packed his recipe for custard tarts, and began
offering them in the refinery’s shop. They became
top-sellers and, in 1837, the refinery rebranded as
a pastry shop. To this day, the monk’s recipe is a
closely guarded secret.
A bag of tarts in hand, I head over to see the
famous monastery up close. The elaborately
carved complex housed monks from the Order of
St. Jerome. Today, it’s one of Portugal’s best-loved
buildings and the final resting place of national
heroes, including explorer Vasco da Gama and
poet Luís de Camões.
Before leaving Belém, I walk south to the river
and salute Portugal’s Age of Discovery at Padrão
dos Descobrimentos. Among the luminaries carved
into the white stone monument are da Gama (who
discovered the sea route to India), Ferdinand
Magellan (first to circumnavigate the globe) and
Pedro Álvares Cabral (discoverer of Brazil).
There’s no doubT :
Portugal is a seafaring nation.
The Portuguese sing about the sea, celebrate
those who conquered it, and will eat almost any-
thing that comes from it. They eat the most fish
per capita in Europe and, with the opening of the
country’s first cannery in 1854, tinned fish has
been their go-to fast food: a cheap protein when
food was scarce, especially during the World Wars.
Portuguese staples like sardines and tuna, plus
squid, eel and mackerel are caught fresh, preserved
and packaged in olive oil, vinegar, tomato sauce or
vegetables. “At any given time, we have about 125
different kinds in stock,” says Regina Maria Cabral
Ferreira, proprietor of Conserveira de Lisboa, one
of the city’s oldest canneries. Almost everything
inside the quaint Baixa district shop is original to
its 1930 founding.
Among the rows of colourful tins lining the wall
are Conserveira’s three house brands: Minor, Prata
do Mar and top-of-the-line Tricana, recognizable
for the bonnet-clad lady on its label. “All our fish
are caught in Portuguese waters,” says Ferreira,
who runs the operation with her children. Tuna is
caught in the Azores; sardines in Matosinhos.
Though food is no longer scarce, Lisbon’s tinned
fish business is booming. Locals devour the canned
contents in pasta or on sourdough bread, while
upscale menus across the city increasingly feature
preserved fish. The little packages also make great
souvenirs: Conserveira staff lovingly wrap each
purchase in brown paper and twine.
Wine is another tasty souvenir. When the
Romans arrived here some 2,000 years ago, the
region’s viticulture was already firmly established,
thanks to Tartessian and Phoenician occupiers.
Wine remains a part of daily life: Residents
consume an average of 54 litres annually. Vinho
Verde (green wine) becomes my go-to varietal. Its
grapes grow in the lush hills of northern Portugal, »
From left: Padrão dos Descobrimentos; a street performer and his canine sidekick; tinned fish at Conserveira de Lisboa
CAA manitoba
spring 2019
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