CONSUMING INDIGENOUS / REGIONAL / LOCAL PRODUCE FROM THE ALENTEJO IS TO PROMOTE TERRITORIAL SUSTAINABILITY

The Alentejo gastronomy represents one of the most important pillars of differentiation and identity of this transtagano territory, which above all has always known how to assimilate, over the millennia, the flavours, the knowledge, the ingredients and the culinary customs left by the various peoples who have passed through the Alentejo, in particular the Romans and Arabs.

To know and consume the traditional gastronomy of the Alentejo is also to establish a connection with the history, culture and local community. This connection contributes to "share" values and customs that accompany food from its raw state (in natura) to the table.

Each dish of the Alentejo gastronomy suggests us much more than "simple" result of transforming produce into cooked food. They are the reflection of simplicity, of the sobriety of habits that respect what the land provides us, in a sustainable balance between consumption needs and seasonal production capacity.

This seasonal capacity is responsible for the simplicity of the Alentejo's traditional gastronomy, coming from the imaginative mixture, with wise hands, of the ingredients available in each season: Beldroegas soup in spring, tomato soup in summer, game dishes and migas with Alentejo pork in winter, tubers and other wild mushrooms in January. These are then magically transformed into typical and traditional well-loved recipes.

The inclusion of some ingredients, such as shark and codfish, may come as a surprise, as they are unusual, and are not unrelated to facts of an economic, sociological, and even anthropological nature.

With a gastronomic diversity, whose recipes have been passed from generation to generation, the "local ingredients / indigenous produce" are part of the life of those who are born and live connected to the land. A living inheritance of a unique and profuse heritage.

Their consumption, preservation and valorisation should therefore be seen as important as that of any other element of the territorial heritage. Taking into account that the consumption of local and traditional produce in the Alentejo responds, on the one hand, to a large extent, to the points highlighted by the Mediterranean Diet, Cultural and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, (based on bread, wine, olive oil, and Alentejo pig, as defended the illustrious gastronome Alfredo Saramago) and on the other hand, it encourages and stimulates local production and consumption of indigenous produce of the territory.

The indigenous produce presents particular characteristics of the region, which correlate with the generous supply of what nature offers us spontaneously, or its production processes, and as such, have special attributes, absolutely exclusive to this same region and its biodiversity.

The agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystem that is the Montado, characteristic of the Alentejo, is probably the most complete biodiversity process in the universe and its multifunctional capacity continues to be remarkable in the provision of indigenous produce, whether of plant origin, spontaneous (pennyroyal, cardoons, mushrooms, tubers), or cultivated, or of animal origin, in extensive production (lamb, the Alentejo pig breed), whose co-existence is crucial to their sustainability and preservation.

The consumption and sale of these indigenous produce supports local producers (farmers) and encourages them to take care of their profession as a business, protecting their investment, preserving the environment and contributing to the sustainability of the territory, with positive economic, social and environmental impacts, in a circular economy logic.

Consuming indigenous / local / regional produce means strengthening the productive system, the economic base and food sovereignty. It means the use of existing agricultural resources and wealth creation, while preserving healthy habits and behaviours, significantly reducing the ecological footprint of each consumer.

It is from this perspective that the recipes presented and, fundamentally, the main ingredients that make them up, which we describe below, are fundamental elements of choice in preserving the gastronomic history of the Alentejo, its uses and customs and, fundamentally, its contribution to the environmental sustainability of the territory, implementing short supply chains and subsequent creation of territorial value.

They combine nature, history, knowledge, nutritional balance and sustainability.

Ingredients / Condiments / Local Produce /Alentejo's indigenous produce

Oregano (Origanum vulgare) - A spontaneous plant that populates the Mediterranean landscape, much in evidence in the Greeks, due to its great medicinal abilities and even antidote for poisons, it is an indispensable "seasoning" for tomato soups and flavouring of canned olives.

Coriander (Coriandrun sativun) - Brought to Europe by the Romans, this aromatic herb is the basis, as a seasoning, of a significant number of dishes from the Alentejo cuisine, namely the "Açorda de Alho"; "Favada", among many other recipes.

Cação (Carcharhinus plumbeus) - Of the shark and ray family, the cação was one of the few sea fish that arrived in greater abundance to the rural population of the Alentejo, since it was the fish that best withstood transport, but also because it was one of the cheapest.

Acorn (fruit of the Holm Oak - Quercus rotundifolia) - The acorn has been a resource primarily used by livestock and especially in fattening "phase of Montanheira" of the Alentejo pig breed, giving a specific flavour to their meat, however "always" been used for human food, according to references dating back to the seventh century BC.

Consumed in the most varied forms: raw, toasted, cooked, in broths, in the convent confectionery, today we have observed important movements towards the recovery of the acorn and its inclusion in the diet, through the manufacture of bread, cakes, pies and even liqueurs.

Pennyroyal (Menta pulegium) - A spontaneous and intensely scented plant of the mint family, which can be found near water courses, where it can appear in the wild state.

Its properties are countless, from its capacity as an "insecticide" because its smell keeps insects away, to infusion properties as a tea, flavouring for liqueurs, medicinal uses as a digestive, and its culinary use in the various traditional dishes of the Alentejo, such as açordas, migas, caldetas de peixe, among many others.

Wild mushrooms (Boletus spp) - (boletus, tusks, myscaros) - This fungus, which as such is a living organism that is part of the mycological universe of the Alentejo's montado, as well as other ecosystems, has always been part of the Alentejo's rural diet, although it has always demanded knowledgeable eyes and experience from the collectors in order to identify the edible species and reject the many that present high levels of toxicity.

