Peter Morrell feasts on a fascinating combination of well-crafted writing and delicious food
I recently attended an excellent evening of culture and cuisine at the Portuguese Embassy in London. The evening start with a talk by award winning Portuguese author José Luís Peixoto who described his approach to writing. José was born in a small village in the Alentejo region of Portugal, and his work is influenced by his early life in a small, tightly knit community. I’m currently reading his 2007 book The Piano Cemetery based on a famous Portuguese athlete and his family. His writing has real intensity and depth, together with a lightness of touch which makes is very readable.
He gave a reading from his latest book, Onde (Where), which features a journey through the villages of the Centro region in Portugal, more specifically Abrantes, a 12th century town on the Tagus River. It has lots of cultural interest and history including an impressive medieval castle. He also visited nearby Constância and Sardoal. José has created a lyrical account of landscapes, buildings, history, and a lot more. He conjures up a great sense of time and place.
The Centro region is one of my favourite places in Portugal and is very interesting to visit, with many breathtaking culinary and cultural attractions. Our journey in Centro continued with dishes created by Michelin starred Diogo Rocha. He is head chef at the Mesa de Lemos restaurant in Viseu, a charming and historic Centro city. Major Viseu attractions include the Grão Vasco Museum, featuring the works of the great artist Vasco Fernandes, the Cathedral with its Manueline and Renaissance architecture, and the beautiful Baroque church, the Igreja da Misericordia.
Diogo Rocha had brought with him tasty treats, reflective of the local region. They included cold river fish and bacon soup, smoked eel and asparagus, chicken with hazelnuts, sausage stuffed pastry, cod and vegetables, and mountain goat. Desserts included a very flavourful cheese from the Serra da Estrela mountains, and Palha de Abrantes, a convent recipe of an egg and almond mixture topped with strings of burnt egg, it’s also known as ouriço, hedgehog, because of its shape and spiky appearance.
Centro is the home of the delicious Dão wines, the ones I drank were from the Quinta de Lemos vineyard, which is owned by the restaurant. The Dão winegrowing area is one of Portugal’s oldest, and the Touriga Nacional grape is dominant in the production of red wines. I tried two of the wines from the vineyard, the white Dona Santana 2021, and the red Dona Santana 2015, both were complex and fruity.
A visit to Centro would not be complete without visits to two other places. Firstly, Aveiro, on the coast, it is known as ‘the Portuguese Venice’ for its canals and beautifully decorated traditional Moliceiro Boats. The second is the university city of Coimbra, which just oozes history. Notable attractions are the University, its Joanina library, has a stunning interior, and plays host to a colony of bats, who feast on the moths that damage the books.
Underneath the Machado de Castro National Museum in Coimbra is a Cryptoporticus, a Roman remain that is perfectly preserved. It’s an underground city with a forum and porticos, and must be seen to be fully appreciated. While in Coimbra listen out for Fado music, tradition songs that explore themes like fate, melancholy, love, and loss.
If you are looking for somewhere different and undiscovered to visit this summer with good food, friendly people, and interesting attractions then the Centro region is your ideal destination.
Access to the Centro Region is easy from the UK, with direct daily flights to Porto that take two hours and are available from TAP. www.flytap.com
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