Tromba Rija

Two weeks ago we decided to take a family road trip and we went to two beautiful towns named Óbidos and Alcobaça. It was such a nice day, because we got to walk around the towns, talk, have coffee, relax and also we ate dinner at a very special place.


First we went to Óbidos, where I have been before, but I was about 9 years old, so I only remembered a few things. I loved this place, because you can see the castle and walk on the big wall that surrounds the whole town. The houses are painted white and have different coloured stripes on the sides. This makes the streets so colourful and lovely. Also I was amazed by all the different flowers and trees. We found a little antique book shop where we spent about 30 minutes looking around and also we ended up buying a few books. I bought a portuguese cooking book which has beautiful big pictures in it and I am thinking about trying one or two recipes. I think it is better to go this time of the year, because it is not crowded by tourists, it is just quiet and you can really see how the local people live there.
  

The beautiful view of Óbidos

The red and blue striped houses

The antique bookshop 

Then we went to Alcobaça where we saw the Alcobaça Monastery that has a beautiful church and a garden inside of it. We had coffee in front of the Monastery, but then it was time for us to go to the restaurant that we have picked for that night.

Alcobaça Monastery

The restaurant Tromba Rija

This little trip was a few days before my father's birthday and we knew we were going to celebrate it with the whole family on the actual day. But we wanted to take this chance and have a little mini celebration. In the antique shop my father saw this book that was called "10 best restaurants in Portugal" and he read about this place called Tromba Rija in Leiria. Lots of guide books recommend to try it. The book said that the owners of this restaurant grow all the ingredients for the meals in their own garden, soo we were expecting a farm. It turned out to be this little restaurant in the middle of a small town with 5 or 6 tables which was a quiet and intimate place. The owner lady was serving us with the help of a waitress. The walls were covered with thank you notes from people who loved the food and the place. On the menu it said that the restaurant had been open for 51 years. 

The owner lady started by showing us to our table an then explaining how the whole dinner was going to be. This was a "degustacão", which means that they serve you a whole range of the typical food of the region. 

First we had three courses of appetizers like bread with butter, tuna and olive oil, clams, shrimps, cooked chestnut (which was so good I'm going to try making them myself), local melon with ham ... 

There was also a table full of different cheese that we could try before of after the dinner.

Next came the main course which was duck flambé with arrugula and rice. The duck was so soft and heavenly and the arrugula matched it perpectly. 
Then they brought a fruit plate full off fresh and delicious fruits like mango, pineapple, grapes, strawberry and kiwi. 

When we finished, we went to the dessert table where we could try different desserts like an apple cobbler, arroz doce, chocolate pudding, passionfruit pudding... All of them were so good and I wanted to eat more and more, but I was so full. :)

Then they brought diferent nuts and a tradicional drink called Amêndoa Amarga that is an almond liquor that they put in the freezer so when you drink it it's iced and also they squeeze a little lemon juice in it. We liked this drink so much that the next day my parents bought a bottle and we've put it in our freezer. Everything that we ate was amazing and by the time we finished we were so full that we couldn't move, but none of us had any regrets!

My family and me at Tromba Rija

I love going to different restaurants and trying interesting and new food so this night was very exciting for me. I also like sharing these experiences with you guys. This place was definitely a memorable one and I really do recommend it to anyone who visits Portugal and loves to eat A LOT! 

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Easy and tasty appetizers

Before your guests arrive you make the soup, the main course and you definitely put time and effort into making the dessert. But there is always that question: what treat should I greet them with? You don't want to give them something that fills them too much, but everyone likes to eat a little something with their welcome drinks. For this week I decided to show you two easy and tasty appetizers. If you are in a rush this is perfect because these are ready in no time and they look like you've put a lot of effort into making them. 

1st sandwich 

2 slices of brown bread (with sunflower seeds)

olive oil

7 cherry tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

basil

salt and pepper

(it makes two bread slices)

Toast the bread slices and drizzle some olive oil on top of them. Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the chopped garlic cloves until they are a bit brown and then add the sliced cherry tomatoes and the basil. Let them fry until the tomatoes become soft and then season it with salt and pepper. Put it on top of your bread and put a basil leaf on top of the bread for decoration.

2nd sandwich

2 brown bread (with sunflower seeds)

olive oil

2 slices of salmon 

arugula (rukkola)

almond (peeled and sliced)

(it makes two bread slices)

Toast the bread slices and drizzle some olive oil on top of them. Put one slice of salmon on each bread and then squeeze some lemon juice on top of it. Add the arugula and also some peeled and sliced almond on top.

If you make these appetizers then I guarantee that your guests won't be disappointed. So if  you do try this amazing and easy recipe then make sure to write a comment or take a picture of it and upload it to instagram or twitter and also don't forget to tag me in the photo .(instagram: @breakfast_at_katas , twitter: @breatkatas)