Let us let you in on a secret of Portuguese cuisine. One of the most delightful dishes you'll taste in Portugal is stale bread, soaked in hot water, with garlic. It's that simple. It's that good.

You'll find it at Sunday lunches, birthdays, impromptu celebrations and in the windows of bakeries that know what they're doing.

In Portugal, soup is not just a recipe: it is an institution, with a history and a fan club.

In Portugal, arroz doce needs no “presentation”. You find it at Christmas, yes, but also at family meals, at simple celebrations and on those days when you get a craving for family meals.

There are recipes that are born out of necessity and end up becoming an identity. Bacalao a Brás is one of them.The story takes us to Lisbon's Bairro Alto, at the end of the 18th century.