Savouring Europe - Portugal (the Atlantic coast near Averio)

Gastrotourist Robert Golden’s tour of Europe sees him at the Atlantic coast in time to see how the Portuguese celebrate Christmas. A party marks the olive harvest, monks make a rare sweet liquor, an extraordinary pastry is stretched to the size of a room and fishermen pull eels from the sea to be made into a Christmas stew. Fish is the mainstay of Portuguese cuisine and from anchovy to swordfish, sea bream, bass and salmon, menus everywhere mark this country's love affair with seafood. There are plenty of options for the meat-lover too, from grilled skewers of beef with garlic to tenderest suckling pig. The Portuguese love rich egg-based desserts, flavoured with cinnamon and vanilla. A must at Christmas is arroz doce, a rice pudding, although aletria, based on a kind of vermicelli, is also popular.