Portugal outside of topics: a route to eat the Beira Interior
On this side of the border, many people do not know how to place the **Beira Interior de Portugal** region, despite the fact that it is there, just a stone's throw away, and that it is one of the great secrets of the neighboring country.
And the truth is that the Portuguese administrative division, completely different from the Spanish one, does not help to clarify things. Depending on whether you look at a map of districts, historical provinces or what they call **NUTS (territorial units for statistical purposes) ** we can find one name or another.
But the truth is that, simplifying a bit, the beiras are there , in the central zone of the country, divided by the Serra da Estrela , and that the name, whether official or not, is known and accepted by all Portuguese. To the west, the Beira Littoral with major cities like Coimbra , aveiro or Leiria.
To the east, between the Serra and the border, more or less at the height of the provinces of Salamanca and Cáceres, is the Beira Interior, one of the least populated areas of the country and one of those that have best preserved a spectacular historical heritage and an amazing nature.
Castle Rodrigo
For those who travel from Spain, the interior Beira is a transit area if they enter Portugal from Salamanca or from the Plasencia area. But those who arrive by car from the north of the Meseta or from Galicia, using the highway A-4 or A-24 they also have easy access.
So, either as a final destination or as a stopover on the way to Lisbon or Porto, the Beira Interior has a lot to offer: monumental cities, fortified villages, one of the largest networks of Jewish quarters in southern Europe or the purest air in the country.
And this, gastronomically, translates into a number of restaurants and traditional specialties it would be a shame to miss out.
SOUPS, ROASTS AND MIGAS
The region is divided between the dehesas, the plateau and the Serra da Estrela, the highest in Portugal , where the only ski resort in the country is located. This means that here, at least for two thirds of the year, it's cold, a dry sunny cold Much of the time it has given rise to a compelling cookbook that is still relatively easy to find in stores. eating houses.
Serra da Estrela
Soups are the soul of the Beiras kitchen and they are prepared from practically anything. After a hiking trail there is nothing like a pumpkin soup, chestnut broth or fish soup -usually barbel- flavored with coriander , to remove the cold from the bones.
Or, for the bravest, a panela broth Pairing: red beans, ear, nose, rice and flavored white cabbage, yes, with a little mint to lighten.
The main ones are not far behind either: baked or soaked kid (similar to a stew), rice with beans and ribs, migas with torreznos or with river fish and pennyroyal, rice with duck to Lafões (with chorizo, ham and turnips) or the Viseu Ranch , the local version of stew, which is prepared with hen, cow, bacon, chickpea, potato, carrot and cabbage.
Soups are the soul of the Beiras kitchen
Vallecula Restaurant
One of the best places to try this traditional cuisine is the Vallecula restaurant , in the village of Valhelhas, strategically located between the two main cities of the district, Castelo Branco and Guarda, and at the foot of the mountains.
In this stone house decorated with antique furniture from the area louis castro and his team recover the traditional pre-mountain cookbook: old-style stewed rooster, lamb patties with rosemary sauce, rabbit with chestnuts and a long etcetera that are accompanied here with a very good selection of local wines . No wonder the restaurant entered this year in the guide ** Boa Cama, Boa Mesa ,** one of the most important in the country, in its silver category.
Vallecula Restaurant in Valhelhas
CHEESES, MARKETS AND HISTORIC VILLAGES
Inland Beira hides some of the most beautiful historic villages in Portugal. In Almeida or in Castelo Rodrigo time seems to have stopped centuries ago, in Belmonte you can walk through one of the largest Jewish quarters in the country and one of the few that has maintained a Jewish community from the Middle Ages to the present day; Castelo Mendo, Sortelha or Marialva They look like something out of an episode of Game of Thrones.
Perhaps one of the most interesting is stride, perched on a hill above the altiplano. This spectacular walled town celebrates one of the main markets in the area every Saturday. It is worth losing yourself among the cheese stalls and exploring the local varieties (spicy queijo, queijo da Serra da Estrela, requeijão...) or browsing the cured meat and bread stalls to discover specialties such as Oil Bica.
Already inside the walls, a succession of cafes, pastry shops and small groceries leads you towards the beautiful Praca Dom Dinis , the perfect place to find a terrace and let time pass.