Much study and scientific research, on the various edible species have allowed through mycological evolution, for cultivated mushrooms, (fungiculture) given the exponential increase in consumption and the guarantee that all are edible.

In cooking, they are used fried or grilled, in salads, as an accompaniment, in pies and pies, or with rice, among other dishes, which turn them into real delicacies.

Vegetables (carrots - Daucus carota subsp. sativus -, broccoli - Brassica oleracea var. italica, spinach - Spinacia oleracea, zucchinis - Cucurbita pepo, mogango - Cucurbita maxima / beans - Phaseolus vulgaris, chickpeas - Cicer arietinum) – Due to the nutritional importance of these vegetables, in some cases, used raw or cooked but also after drying, maintaining their preservation and thus lowering their ecological footprint and shortening market supply chain (production / consumption), a growing popularity in the resurgence of local gardens (around urban centres) has been observed. In the past, all farms in the Alentejo had their own vegetable gardens for the preparation of soups and side dishes and various combined dishes with these ingredients.

Olives / Olive Oil - Single fruit, fleshy and indehiscent, from the Olive tree - Olea europaea, whose pericarp is eaten directly after treatment (salt, garlic, oregano, bay leaf, among other preservatives and flavourings) or transformed into a precious golden-coloured liquid, which has always served as a base for food, being the most used fat in the Alentejo gastronomy, replacing animal fats, such as lard and used almost daily as a seasoning for various dishes, especially the Alentejo "açorda Alentejana", or "Açorda de Alho".

Regional cheeses of the Alentejo- produce made from selected raw milk (in the Alentejo the most usual comes from sheep), to which is added a coagulant of vegetable origin - Thistle flower extracts - Cynara cardunculus, experienced and knowledgeable hands mold in "cinchos" the coagulated mass, from which they separate the "serum". A true delicacy, eaten "fresh" or "cured", after a period of maturation that can last up to 90 days, although it can be preserved in salt and or olive oil, until the next "leverage".

Alentejo Bread - Left in Alentejo by the Roman culture, wheat bread is still part of the food matrix of Alentejo, where it continues to occupy an important role in the "soups" of Alentejo: Açorda de Alho; Tomato Soup; Cação Soup, Migas, Ensopados, among many other dishes.

Migas Alentejanas - Migas are a typical dish of most of Alentejo.

It was a dish mainly used in rural regions, where the shepherds used to use hard bread, but also for being a dish "with substance", as they say.

There are details in its confection that vary a little in the various areas of Alentejo.

It is a dish made with hard bread softened in hot water, but that over time has also been adapted to new produce, including asparagus, tomatoes, potatoes, and pennyroyal.

There is a wide range of migas, although the base is always made in the same way and always with bread as the main ingredient: Migas gatas; à pastora; de assobio, canhas, among others, and can be accompanied by meat, or fried fish, or even with coffee and milk, as many people used to have their breakfast.

Alentejo Pig (Sus Ibericus). The "black pig", an epithet erroneously used to characterise the Alentejo pig, which is fattened at first on the grass of fallow land, cereal stubble and in its last phase "montanheira" from the fruits of the holm and cork oak forests as well as the pastures existing there, being itself a valuable factor of the agro-silvo-pastoral system that is its natural habitat, contributing to its preservation and sustainability.

This type of feeding, in extensive regime, gives its meat unequalled organoleptic characteristics.

Pork has played a key role the gastronomy and diet of most Alentejans, in that even the less well-off could fatten a pig that gave them food for "all year round", allowing the preparation of numerous traditional recipes of the region, in addition to the traditional "sausages".

Alentejo Sausages - Preserved in smokehouses, from the best techniques left by the Romans, from the best raw material of Alentejo Black Pig and aromatic herbs and spices, worked by wise hands, fruit of a "know-how", passed on generationally, give the Alentejo sausages a very characteristic flavour, proportional to the passion and respect for tradition (sausages, chorizos, farinheiras, cacholeiras, paios and painhos, raw, roasted, or cooked) do justice to the pleasure of diners.

Conventual sweets - It was mainly from the fifteenth century that the sweets made in convents began to gain notoriety and are characterised by using large amounts of sugar and egg yolks (the egg whites were used to iron the suits of the priests and the nuns themselves), but also by the frequent use of almonds and very little flour.

Practically all over the Alentejo there are important vestiges of conventual confectionery:
Pastéis de Nata, Pão de Rala, Manjar Branco, Toucinho - do - Céu, Pastéis de Santa Clara, Lamprey and Almond Massapão, Sopa Doce de São Bernardo; Ovos Queimados da Soror Mariana, Esmolas de São Pedro; Sericaia.

José Casas-Novas
mail: conf.gast.alent@sapo.pt
www.confrariagastronomicadoalentejo.com

Read the article on Eating Sustainably in Evora here>

References:

BARROQUEIRO, Deana (2021/2022). A História dos Paladares, Vols. 1, 2 e 3, Editora Prime Books

ALMODÔVAR, António (sd). Memórias da Culinária Alentejana, Colares Editora

SARAMAGO, Alfredo (1997). Para uma História da Alimentação no Alentejo, Edições Assírio & Alvim

VALADÃO, Maria Manuel (2008). Tradição e Inovação Alimentar - Dos recursos silvestres aos itinerários turísticos, Edições Colibri