Eat something new every day - part three: lunch/dinner

Eat something new every day - part three: lunch/dinner

What do you eat when you leave your country? Do you go to restaurants which offer meals typical for your country? Do you go to restaurants which serve typical meals from the country that you travel in? Do you cook yourself? Well, there might be many other answers, I guess. Whatever answer you would choose, I am here today to write about main dishes which are great to be eaten when you are hungry and feel like tasting Madeiran cuisine.

In the series Eat something new every day we have already read about desserts/sweets and about snacks.  Today, we are going to read about meals which you can have for lunch or even for dinner.

As Madeira is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, many people work as fishermen.  It means that people there eat quite plenty of fish and they eat meat a lot. So, if there are any vegetarians reading this article right now, they may consider this article like learning about Madeiran culture.

Espada

One of the most famous meals is espada with rice or potatoes. But what is that espada? It is a very long fish which can be fished especially in the area around the archipelago of Madeira, I have never measured it, but I am sure it is longer than just a meter. Its eyes are huge! I mean really, really huge. And espadas have got very sharp teeth. I know a fisherman who got bitten by espada and his finger had been swollen for a month. But do not worry when swimming in the sea/ocean. Espadas live very deep so they do not bite people just so.

If you are not a fisherman and still want to see “uma espada” in a different form than just on a plate in a restaurant, go to Mercado dos Lavradores in Funchal and you will definitely find it there.

Now, let us talk about the espada on the plate. What I like a lot is espada which was put into a flour, then into some raw eggs (and after into a flour made of some old buns – probably). When it is covered with all of these ingredients, people fry it. Oh, how delicious it is to eat it with rice!

Picture: Espada - prepared at home (I was not the one who prepared that one, I cannot take a credit for it).

But that kind is more about how locals prepare it at home. When you go to a restaurant, I suggest eating fried espada with banana or maracujá. I like both but prefer the banana one. However, when there is an option of having both “toppings”, I simply ask for both. It is usually served with many different kinds of potatoes (sweet ones and then green ones which I never remember how they are called). And of course, there is a garnish – some vegetables.

Where to eat espada with banana? Almost anywhere, it is really typical. But a place where I really enjoyed eating it was in Monte (a town above Funchal) in a restaurant called Pátio das Babosas. I also ate a very nice one in a restaurant, which I call The Ten Euros Restaurant. It is in Funchal right next to Rua Santa Maria. I am sure if you ask for it, people will tell you where to go exactly.

Picture: Is the restaurant not amzing? Pátio das Babosas in Monte.

Espada in a bun

I know that when people travel they need to eat, but despite of the fact, they sometimes even forget about eating because they are so excited about exploring the area. That is often my case. Then I suddenly realise that I would like to eat something as soon as possible... Or, what I love doing is getting some food from a supermarket so I can keep it in my bag and eating it in a nice place.

Well, if you get hungry all of the sudden or if you want to have something that you can easily take to another place, I recommend you buying the espada in a bun(en pao). I do not really know whether there is a special name for it (so if you know, feel free to let me know).

Picture: Espada in a bun.

Where to buy it? There are many places in Funchal. I cannot name one, as I honestly do not remember names of those places. However, they are just small bars where you can get some drinks and they offer also some snacks which will fill your stomach up. One of the bars is next to Mercado dos Lavradores, another one is just in front of the roundabout Praca da Autonomia (close by Casa da Luz)  – more specifically there where Rua do Visconde de Anadia street and Largo do Pelourinho meet each other.

You can get this kind of snack-meal for 5 Euros and you can usually choose what kind of fish or filling you want to have in the bun.

Espetada

Wait, is this that kind of fish we have just finished talking about? No! However, as they are called almost the same, people get sometimes confused what the topic of the conversation is. So what is espetada?

Espetada are pieces of meat (usually beef, but there can be also a chicken espetada and so) which are impaled on a separate branch from the laurel tree. Sometimes it can be put just on a metal stick but the most traditional way of preparing espetada is the one with the branch. When it is ready, people put t above fire and roast it there.

How is it eaten? The way of eating espetada is also very specific. I mean, you should definitely leave Madeira only after getting espetada. The branch with roasted pieces of meat is put into a hole which is in the middle of a table. However, the meat pieces stays in the upper part of the table (above it), so people pull away a piece which they start eating. Locals are able to pull it away with cutlery but it is easier to do it with your hands(which we say is the royals’ set of cutlery).

Picture: Espetada in the middle of the table.

When it is on the metal stick (and you eat espetada in a restaurant), they usually put it either on a wire which goes above the table or they hang it on such an espetada holder.

I love eating espetada with such cubes (which I have seen only in Madeira so far, but if you have it in your country – different from Madeira – tell me again). They are made of corn flour and after they are fried (milho frito). Of course, you might get some salad or chips/potatoes/rice – simply whatever you like, too.

Where to eat espetada? If you know some locals who invite you for a lunch and they prepare espetada, it would be the best kind of experience tasting espetada. What do you think? But apart from this, you can go to any restaurant and they will definitely have espetada on their menu list. I could recommend the same restaurants about which I was writing in the paragraphs about espada. However, there is one place outside of Funchal where eating espetada is a real experience. The “restaurant” is called La Parreira and you can find it in Campanario – Ribeira Brava.

Photo: Espetada in La Parreira.

Is that all I can have for a lunch or a dinner?

No, no, no! I have just got to a point when I consider it easier to finish the article and let you go outside to eat something new every day. Now you have got some new ideas what to order in restaurants.  Do not worry, I will definitely write another part of this series about what else you can get when you are really hungry and want to eat well, for good prices and taste really traditional and typical food.

Go and eat! Bom apetite!

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