“Lisboa tem cheiro de flores e de mar”
sang Amalia Rodrigues in an unusually upbeat Fado lament entitled “Cheira bem,
cheira a Lisboa!”  In her strong,
almost wailing, nasal pitch she waxed lyrical about the rich smells of Lisbon
and anyone who has had the pleasure of getting lost in the steep, narrow
coblled streets of  Lisbon can
testify to that unique Lisbon smell. Baking bread, simmering Caldo Verde soup, rotisserie
grilled chicken all remind me of Moorish Lisbon but perhaps the most indelible
smell of all is that of charcoal-grilled sardines.

When most of us think
of sardines, we imagine tiny skinny, bony creatures compressed into a tiny tin
can but in Portugal fresh, succulent sardines measure between 9 and 10 inches -
the bigger, the fatter, the fresher - the better. In fact over sixty percent of
the national sardines in Portugal are consumed the same day – the rest are
canned for export and 500 miles of Atlantic coast allows Portuguese fishermen to
catch 100,000 tons of sardines a year – about 40 percent of Portugal's whole
fresh fish production. The “Sardine Run” starts around mid-May when huge
schools of Sardinaps Sagas migrate from South Africa. Teams of tanned and
weather-beaten fishermen set off in colourful wooden boats called “traineiras”.
Every summer between June 12th and 13th  the sardine is celebrated in the annual Feria de Santo
Antonio which sees millions of sardines grilled on rickety home made barbeques
that line the streets of Alfama and Castelo. It is this festival and unrequited
love that Amalia croons about as she sings of the day when tradition has her love
write a poem written on a paper carnation planted in a pot of sweet smelling
Basil. The basil is given by Portugese men to their sweethears and later comes
in handy for sprinkling over the sardines when they are being nicely grilled,
encrusted with salt.

Lisboetas are
uncomplicated folk with plain needs, they love to cook sardines alongside flame-roasted
green peppers accompanied by a side salad marinated in thick extra virgin olive
oil, garlic, salt and boiled potatoes lightly flavored with butter. During a
hot summers day this simple fare is washed down with a chilled glass of Vinho Verde
the perfect companion for “sardinhas na brasa”. Once reserved for poor working
class Portuguese the traditional street “sardinhada” has become quite the
bourgeois thing to do. The sardine has elevated its status. During the Saint
Anthony festival Graça´s Sé Cathedral becomes the epicentre of a sardine
carnival and the pungent odour of grilled sardines rises like a cloud of
incense over the whole neighbourhood where small charcoal grills are set up in
front of every restaurant. Unlike the summer sardine festivals celebrated in
the Algarve, the Feria de Santo Antonio is all about matchmaking and a time for
Portuguese to thank god for blossoming relationships.

Besides sardines,
rough loaves of bread are broken up and served in a crude re-enactment of the
feeding of the 5000 as well as large quantities of wine and água-pé, a beverage
made mostly of grape juice and the leftovers of the wine. The bread can be used
to make a delicious sardine sandwich – some choose to discreetly remove the
bone by slicing the fish down the middle before putting it in bread but most
Portuguese usually slap a whole charcoal-grilled fish between two pieces of
crusty bread and eat the whole sardine, bones and all (the calcium-rich bones
are meant to be good for you). According to strict Lisbon tradition the
distance between the grill and sardine should be only around 5cm and sea salt
should be sprinkled over the whole fish without gutting or deboning the fish
which should be cooked for 3 minutes on each sides – never sprinkle water over
the grill! Once grilled, the spine and guts and be removed and the skin will
peel off easily if necessary,  I personally
prefer the fish with the skin and its acrid  charcoal flavor. Once ready, olive oil and vinegar can then
be sprinkled ontop- delicious !

ends