Camino de Santiago - Portugal and Spain

Hummus served as Camino shell
at Malek Bistro in Santiago

I have lots to say about our two weeks on the Portuguese Camino de Santiago which took us from Porto, Portugal to Santiago, Spain. I managed to eat everyday (surprise) but sometimes it was not that exciting as there were not always good options.

Each day I packed a snack and when there was no option, I spread out my bandana and enjoyed a picnic of beans or nuts, rice or corn cakes and fruit. The main thing missing at restaurants for me was protein as breakfasts always included in hotels were cheese/ham and bread along with pastries, etc. Pilgrim meals in most restaurants included fish or meat as main courses or other non-plant dishes. Often restaurants in both Spain and Portugal were closed until 7:30 or 8:00 at night which was late for us perigrinos who were rising early to walk each day.

My favorite picnic - note dark chocolate
sugar free coated rice cakes - yum

Breakfast in Tui at Ideas Perigrinas
Muesli with fruit and nuts

However, I did enjoy the various surprise specialties that were made with love when I was able to explain what I would like. Especially popular was vegetable soup in Portugal using the large green leaves that we saw growing everywhere. 

Take a look at the many photos of specialties and I am now noting where I ate so that I can return again. 

Curried tofu and veggies at
Malak Bistro, Santiag

Boiled potatoes and greens
in traditional cafe in Mamed,
Portugal.

 

When we were nearing Padron, Spain I knew we were in the territory of pimientos de Padron - a favorite of our last camino and we enjoyed them wherever we were able to get them - peppers in spanish olive oil with salt.

 

Pimientos de Padron

Traditional Portuguese Veg Soup

Traditional Portuguese Vegetable Soup

• Servings: 4
• Time: 40 minutes
• Difficulty: easy

Ingredients

• a dash of olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 leek white, chopped
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1/2 courgette, cubed
• 1/4 pumpkin, cubed
• 1 potato, cubed
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 handfuls frozen spinach (or Portuguese cabbage if you can get some)
• 3 tbsp. cooked chickpeas (I used jar chickpeas)

Preparation 

1. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker* pot and sauté the garlic, onion and leek over medium heat until translucent.
2. Add the carrot, courgette, pumpkin and potato and pour the stock over. Stir and season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Cover and pressure cook* it for around 10 minutes once full pressure was reached (this may vary according to your pressure cooker model). For regular cooking, cover, bring to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer till the vegetables are cooked, approximately 30 minutes should do.
4. Once the vegetables are cooked, remove two ladles of vegetables chunks from the pot and set aside. Mix the rest with an immersion blender until a soft puree is formed.
5. Put back in the vegetables chunks, add the spinach and chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Serve hot and enjoy!

*Always follow your pressure cooker instructions and manage it with due care.

Picking grapes on the way

Zucchini pasta with veggies, Perola
Restaurant, Barcelos, Portugal

Harvest along the road

Porto - another very veg friendly city

We've just spent the last week in the city of Porto, on the Douro River which opens to the ocean. Since it was a repeat of a visit in 2016 we already had some favorite places to visit and to eat. I was happy to note that there were a few new additions for this visit to go along with the repeats.

We had our first meal out at DaTerra, Baixa (https://www.daterra.pt/) which has an amazing vegetarian buffet for lunch and dinner everyday. There are different items at each meal and each day and often some changes during the hour we were there. It is best to go hungry as it is an all you can eat buffet and hard not to sample everything. Most everything is vegan and many items were also gluten free. There is another sister site in the beach town of Matosinhos which has similar fare. We walked the 10K to see the beach and have a meal there.

Vegan salad for 2 at Vegana

A new find this year was Vegana on Rua Famosa which was very near to where we lived. It is run by one woman who serves and makes each meal carefully (and slowly). We had a large salad for two that was filled with all kinds of veggies (lettuce, tofu, seeds, vegan cheese, tomatoes, orange, onions, cucumber, mushrooms and grated beets and carrots.)

Pad Thai Salad at Epoca

Epoca (http://epocaporto.com) was another good option run by a couple. We had fun talking to them and returned for a second visit.  First I had a pad thai salad with grated red cabbage. Richard had a chickpea hot dish. The second time they ran out of food as we got there late in the afternoon but they made us a delicious salad with what was available in their kitchen - kale, spiced chickpeas, nuts, mushrooms,cucumber, cauliflower dressed with fresh Portuguese olive oil.

Portobello burger at Bugo Art Burgers

While trying to visit a restaurant that was closed every time we attempted to go, we came upon a review of  Bugo Art Burgers on Rua de Camoes 131. I read that they would make whatever one asked for so we decided to try it and see. I asked about vegan options and they were happy to make something special  - a portobello burger for me with mango sauce topped with roasted red peppers and onion with a side of roasted rosemary potatoes.

Our experience, wherever we went was that folks were not put off at all by the word vegan and were kind and considerate to offer options. (Of course we were not going to the traditional Portuguese meat based restaurants).

Now we are off to our Camino to Santiago from Porto to Santiago, Spain and I will surely write about what offerings we find on that route.

England - super veg friendly

We are on the second leg of this European adventure and just wrapping up out time in Buxton, England with our great friends (more like family) - Dan, Fiona, Aidan and Will. Along with plenty of adventures we have eaten up a storm. I was happy to find delicious vegan, gluten-free options in every place we went, including very off the beaten track spots in the middle of hills and dales of green pastures.


Some of the highlights included our very favorite right here in Buxton called "The Hydro" (www.thehydrocafe.com). Here we met the owner Sammie who goes out of his way to please every palate. If we stayed just a bit longer we would have tried his vegan, gluten free "Fish and Chips" which will be on his new upcoming menu. We also ate at Simply Thai and Ithaca Greek Taverna in Buxton and were pleased with their options as well.

Button Warehouse in Macclesfield

Turmeric latte - health in a cup

Our travels around included a visit to Macclesfield where we ate at The Button Warehouse and to Manchester with a return visit to a favorite from last year - The Earth Cafe.

Raw Passion Fruit and
Mango Cheescake at Earth Cafe

Liverpool was a new city for us and we ate at the thirty year old vegetarian restaurant - The Egg Cafe. This full and nutritious meal was chickpea and potato dahl, coleslaw and carrot salad.

The Egg Cafe, Liverpool

Hassop Station - hummus and grilled veggies

Most exciting was while walking an old railroad path converted to a walking path called the Monsal Trail which passes through many old railroad tunnels. All of a sudden one comes upon the Hassop Station where there was a large restaurant with many vegetarian options. I had one of the best meals there, perhaps because we had just walked 5 miles and had 5 to go.

So, my friends, when traveling in England you will find many options of plant-based food.