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The magic of Christmas is rapidly approaching! Do you feel the need of a change of scenery for Christmas? Be seduced by Christmas in Portugal, full of gourmet delights, pleasures and traditions… Lisbon, Porto, a lot of cities are worthy a visit!
‘La Consoada’, Christmas eve in Portugal, is above all a beautiful moment, spent with family around the dinner table. This phrase evokes senses of the past; ‘Consoada’ signifies a light lunch, originally from the latin ‘consolare’, meaning comfort.
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The Consoada dinner is made up of relatively simple traditional dishes, which are nonetheless delicious. Cod is of course on the menu, served with potatoes and cabbage. That might seem rather light, but don’t forget to leave room for pudding!
The meal is made up of two stages. Traditionally, it’s only after the clock strikes 12 midnight, and the ‘Missa do Galo’ (the Cockerel’s mass) that the Portuguese return to the table to move onto the sweet course.
And there is a wide choice, with 13 different desserts, a reference to the last supper; a veritable avalanche of fruits and traditional puddings! Amongst them, there is: the King’s pudding: a cake for kings, in the form of a crown, and garnished with candied fruits, sweet rice: rice pudding lightly flavoured with lemon, the rabandas: a type of bread and butter pudding.
Next comes the present opening time, it is also customary to offer an orange, studded and decorated with cloves as a sign of richness and prosperity.
All of this might give you the desire to come and spend a few days in one of the many beautiful villas to be found across Portugal.
>>> Gastronomy in Portugal
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