Greek vs Portuguese food & cuisine

Every day eating revolves around wheat breads, vegetables like tomato and eggplant, legumes, greens, and cheeses, feta and graviera, with yogurt as sauce or base. Coastal fish and island seafood sit alongside lamb, goat, pork, and charcoal-grilled souvlaki.  Honey, nuts, and phyllo dough desserts provide a sweet finish. In short: elemental ingredients, careful seasoning, and communal joy. 

Another use of wheat is as a comfort food, hilopites, Greek pasta, resembling flat, square-shaped pieces, often homemade and cooked in rich tomato sauce with chicken or lamb.

In Greek cuisine, rice isn’t as essential as in some other cuisines, but it does bring diversity in flavors and textures. It’s used as a filling for tomatoes, bell peppers, and grape leaves, in soups, and in pilafs (though bulgur is also used in pilafs), often seasoned with fresh herbs, olive oil, and lemon. The use of other cereals is minimal.

Corn, introduced to Europe from the Americas in the 16th century, quickly became in the central and northern coasts. Its adaptability to diverse microclimates and resilience made it a staple crop, found today in cornbread broa de milho and fried cornmeal milho frito (source).

Rice consumption in Portugal is the highest in Europe. This trend is linked to the early Moorish heritage and the ideal combination of rain, water, and sun that stimulates rice cultivation. The main varieties grown are agulha and carolino; the first is a long grain commonly used as a side dish, while the second is a short grain rice ideal for absorbing liquids in creamy and wet dishes. The Portuguese are so passionate about rice that they incorporate it into custards (queijadas de arroz), pastries (bolo de arroz), puddings (arroz doce), soups (canja de galinha com arroz), and many more.

The most frequently used are tomatoes; they are the base of many sauces and are the star of gemista and Greek salad. Eggplants are often grilled, baked, or fried, mashed into a popular smoky eggplant dip, melitzanosalata. Zucchinis you may find stuffed with rice and herb mixture or transformed into fritters. Roasted peppers might be used in salads, spreads, or served as accompaniments. Spinach, dandelion, and amaranth greens are of widespread use. While okra is more commonly associated with cuisines of the American South, the Middle East, and Africa, it also finds its place in Greek kitchens; here, it is known as bamies.

Greek cuisine stands out for its minimalist approach to pulse preparation. They cook them in olive oil to bring out the natural flavors and season mainly with garlic, onions, tomatoes, oregano, and lemons, while neighboring cuisines incorporate more spices.

Greek cuisine is rich in potato recipes. Lemon is a key ingredient in almost everything – it adds the iconic flavor this cuisine is known for.

Though pulses appear in many traditional Portuguese stews, salads, and soups, they don’t dominate everyday meals. However, in a bar, you’ll likely be served salty lupini beans as a snack. If you order a stew in Portugal, you’ll probably find white beans, kidney beans, fava beans, or chickpeas in it.

Portugal consumes more collard greens per capita than almost any other European country.

This culinary preference towards collards traveled forth and back the Atlantic during colonization and also flourishes in Brazil. Collards are key to a popular caldo verde soup, also cozido à portuguesa (meat and vegetable stew).

The country is one of the world’s largest exporters of tomato paste despite not being a huge fresh tomato consumer. Most of its tomatoes are processed for sauces and exports. Onions and garlic form the aromatic base of almost every savory dish; carrots, various beans, turnips, and greens are important in northern cooking. Bell peppers, pumpkins, and squash round out the common vegetables.

Portugal is rich in fruits, both in consumption and production. Algarve, a southern region of Portugal, is famous for its sweet and juicy oranges, key to bolo de naranja (orange cake). Mainland cultivates apples, pears, quince, plums, cherries, grapes, and medronho (strawberry tree); the Atlantic archipelagos supplement with exotic harvests – pineapples, bananas, passion fruits, anonnas.

Port wine, born in Portugal’s UNESCO-protected Douro Valley, stands as one of the world’s great fortified wines, created by adding grape spirit during fermentation to produce a sweet, rich wine with 19-22% alcohol content. Available in ruby, tawny, white, and vintage styles, port ranges from fresh berry flavors in young ruby ports to the complex nutty, caramel notes found in aged tawnies.

Lamb is the most iconic meat locally, especially during the Orthodox Easter, when whole lambs are roasted on spits. Dishes like kfeftiko rustic slow-cooked lamb, paidakia lamb chops, and lamb fricassee, braised with greens, are popular.

In the same rocky terrains, goats roam alongside sheep. They are loved and prepared similarly; the meat is flavorful and pairs well with Greek herbs.

With the advent of Christianity in Greece, pork became more prominent as it wasn’t associated with ancient pagan rituals like lamb or beef; the relative ease of pig farming also contributed to its popularity.

Over the last 50 years, Portugal’s economic growth has led to dietary shifts – lower consumption of plant-based foods and a heightened intake of animal and processed foods. Traditional Portuguese cuisine reflects this balance, with traditional dishes featuring pork, all kinds of sausages, and smoked cuts reinforcing meat-centricity. The majority of Portuguese meat dishes are rich in flavor, hearty, come in the form of stews and one-pot meals, and are accompanied by rich sauces.

Pork is the most popular meat, and the Iberian black pig is especially valued. This rare heritage breed is native to both Spain and Portugal. The special acorn diet and ability to roam freely (a single pig requires 2-5 acres of oak forest) create exceptional marbling, making it the most expensive pork globally. There are great cuts to consume, but the most flavorful are hams, taken from the leg and usually cured. Portuguese people pride themselves on using the entire animal and making sure nothing goes to waste.

