PORTUGUESE FOOD... YOU NEED SOME GUTS

When in Porto I was talked into tasting some of the local specialities/delicatessen a fish restaurant on the first night



For someone who never ever eats fish it was a nice treat to take me out to a fish restaurant. Very nice. OK,.. I ordered a "carne" dish (meat), but when the dish of octopus was brought out, the school director convincingly managed to change my mind and have a bite. Not all that bad...



But I was totally amazed at myself when two days later I found myself in the school cafetaria eating TRIPAS !!! Can you believe it??



- Tripas à moda do Porto -

Tripas is tripe: The lining of a cow or sheep's stomach, to be exact. It looks pretty horrendous. It is a thick lacy lump of innards with an unpleasant yellowish tinge. It is often served with white beans and bits of smoked sausage.



Naturally there's a story behind why Porto's inhabitants are so fond of tripas. Back in medieval times, a Portuguese king set off to war and needed provisions for his troops. He requisitioned all the city's tastiest cuts of meat and left Porto with a mess of offal. They discovered they had a taste for tripe-and have ever since. The rest of the country calls them tripeiros (tripe-eaters).

Enjoy,

HK