Traditional Algarve Recipes

Tweet Click on the links to the left to view the recipes.

The sun-drenched Algarve has a sub-tropical climate which allows growth of a wide range of fruit and vegetables, many of which cannot be grown in Northern Europe. The Algarve is also renounded for its variety of fish dishes, many of which will be familiar to tourists, but there are also less known dishes based on the traditional home cooking of the interior Algarve regions. There are many traditional Algarve dishes which are very easy to cook, and here you will find the recipes for some of these on this site.

Algarve Ingredients

Algarve food is based on fresh ingredients, and because of the favourable climate there are many more varieties of fruits and vegetables available than in Northern Europe.

The local markets such as the renowned indoor market in Loule are an excellent place to obtain the fresh ingredients that characterise the food of the Algarve.

Algarve Markets

Portuguese markets such as the one pictured above in the town of Loule sell a fantastic range of fresh fish, meat, fruit and vegetables. Typical produce of the Algarve includes citrus fruit, olives, almonds, figs, dates, seasonal mushrooms, peppers, tomatos, lettuce, garlic, onions and cucumbers.

The all year round sun and higher light intensity produces fruit and vegetables which look and taste different to those in northern Europe.

Click on the links at the side of the page to view some traditional Algarve recipes, including a new one for a traditional Algarvian Pineapple Sponge Cake.

Algarve Cakes

The Algarve has a fantastic selection of cakes and breads sold at local bakeries or "pastelarias" as they are known locally.

The pastelarias also sell strong Algarve coffee such as the "abatanado" which is a single shot of coffee, but with less water than an Americano.

Useful links

Portuguese Food

We offer a truly unique range of High Quality and specialised produce from various regions of Portugal, one such produce is pork in the form of Chorizo & Serrano Ham, which in Portugal is a tradition that has been around for hundreds of years for which Portugal is now famous.