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| 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.
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| My favorite picnic - note dark chocolate sugar free coated rice cakes - yum |
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| 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.
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| Curried tofu and veggies at Malak Bistro, Santiag |
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| 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.
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| Pimientos de Padron |
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| Traditional Portuguese Veg Soup |
Traditional Portuguese Vegetable Soup
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
- Heat the oil in a pressure cooker* pot and sauté the garlic, onion and leek over medium heat until translucent.
- Add the carrot, courgette, pumpkin and potato and pour the stock over. Stir and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- 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.
- 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.
- Put back in the vegetables chunks, add the spinach and chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
*Always follow your pressure cooker instructions and manage it with due care.
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| Picking grapes on the way |
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| Zucchini pasta with veggies, Perola Restaurant, Barcelos, Portugal |
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| Harvest along the road |
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