Among the Greek islands, seafood specialties feature sun-dried octopus, which you’ll often see hanging outside to dry. This method tenderizes the meat and imparts a unique dried flavor. Once dried, the octopus is grilled, becoming tender and smoky.

Grilled sardines can be found in various cuisines, but the simple Greek preparation typically involves olive oil, lemon, and oregano.

Foremost among these is pelagic cod—bacalhau, a Portuguese national obsession. It’s somewhat ironic that a nation so rich in fresh seafood prefers it preserved and salted. Legend has it that Basque fishermen (from what is now Spain) were sailing near the coast of Norway in the late 1500s, hunting for whales, when they stumbled upon vast schools of cod. They were so far away from home, and with so many fish onboard, the only option was to filet them and cover them with salt, as they would have done with the whale meat.

The Portuguese proudly claim there are over 365 ways to prepare bacalhau—a unique dish for every day of the year. To cook salted cod, the fish must first be rehydrated by soaking in water or milk, then desalted. Once prepared, it can be transformed into a variety of delicious Portuguese dishes.

Fatty, juicy, and voluptuous – Portugal is known for its excellent fresh sardines, grilled and served with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Canned sardines are also a Portuguese delicacy, and they are not reserved to dust in pantries till there is nothing to eat. Canning started in the 19th century as a way of preserving food, and it later served as a long-lasting and nutritious food for soldiers during the two world wars. Today,  canned sardines are even served as starters on restaurants’ menus.

The Portuguese love their seafood fresh and simple, and they consume it widely: they eat more mollusks than anyone else in Europe. Portugal ranks second in the world for consuming cephalopods (like squid and octopus), just behind South Korea. Shellfish, such as clams and shrimp, are commonly steamed or cooked in garlic and cilantro sauce, while hearty stews like caldeirada (fish stew) and cataplana (seafood medley) offer a mix of fish and shellfish in rich broths. Fried fish, like sardines or whitebait, are popular snacks, and seafood rice dishes (arroz de marisco) are a comforting favorite.

Mountainous terrain favored sheep and goats, so sheep cheeses became dominant; feta is a white, brined, tangy cheese primarily from sheep’s milk, with up to 30% goat’s milk allowed under PDO rules.

Feta is among the oldest recorded cheese styles, linked to descriptions in Homer’s era, and still hugely popular – often cited as about 70% of Greek cheese consumption.

Traditional Portuguese cuisine does not include cheese in many recipes; it is usually eaten on its own as an appetizer. Among the most famous Portuguese cheeses are:
– Queijo da Serra – semi-soft, rich, intense spreadable cheese from sheep milk
– Azeitao unpasteurized sheep milk cheese, is slightly lighter and milder compared to Serra
– Sao Jorge Azores cows milk cheese, cured at room temperature till it reaches firm, flavor-packed crystals consistency.

Portuguese cuisine is famously egg-centric. Eggs are frequently incorporated into dishes – poached in soups, fried on meat steak, or in Porto sandwich franchesinha, boiled and mixed with cod. Rare dessert goes without a sugar-cinnamon-egg trio.

Animal fats are used way more often than in other Mediterranean countries. In northern regions, lard and rendered pork fat enhance the flavor and texture of bifanas (pork sandwiches), sausages chouriço, farinheira, morcilla, and others. Butter is used in pastries and baked goods, though is still less prevalent than vegetable oils, especially olive oil.

Olive trees have been on the Portuguese landscape for thousands of years. Portuguese consumers approach olive oil selection with discerning standards—carefully evaluating the growing region, acidity level, color profile, and specific olive varieties used. Portuguese put it on everything from bread to salad to fish; no table is complete without olive oil and vinegar.

With over 120 million olive trees in Greece, that’s roughly 11 trees for every resident in the country. The majority of the olive oil produced is of extra virgin quality, making it one of the highest percentages in the world. It’s mind-blowing to think about the impact of olives and olive oil on Greek cuisine. One of the most characteristic aspects of Greek food is ladera dishes. These are vegetables cooked slowly in olive oil with tomatoes and herbs, creating a rich, comforting meal.

Nuts grow abundantly throughout Greece; they are enjoyed raw and roasted as a snack, a crunchy addition to salads or pilafs, and in sweets. Nuts, especially almonds, hold religious significance in Greece.

Many of Greece’s desserts, such as baklava, galaktoboureko, and kataifi, rely on phyllo dough soaked in honey or sugar syrup. The combination of crunchy layers with sticky syrup creates a signature texture central to Greek sweets.

Chestnuts played an important role historically: were used to thicken broths, garnish soup, added to bread. Up to date, even though frequently replaced with other cereals, chestnut remains a beloved ingredient.  During the fall, it is very likely to see a chestnut roaster on streets, served in newspaper cones; there are many new recipes featuring chestnuts that revive its popularity.

Portugal’s signature pastéis de nata– a crisp pastry shell filled with creamy custard – has achieved international recognition, appearing in cafés worldwide. The Portuguese sweet palette also prefers ovos moles – sweet egg yolk creams often shaped like seashells, pão de ló – airy sponge cake, and doce de gila – candied squash) distinguishing it from neighboring Mediterranean traditions through the predominance of egg yolks rather than nuts or fruits.