If you have ever gone or walked along any beach in the Algarve, perhaps you have spotted a group of people along the shore doing a kind of dance with their feet and catching clams, placing them inside a plastic bottle with salt water. These are the luscious clams of the Ria Formosa which are very simply cooked to enjoy the wonderful taste of the sea. If you wish to make these yourself simply fry onions and garlic over some olive oil until the clams are open, and finally serve with some parsley or coriander.

Any first time visitor in the Algarve is always invited to try the Cataplana. This is definitely one of those recipes that has been passed down generation after generation. Cataplana is almost like a Carnaval of seafood with lobster, clams, squid, mussels and any other fresh seafood of the day. Add some onions, garlic, herbs, white wine and tomato, we are blessed with this amazing dish with typically comes served in the very well known Cataplana cooking pans.

In the Algarve, many are the times when the recipes choose to simply enhance the wonderful taste the food already has. In this sense, the gastronomy of the south of Portugal doesn’t over garnish any dish. Salt, pepper and olive oil tend to be the main ingredients. This is what we do with our luscious sardines. One of the most celebrated foods in the summer are sardines grilled simple with a dash of thick salt. Typically, this is then set on some locally cooked sourdough bread which takes in the divine sauce that comes from the fish. Annually in Portimão there is a festival to celebrate sardines, which are always paired with a refreshing Portuguese beer.