|
The Portuguese have several traditional foods for Christmas, both savoury and sweet, and these change depending on the region of Portugal you're in.
In the Lisbon area the tradition is either turkey or cod. Some people have roasted octopus, roast lamb or goat. In my family it's usually cod, and occasionally turkey. Turkey is a relatively more recent tradition.
The traditional cod in most homes is very plain and I used to hate it as a child. The meal consists of boiled salted cod, potatoes, carrots, and greens (usually cabbage). This is served as is and drizzled in olive oil. It's not awful but far from my favourite.
These days homes have become more modern and since a lot of people find the cod prepared this way boring, usually people will serve what I can translate literally as cod with cream. This is much tastier and I quite like it. It's what I'll be having this year for Christmas Eve. It consists of boiled salted cod, broken up into flakes, then sautéed in olive oil with onions, and layered with cubed fried potatoes then covered in a white cream sauce, and grilled in the oven.
As for sweets, in my home they aren't very common, but the tradition is to have several different sweets that are egg based. Not really my thing.
__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.
Fernando Pessoa, 1918
|