What to Taste in Madeira?

Endless banana plantations, slopes covered with vineyards, beds of strelicia and other exotic flowers, fresh fish and tropical fruits of all colors in the local markets – this is Madeira – the “Pearl of the Atlantic”.

What should you taste during your stay in Madeira?

1. Espetada – Beef Skewer

On Sundays, during religious and other holidays, during family trips and gatherings, smoke will start to rise at several houses before lunch. The most famous specialty – espetada – is about to be prepared.

Large pieces of meat are cut and impaled on a branch from a laurel tree, which gives it an unmistakable taste. Alternatively, the meat is skewered on a stick alternating with bay leaves. Laurel trees are abundantly represented in Madeira, Laurisilva – the largest preserved part of the laurel forest with an area of 1,500 hectares, even belonging to the UNESCO Cultural Heritage.

The skewer is grilled on wood or charcoal, the medium rare version being the most popular.

The finished skewers are hung on a metal structure above the table, served with milho frito or boiled potatoes, or with a salad, but mainly with local red wine.

We had the opportunity to taste this traditional dish at Quinta do Barbusano, prepared by António, the owner of the winery.

Address: Quinta do Barbusano – São Vicente

And also in the Restaurant A Bica in Funchal – smaller portions arranged directly on the plate.

Address: Restorante A Bica – R. Hospital Velho 17, Funchal

2. Milho frito – Fried Maize

Fried cornmeal cubes are a popular side dish for main meat courses. We tasted them with a steak at the Pátio das Babosas Restaurant near the Tropical Garden in Funchal.

Address: Pátio das Babosas – Largo das Babosas 16, Funchal

3. Bolo do caco – Traditional Bread

Every country, perhaps even every place, has its typical bread. In Madeira, it is bolo do caco – flat round bread made from wheat flour. It is soft and delicate since the dough also contains mashed sweet potatoes.

It was traditionally baked on a basalt stone, hence the name “caco”. It is eaten still warm with garlic butter. You can get it at every local bakery as well as restaurants.

4. Sopa de tomate e cebola – Tomato Soup

Ingenious irrigation canals – levadas – run all over the island. There are narrow paths along the levadas, originally intended for repairs, but later they began to be used as beautiful routes for hiking. Just after such a hike, a warming dish – soup – goes well. The traditional ones include tomato soup with onions and a poached egg.

Chestnut soup is another traditional meal (sopa de castanha), especially in Curral das Freiras (Valley of the Nuns), where edible chestnuts are grown. Sopa de trigo is popular as well – a thick wheat soup, which the locals eat mainly in winter.

We only tasted the tomato soup, also at the Pátio das Babosas Restaurant near the Tropical Garden in Funchal.

5. Espada – Scabbard Filet

Madeira is a true paradise for fish lovers. The Portuguese are said to have been fishermen before they became seafarers. The offer of fish and seafood is bountiful in Madeira, although the work of fishermen is extremely difficult; their numbers are constantly decreasing. The steep and rocky coast makes it almost impossible for fishermen to work with nets. The most famous fish in Madeira is the espada – black scabbard fish. They say you should taste it first and then go to see what it looks like at the market in Funchal.

Espada lives in great depth and has a long, black body, teeth and large eyes. Up to 3.5 thousand tons are caught annually. It tastes great on a plate, especially in the Madeiran combination with banana and passion fruit. We tasted such a dish in a restaurant Gavião Novo in Funchal.

Address: Restaurante Gavião Novo – Rua de Santa Maria 131, Funchal

However, the variant with only banana was just as excellent – at the Restaurant A Bika in Funchal.

6. Bife te atum – Tuna Steak

The annual tuna catch is almost three times larger than the espada catch. We admired the caught pieces at the Mercado dos Lavradores market in Funchal. Some weigh up to 90 kg. The guy in front of us cut off a thick piece that weighed 6 kilograms. That’s a real steak! 🙂

Traditionally, fresh tuna is marinated in olive oil with garlic, salt and oregano before frying. Sea bream, castanets, shrimp and squid are just as popular. We must also add cod – bacalhau to the list. It is sold dried and salted at the fish market but also in small delicatessens. There are dozens of recipes for its preparation.

7. Lapas – Limpets

We could go on listing fish and seafood dishes for a long time.

We decided to try grilled limpets, a type of snail that lives along the rocky shores of Madeira. They are served with lemon and garlic butter on a hot pan straight from the grill.

We ordered this appetizer at Snack Bar da Sé in Funchal.

Address: Snack Bar da Sé – Rua Doutor António José Almeida 4, Funchal

8. Truta – Grilled Trout

In Madeira, however, they also like to enjoy grilled trout. The most famous is the farm in Riberio Frio in the middle of the lush green of the subtropical laurel forest, where the water in the trout tanks is constantly refreshed with natural, ice-cold water from the levadas. From the farm, the levada hike continues to Balcoes, one of the most beautiful viewpoints on the whole island. We also made this trip, but the surroundings were covered in fog, so there was not much of a view. However, there were small, cute finches waiting for us. The bravest ones picked a few crumbs from the palm of my hand.

