Because of its long coastline, fish appears on many menus here, and indeed, in many kitchens across Portugal. Sardines are one of the first fish that springs to mind, then bacalhau – and in a culinary context, bacalhau is dried and salted cod, and there must thousands of different recipes across the country. It is often cooked on social occasions and is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in most parts of Portugal – and strangely, 70% of the cod consumed in Portugal is from Norway.

One you probably don’t see often is Lamprey, or Lamprey, an eel-like fish, and is one of the ugliest in mother nature's portfolio, but it's popular in Portugal from January to April. A prized delicacy here and other European countries as well as parts of Asia, it can be served in a wine (Bordalesa) sauce or in its own blood (cabidela) – yes, it is made more horrific by cooking it in its own blood.

Across the world, people do amazing things with stuff from our oceans, here’s a few.

Pilchards

From the south west of England, comes Stargazy Pie – it is a pastry-based fish pie which, by tradition, is filled with whole pilchards, a large sardine, and it is critical that the pilchards retain their heads, so they poke through the pastry top. The appearance of the fish heads makes them look like they are ‘gazing at the stars’, hence the name. The position of the fish allows the oil that is released during cooking to drain into the pie, adding a fuller flavour and ensuring the pie is moist. The celebrity chef Rick Stein has suggested also poking the pilchards' tails through the pie crust to give the effect of leaping through water.

Tuna Eyeballs

Chefs from Japan cook these fleshy, tennis ball–sized eyeballs as appetisers or bar snacks, where it has the name Maguro No Medama Yaki, and these delicacies can be found on menus in izakayas and restaurants throughout the country. There are various tuna eyeball recipes – of course there are – but the simplest way of cooking them it to simply boil or steam, and season with garlic or soy sauce, and are said to taste like squid.

Stingray Shoes

I had never heard of these before! They come from Southeast Asia, and like anything else, basic supply and demand plays a role in determining the price of stingray skin. Most are a by-product of local fishing sources - one fish, one shoe, apparently. Stingray skin was used by samurai in Japan - they used it for armour and the grips on swords, weapons and tools. Not only are they waterproof, but are fireproof as well. Obviously expensive, they are up there with the likes of shoes made from alligators, crocodiles and lizards.

Squid Ink

This is also called cephalopod ink, which has been used in traditional medicine for centuries, and is harvested from dead squid. It's also used as a pigment, writing ink, dye, and black food colouring. If you've eaten black burgers, waffles, pasta, or ice cream, you may have come across it before. Fresh squid ink is easier to access these days, and is sold in individual sachets or jars. After sterilising, it keeps well - for up to four years - and its flavour is retained. Squid ink is often described as ‘briny’ with ‘flavours of the sea’.

Gelatine

Gelatine is extracted from the skin and bones of cows and pigs, chicken, birds, ducks - even insects - but also from fish scales or skin. It appears in jelly desserts, ice creams, ‘gummy bears’, marshmallows, jelly beans, even candy corn, a Halloween treat. Gelatine is a mixture of peptides and proteins produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen, and fish by-products have been used in production of these types of food because of religious obstacles surrounding gelatine consumption.

And finally, It is an oft-quoted saying, and one full of social wisdom: ‘Give a man a fish, and he will be hungry again to-morrow; teach him to catch a fish, and he will be richer all his life.’ Fish aren’t stupid though - they are slippery creatures and won’t be caught easily!

Author

Marilyn writes regularly for The Portugal News, and has lived in the Algarve for some years. A dog-lover, she has lived in Ireland, UK, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. 

Marilyn Sheridan