling wine from Champagne in France).

A Toca Restaurant

Toca was established in the 1980s as a small restaurant. In 2002 two friends from Viseu in Portugal decided to take over the restaurant to showcase the brilliance of Portuguese cuisine. The goal was to make the food accessible not only to the Portuguese community already living in the neighbourhood (South Lambeth is known as Little Portugal afterall), but to everyone in London who wants to try Portuguese food.

The restaurant was busy, which can be seen as a testament to its popularity. It also added to the bustling atmosphere that you'd probably expect if you were to go to such a place in Portugal itself. Even given the number of customers though, the staff were friendly and efficient.

The menu offered a good selection of what appeared to be authentic dishes, according to our Portuguese friend who came with us. There were even options that you wouldn't normally see in the UK, such as octopus. There were limited veggie options (maybe only 2), but what they did have was very good and authentic according to our vegetarian members.

Whilst the food was wonderfully presented and decently portioned for the cost (the steak was huge), we felt that the seafood options were all a little too salty, even allowing for personal tastes. It is said that there are thousands of ways to cook bacalhau, and if it is done properly, the saltiness of the meal should not come through, as it is just a preservation technique. So maybe our chef had an off day, we hope so!

The vihno verde was unlike anything we have drunk on our travels before. Slightly resembling prosecco mixed with white wine, we really enjoyed the lightness of the drink although it was a bit sour.

As you would expect, it was only right that the port was also sampled, which turned out to be the best decision. It tasted great and didn’t disappoint. You can say it was the warming drink we needed before going off into the cold.

Overall, the Toca was a good night out with seemingly good value for money, but for some, the main reason for going was let down by the overuse of salt.