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Hot chocolate and Matcha tea with
vegan treats - Sintra |
Having now spent nearly one month in Portugal I will say for sure that Portugal is a very vegetarian and in most places, vegan friendly country. Oh yes, they do have their specialties which are mostly animal based but many have converted them to veggie and if not traditional recipes - have many veggie options. We encountered several exclusively vegetarian and even a few vegan restaurants. Not only that - but many stores selling plant based products. Our adventure in each new city is to track down these places. Of course, we also like to eat in from time to time which makes it difficult in the places that have such great options for restaurants. One favorite was a vegan crepe with veggies (gluten free) at Princesa do Castelo in Lisbon. My friend Marcia told me to ask the owners for recipes when I liked the food so I did and added it below.
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| Evora Salad bar |
I took loads of pictures in various restaurants and will list them by name when possible. My research to find them is usually Happy Cow website and often the tourist offices have information. There is a chain store in both Lisbon and Porto - Celerio which has a restaurant as well.
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| Raw "cheesecake" at Princesa do Costelo |
In Sintra, again our Airbnb was next to a yoga studio with a little coffee shop with vegan hot chocolate and snacks - how does this happen to us in so many places. I feel like I am a magnet to these little special spots and am always grateful to find them.
In Lisbon we went twice more to our favorite vegan restaurant - Princesa do Castelo where we had a MOST delicious dessert - berry cheesecake.
In Evora we found a great health food stores and Salsa Verde - with a buffet and salad bar - another favorite spot.
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| Fig, strawberry, nut and greens |
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Stuffed mushrooms in Coimbra
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| Eva singing Fado |
Then we were off to Coimbra, a university town, again with many options for us. We enjoyed Maria's Portugese Tapas Restaurant, just up the street with Eva who not only cooked and served us but sang Fado during one of our meals. She aimed to please and made me special food to meet all my dietary likes. We had our all time favorite padron peppers (memories of the Camino de Santiago) at the little bar/restaurant Arcada which was right across the street from our apartment. (See recipe below.)
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| DaTerra buffet, Porto |
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| DaTerra buffet, Porto |
From Coimbra we headed to our last city for this trip - Porto, or Oporto. Here again are many options but we have already discovered a favorite - DaTerra which has an awesome buffet every day at lunch or dinner - we are usually going at 2:00 for a main meal.
Here you go with two recipes from this trip - Enjoy!
The first one is from Princesa do Costelo in Lisbon.
Vegan Pancake - Okonomiyaki (gluten free)
1/2 cup Chickpea flour
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Princesa do Castelo - vegan in
Lisbon - Pancake on the left |
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp black salt
a pinch of paprika or black pepper
water to make a smooth but not too runny batter
chopped cabbage
spinach
dill leaves
Note: you can add whatever veggies you wish.
Instructions
- In a pan well greased with oil use the batter to make a thick crepe and when cooking add chopped cabbage, spinach & dill leaves.
- cook well and using the spatula flip and cook for 1-2 minute till well cooked.
- Serve hot with a sauce of choice such as hot n sweet sauce
Fried Padron Peppers (typical tapas in Spain and Portugal)
½ pound fresh Padron peppers
Virgin olive oil for frying
Coarse salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash the peppers thoroughly and pat dry.
- Pour a little oil in a pan and put it on medium heat.
- When the oil is hot, grab a handful of peppers and throw them into the oil. Use a lid as the oil will splash quite a lot. They should brown on both sides, but should not get too dark. Turn them over if necessary.
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Padron peppers and salted mushrooms
at Arcada Restaurant |
- When done, take them out with a slotted spoon and sprinkle with the salt. Serve immediately while piping hot.
