We apologise for the lack of posts recently. It is the time of year for our annual month
long trip to the sunnier climes of Portugal, where our wild camper van exploits
tend to limit our access to wi-fi and therefore blogging opportunities. Here however, for those with an interest in
what Portugal offers for those of a vegan persuasion, is a rough guide and if
you check out our previous few years posts around March or April you will find
lots of further hints, tips and findings from our Southern Portuguese
wanderings in camper van and tent.
Years ago and when we first
planned a trip to Portugal, we were slightly concerned about what our food
options would be. We were at least
self-catering, being back then in a tent, so with the expectation of being able
to buy fruit and vegetables easily, and with a good stock of travelling grains
and spices, we took off into the unknown.
Our trusty camp stove would save the day.
It is almost embarrassing now to
remember how naïve we were back then.
Portugal was not the meat and fish engrossed nation we had
anticipated. If anything it has opened
our eyes further to more and more delicious food options each year that we have
returned.
Now don’t expect to walk into any
restaurant and have your vegan needs met unerringly. It’s possible but by no means common and
let’s face it, it’s very rarely the case in the UK anyway unless it’s a
veggie/vegan establishment. Yes Portugal
still is behind in many ways when it comes to veganism and there aren’t that
many veggie restaurants around, let alone vegan (although we might add we
believe it is a different story in places like Lisbon but we are not big city
dwellers so can’t offer much of an insight into that). However, you would no doubt be surprised by
the options available in normal supermarkets.
In most cases the choice is better than in UK supermarkets. Ever seen seitan in the chiller section of
Sainsburys or Tescos? No, us
neither. But from our experience, you go
to any Intermarche or Continente and there it is alongside tofu choices, and at
a much cheaper price than you would find in the UK too. What’s more you will find a whole aisle
dedicated to health food options; that’s both sides on an aisle not just a
tucked away ‘Free From’ section on half of one side of an aisle. There you will find a massive range of herbal
teas, packets of very interesting loose herbs, gluten free, sugar free and
dairy free options and a whole section of meat free burgers, sausages, meat
balls, seitan and tofu. These are
generally jarred or in ‘ambient’ packaging so great for our
non-refrigerated camper van stock
cupboard.
Even without these ‘health food’
sections, the supermarkets offer a wealth of options with simple
ingredients. The jars of beans alone
have my mouth watering with my particular favourites being the feijao manteiga
(butter bean). They are chestnut brown
over here and a world away from the pale UK versions. We try to bring packets of dried butter beans
home with us but unfortunately the last couple of years we’ve been unable to
find them for some reason. Instead we
just have to stock up on a few jars or tins and ration them.
Then there are the vegetables and
fruit. We haven’t figured out yet whether
it is just that we are on holiday or it’s the outdoor life style we are living
or whether there is something very different about the fruit and vegetables
over here. They taste amazing, so much
so that we have been addicted for the past three days to potatoes and cabbage
alone. And the oranges; well they are so
amazing that my dad even demands we return with some for him and he doesn’t
even eat that many oranges. Perhaps the
earth here isn’t as overworked, overburdened and de-mineralised as British
soil? Perhaps the reliance on chemical
fertilisers is less or the sun ripened produce is just that much more naturally
energised? Let’s just say that if, all
those years ago our assumptions had been correct and fruit and vegetables were
the only viable options, well it would still have been as amazing.
Health food stores do indeed
exist out here too and, although from our experience they are more the
white-coated sales assistant sort rather than the darkened, wooden shelved,
muddy organic veg, pulsing delights of the left over 60’s hippy revolution of
the UK, they do still offer undiscovered delights. The fridges are often stocked with seitan,
soya, tofu and some surprisingly different options, such as the thick potato
tortillas that we discovered last year in a health food store in Lagos. Unfortunately, being chilled items, we are
unable to transport such delights home by the van load. Believe us, we would if we could.
Moving away from the health food side of things and more on to the naughty delights (although the resveratrol has its benefits it seems), we would also like to point out that Portuguese wine is amazing and there are plenty of vegan options out there too. For lots of vegan options check out previous posts that appear around March and April each year on our blog! As the actual filtering of wine, and the ingredients used to do it is the main problem in whether a wine is vegan or not, we look for wines that are labelled as not being filtered or those that say they ‘throw a deposit with time’, an indication of not being filtered.
For the first time during our trips to Portugal, this year we also saw a wine that was actually labelled as being vegan. That is indeed progress. You would be surprised at how many options are out there. Most of them taste a world away from UK brought options (food miles has a lot going for it) and at the fraction of the price.
To summarise, don’t be frightened as a vegan to explore Portuguese culinary delights. Sometimes a step backwards in time reconnects oneself with the true basics of wholesome nutritional food and away from the reliance on the modern day less natural processed alternatives. If you come only with the expectation that the fruit and vegetables on offer are amazing, Portugal has a lot to teach us and remind us of, as well as offering surprising alternatives should you find it too difficult to get back to the basics.
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