During a recent field trip to Lisbon, participants had a chance to get in touch with their inner Julia Child while participating in a cooking workshop designed to introduce the Portuguese culinary experience.

Interport Lecturer, Mariana Monteiro a resident of Lisbon and student majoring in architecture, shared her insights on the eclectic Portuguese culinary experience while a recent guest on the MV Explorer.

“We have awesome fish–salmon and grilled fish are most common, Vitoque, a steak with fried potatoes on the side with salad and sometimes an egg on top is also very popular. Codfish is one of the most popular dishes, there are three hundred six five ways to prepare it.  We have so many codfish recipes and its our traditional dish at Christmas. For desert, my favorite is Pastel de nata, a custard, with a little bit of cinnamon on top.  Its delicious.”

After an overview of the unique foods that identify the wonderful flavor and foods of the region, chefs-in-training had the opportunity to create and sample traditional foods from Portugal.  From a starter of fish soup, caldeirada, to two main courses of country sausage, the meal was topped off with the traditional Pastel de nata, a custard.