The best food and drink in the Azores

Sandra is an Azorean native who has researched and written the first Lonely Planet guide to the Azores.

Azorean cuisine is a mix of the first settlers’ influences from mainland Portugal — the Algarve and Alentejo, in the south, and northeastern Trás-os-Montes — and the make-do resourcefulness brought by the need to include whatever the islands gave them: seaweeds, taro, sweet potatoes. The base ingredients might differ slightly, but the Azoreans continued to use herbs and spices to enhance the new recipes’ flavors. Seafood, pork and beef are at the base of most traditional staple dishes, preferably paired with local wines from a revived and thriving winemaking industry.

Taste the flavors of the Azores with this guide to local dishes and drinks, and the best places to try them.

Join a communal feast of Sopas do Espírito Santo

Faith in a higher power is strong in the Azores, caused by centuries of enduring storms and earthquakes in almost complete isolation. The origins and the peculiarities of the annual festivities in honor of Espírito Santo (Holy Ghost) are complex to explain, but the cult brings out the sense of community holding the Azoreans together since the first settlers. Whoever is around is invited to sit and eat, and everyone is served while the food lasts. Each island will have its version of this free-for-all meal, and it sometimes varies within the same island, but the soup is common to all: broth with bread, seasoned with herbs and spices.

Where to try it: These communal feasts usually happen on Sundays after Mass on any island between April and June. Ask around to find out which town is hosting one.