Portugal

In Portugal the main Christmas meal is the Consoada, the supper on Christmas Eve. Its center is bacalhau da Consoada, salt cod boiled with potatoes and kale and dressed with olive oil, though in the interior roast kid goat can take that role. On Christmas Day the leftovers are sautéed as roupa velha, and roast turkey is a frequent choice. Sweets run through the season, among them fried rabanadas and arroz doce decorated with cinnamon patterns. Bolo Rei, a ring cake that traditionally hid a trinket and a fava bean, is eaten from Christmas through Epiphany on January 6.

The Portuguese chapter centers on pork, sausage and Carnival. Caldo verde, the kale and potato soup of the Minho, and sopa da pedra, the bean soup of Almeirim, are winter soups, and rojões à moda do Minho, pork braised in lard, are tied to the family pig slaughter. Cozido à portuguesa, a boiled dinner of meats and vegetables, is mainly a winter dish and appears on Carnival tables, and feijoada à transmontana is the meal of Domingo Gordo, February 7. Malassadas are fried for Fat Tuesday, February 9. Arroz de pato is a Sunday-lunch dish, and sericaia is an Alentejo convent dessert.

The Portuguese menu starts with Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato, clams opened in a covered pan with olive oil, garlic, white wine and plenty of cilantro, finished with lemon. The main course is Cataplana de Marisco from the Algarve, seafood steamed in its own juices in a hinged pan that clamps shut, served with bread. Dessert is Pastéis de Nata, crisp pastry tarts filled with egg-yolk custard, served warm with cinnamon.

The Portuguese menu moves from Holy Week salt cod to Easter gifts. On Good Friday, March 26, 2027, salt cod comes with chickpeas in bacalhau com grão; the Algarve pairs it with chickpeas and spinach, as does sopa de grão com espinafres, a meatless soup. On Easter Sunday, March 28, godmothers give folar de Chaves, a bread filled with cured meats, and godparents give amêndoas da Páscoa, sugared almonds. Porto and the Douro serve lombo, a roast beef loin. The sweets are regional: folar de Olhão from the Algarve, pão de ló de Ovar, the sponge cake of northern Portugal, and bolo podre from Beira Baixa.