Lagoa was one of 10 municipalities in Portugal to be invited to take part in Santarém’s 39th National Gastronomy Festival which took place between October 24 and November 3.
The event was described by Lagoa Council as an opportunity to “promote the Algarve’s gastronomic treasures” and the “differentiating authenticity of the flavours of Lagoa’s cuisine”.
Lagoa was the star of the show on October 30, handing out bite-size samples of some traditional Algarvian dishes such as fried eel, tuna ‘muxama’ (a kind of tuna ham), ‘carapaus alimados’ (a favourite salty horse mackerel dish), dried octopus eggs, ‘sardinha da boa morte’ (very similar to carapaus alimados but made with sardines) and ‘feijoada de buzinas’ (bean stew with shellfish).
Festivalgoers were also able to try “one of Lagoa’s best kept secrets”, the ‘Florados de Lagoa’, an almond- and egg-based sweet.
Several other local delicacies were also served, such as ‘biqueirão estivado’ (a kind of salted anchovy), canned mackerel with carrots, razor clam soup with sweet potato and ‘papas de milho’ (a corn porridge, in this case made with clam stock).
