NORTHERN PORTUGAL
The north of Portugal is renowned for its caldo verde, a Minho-style cabbage and potato soup, and its great variety of sweets and desserts, using generous quantities of eggs.
Cozido à portuguesa is a national dish of meats, sausages and vegetables with its origins in the Trás-os-Montes region. Other hearty dishes are served up in the inland mountainous regions, making much use of partridges, hare, kid and pig, the favourite Portuguese meat, which is also used for sausages and hams (of which Chaves and Lamego presunto are the best known). Other cured meats of Northern Portugal include the farinheira sauasage made from pork, wine and flour and morcela, a well-seasoned blood sausage that's best fried or charcoal-grilled. The highly-spiced chouriço and paio sausages are also very popular.
Various recipes of dried cod and other fish dishes are found around Oporto, along with tripas à moda do Porto, a strong-flavoured concoction of tripes, ham, beans and rice.
Desserts come in various forms, such as the tasty sopa dourada, a sponge cake recipe from Viana do castelo made with ground almonds and egg yolk. Named after the abbot who invented it, Pudim Abade de Priscos is flavoured with lemon, spices and Port wine.
Northern specialities of cake are rich, smooth and sugary, and often flavoured with cinnamon. Toucinho do céu, which means 'bacon from heaven', is a popular locally-made almond and cinnamon cake.