LARANJINHA TAVERN
If you have decided to go into the Serra you cannot stop approaching the cheese capitals, Seias and Manteigas (the literal translation of this name into Spanish would be Mantequillas, which says it all) and buy some of the best artisan cheeses from the Serra da Estrela, one of the gastronomic jewels of the country and, if you ask me, one of the most interesting cheeses on the Peninsula.
The medieval charm of Trancoso
But, after driving through the valleys and enjoying the views, you will surely spend the night in Covilha, the regional capital. And if you do, you can't miss another of the temples of traditional cuisine in the center of the country: the A Laranjinha Tavern.
Hidden behind the town hall, in one of the few more or less flat areas of the town, A Laranjinha combines an offer more like a tavern and another more typical of a restaurant. Within the first, in addition to a interesting menu of the day under €10, petiscos (tapas) and portions such as sautéed mushrooms with smoked bacon, crispy pickled trout or its famous sandwich of roasted ham and Queijo da Serra.
If what you want is to sit at the table and enjoy an authentic mountain dinner, you can order an octopus with rye breadcrumbs and coriander, a fillet of meat from the area with ham and Queijo da Serr a, lamb chops with garlic or a curious pork tenderloin with prawns and garlic sauce. For dessert, don't miss the creamy cottage cheese with sweet pumpkin.
The richest petiscos in Beira Interior
DAO-LAFOES WINES
One of the great Portuguese wine regions, protected since 1908, extends through the Beiras. On the border between Beira Interior and Beira Litoral, in lands of Viseu, Castro Daire, Mangualde, Santa Comba Dao, Nelas and other nearby towns, elegant wines with a very defined personality have been produced since the Middle Ages.
They are the perfect pretext to enjoy the thermal offer of the area in town with São Pedro do Sul or Caldas da Felgueir to or to stroll through the beautiful old town of Viseu before visiting a winery.
A good option is ** Quinta do Medronheiro ,** an old farmhouse converted into a rural hotel and winery just 5 km from the center of Viseu.
The restaurant offers local specialties such as rice with turnip greens and cod, porco preto al espeto or cod flakes with cornbread crumbs; the wines they produce, three reds, a white, a rosé and two sparkling, are a journey through the styles of area winemaking and the accommodation's rooms combine a traditional atmosphere with contemporary decor. In summer, its swimming pool overlooking the vineyards becomes one of its great assets.
Wines, rice with turnip tops and cod, in a farmhouse converted into a rural hotel and winery
LEMOS TABLE
Precisely in one of these cellars of the Dao , the spectacular Quinta de Lemos, is one of the best restaurants in the north of the country. lemos table proposes, through its tasting menus, a tour of the best products from the different Portuguese regions, to the point that the dishes are not described in the menu, but they are presented according to their origin.
Thus, a typical meal could consist of the following proposals: From Madeira, passion fruit; from the Azores, the lobster; from Sesimbra, the saber fish; from Serra do Caramulo, the kid and from Resende, the cherries.
Here the dishes are not described: only their origin is given
FILHOS AND OTHER SWEETS
No tour of Portugal is complete without devoting at least some time to its traditional pastries. And in this the Beiras are not an exception. You have to try the filhos, a dough enriched with eggs, orange juice and brandy which is given a round shape before being fried and then, depending on where the trip goes, discovering the local specialities.
In Trancoso, for example, you cannot miss the sardines , a Sweet dough in the shape of a fish that is filled with egg yolk and almonds. The chocolate crumbs at Martim Branco , the viriatos (stuffed with coconut and yolk) and the egg chestnuts (similar to Ávila buds) from Viseu, the caves of resende (glazed sponge cake portions), broas of Idanha-a-Nova flavored with orange, massapães almond from Covilhã, feijao pasteis (made with egg yolk and bean flour) from Mangualde…
If in doubt, head to one of the main squares, look for that cafe that looks like it's been there all its life that is always in front of the town hall or in front of the church. And don't be afraid to ask.
Filhos
It doesn't matter if you are in a city or a village: local sweets are a source of pride and they will have no problem explaining which ones are from that town, which can be found throughout the region and what are the specialties that they may have been preparing for generations.
It's as good a way as any to get into the mood and understand the Portuguese way of life.
And, on the other hand, any of these sweets taken, on a terrace in the sun, in front of the facade of the Guard's Cathedral , for example, and accompanied by a good coffee will always taste better.