At the end of the trip, we stopped at the Snack Bar Faisca where we – of course – ordered grilled trout.

Address: Restaurante Snack Bar Faisca – Estrada da Laurissilva 3

9. Carne de vinha d’alhos – Marinated Pork

Back to the meat: during Christmas, but in restaurants throughout the year, carne de vinha d’alhos is traditionally eaten – small pieces of pork, marinated in a mixture of garlic, white wine, vinegar and bay leaves. This dish is so popular that the Portuguese even exported it to their overseas territories. I did not have the opportunity to taste this dish, but I included it in this selection, as it is so traditional in Madeira.

10. Prego – Sandwich

Traditional bolo do caco bread is used to make popular sandwiches as well – a tasty and cheaper option for lunch. The most popular is the sandwich with grilled steak, but we had it with ham and egg…

…and with espada fish at the Snack Bar da Sé in Funchal.

11. Pudim de maracuja – Passion Fruit Pudding

I think passion fruit is the most used fruit in the cuisine of Madeira, probably because of its distinct sweet and sour taste. The most typical is purple, but you can also find other varieties.

An excellent passion fruit pudding, which is one of the main pillars of Madeiran cuisine, was prepared for us by António’s sister at Quinta do Barbusano.

12. Bolo de mel – Honey Cake

Madeira’s oldest sweet dainty dates back to the days when the island was a major producer of sugar. The “White gold” in the 15th century brought enormous wealth; it was exported not only to continental Europe but also to Africa and Asia.

Honey cake bolo de mel is usually baked at Christmas. The cake has a beautiful dark brown color, traditionally it is not cut, but broken off with your fingers, as a metal knife would change its taste. Madeira wine goes well with it.

Thanks to its composition, this honey cake has a long shelf-life, it does not even need to be stored in the refrigerator. It is said that there is a rich version of it, in which cane honey and dried fruits are added, while the poor version goes with molasses and the cake is less sweet.

The cake can be bought at various shops as well as at wine or rum tasting companies.

13. Various Sweet Pastries

The most famous company in Funchal is Fábrica Santo Antonio, where not only the traditional honey cake is produced and sold, but also cookies and candies made of sugar cane with different flavors – passion fruit, coconut, eucalyptus, ginger, fennel, etc. The company was founded in 1893 by Francisco Roque da Silva as the first fine biscuit factory on the island. His wife collected old family recipes that were constantly improved. Today, this production continues in the fifth generation.

Queijadas – small cakes made of cottage cheese and eggs – are popular as well. Here you can also get the famous Portuguese pastel de nata – cookies made of crispy puff pastry topped with egg cream, but in Madeira, of course, flavored with passion fruit.

A pleasant shop with an old-fashioned flair also offers a wide selection of jams – the passion fruit (what else?) one is excellent, however, the English tomato jam was just as interesting for me.

Address: Fábrica Santo Antonio – Tv. do Forno 27-29, Funchal

14. Frutas tropicais – Tropical Fruit

Mercado dos Lavradores in Funchal is the most famous market in Madeira. The busiest time here is on Fridays and Saturdays when farmers from the surrounding area set up their stalls. Tourists come here not only to admire the fishing catches in the back hall of the market, but especially to enjoy the exotic fruits.

The most interesting fruits include annona, the so-called sugar apple, its white flesh is considered a great delicacy.

However, our attention was caught by the large, elongated green cones – the fruits of the great monstera, which we know as a houseplant under the name philodendron. In Madeira, however, they are large bushes and the white flesh of their fruit tastes like banana and pineapple.

When it is ripe, the green skin gradually falls off and you use a mini fork to scoop out the white pulp.

In this amazing palette of colors, you will also find bananas, mangoes, papayas, cherries, figs, limes and all kinds of other well-known and lesser-known fruits. Thanks to the mild climate, the fruit is delicious and there is a rich selection throughout the year. Bananas ripen here all year round.

If you want to learn more about the cuisine of Madeira and enjoy a culinary experience in several places in Funchal, then I definitely recommend the Food on Foot guided tour in Funchal. Several types of tours are offered – in addition to Portuguese, also in English, German, French, Dutch and Spanish.

Our tour with guide Anna lasted almost four hours. We had the opportunity to taste up to 15 samples of regional food and drinks. In addition, in a relaxed atmosphere, we learned from Anna various interesting facts about the history and culture of the island.

Contact: Food on Foot

And what about drinks? We will talk about them in the next article.

More information about Madeira: Visit Madeira

Text: © Copyright Ingrid, Travelpotpourri
Fotos: © Copyright Ingrid, Travelpotpourri