Grilled sardines are an institution in the Algarve and are traditionally served with the rough farmhouse bread that is unique to the region.
To eat this famous dish the way the Algarvean folk do - place a grilled sardine on a slice of the bread, without using your hands, chew off the meat on one side of the sardine, flip the fish and eat all the meat on the other side, leaving just the skeleton of the fish. This is an art and takes a lot of practice. Replace the skeleton with a fresh sardine and continue in this way until all the fish have been consumed, and only then do you eat the oil soaked bread!
This dish is traditionally served with a “mountain salad” of finely chopped tomatoes, green peppers, onions, sprinkled with oregano and served with oil and vinegar dressing. A veritable feast, even if eaten with knife and fork!
Most villages along the length and breadth of the Algarve will have their own sardine festival during July or August with the villagers enjoying themselves enormously. The local councils do their utmost to provide the best fish and entertainment for each village and with beer and wine on tap it is much appreciated. Foreigners and strangers alike are welcomed into their midst and encouraged to enjoy the feast for nominal cost.
For the best and most famous sardine festival – Portimão in the Western Algarve is the place to be. This ever popular festival gets into full swing in August and is a huge success with both locals and tourists. The sardines are freshly caught and at their best at this time of the year. Each day a parade leaves from the Museum, leading the way to the festival itself.
Of course there is a wide selection of other fish to be tasted and enjoyed with cooking demonstrations of traditional dishes such as Cataplanas. These dishes are famous and so are some of the chefs!
Plenty of beers are served, wines are available from some of the best vineyards in Portugal and live entertainment provides a very relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere. Local handicrafts are shown and sold on separate stalls and with play areas for children it is a fantastic place to be. A firework display heralds the end of the last evening of this superb fish festival.
Sardine Festivals in the Algarve
Sardine Festivals in the Algarve
Grilled sardines are an institution in the Algarve and are traditionally served with the rough farmhouse bread that is unique to the region.
To eat this famous dish the way the Algarvean folk do - place a grilled sardine on a slice of the bread, without using your hands, chew off the meat on one side of the sardine, flip the fish and eat all the meat on the other side, leaving just the skeleton of the fish. This is an art and takes a lot of practice. Replace the skeleton with a fresh sardine and continue in this way until all the fish have been consumed, and only then do you eat the oil soaked bread!
This dish is traditionally served with a “mountain salad” of finely chopped tomatoes, green peppers, onions, sprinkled with oregano and served with oil and vinegar dressing. A veritable feast, even if eaten with knife and fork!
Most villages along the length and breadth of the Algarve will have their own sardine festival during July or August with the villagers enjoying themselves enormously. The local councils do their utmost to provide the best fish and entertainment for each village and with beer and wine on tap it is much appreciated. Foreigners and strangers alike are welcomed into their midst and encouraged to enjoy the feast for nominal cost.
For the best and most famous sardine festival – Portimão in the Western Algarve is the place to be. This ever popular festival gets into full swing in August and is a huge success with both locals and tourists. The sardines are freshly caught and at their best at this time of the year. Each day a parade leaves from the Museum, leading the way to the festival itself.
Of course there is a wide selection of other fish to be tasted and enjoyed with cooking demonstrations of traditional dishes such as Cataplanas. These dishes are famous and so are some of the chefs!
Plenty of beers are served, wines are available from some of the best vineyards in Portugal and live entertainment provides a very relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere. Local handicrafts are shown and sold on separate stalls and with play areas for children it is a fantastic place to be. A firework display heralds the end of the last evening of this superb fish festival.
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