At the Table with Alentejo — August News

There's ancient wisdom in Alentejo cuisine. Wisdom that doesn't rush, that respects the seasons, and knows the value of good olive oil, of wine that tells stories, of bread that still smells of a wood-fired oven.

August arrives with that same cadence — and with it, a new selection of recipes on the blog À Mesa com o Alentejo (At the Table with Alentejo).

We start with game, which in Alentejo is tradition and art. Wild boar stew with red wine arrives at the table after hours of slow cooking, with a rich and deep sauce that calls for bread so that nothing is wasted. Roasted venison with "batata a murro" (punched potatoes) follows the same path — seasoned with garlic and local herbs, roasted slowly until the meat becomes succulent and tender.

For warmer days, two summer proposals also arrive: roasted pepper salad with tuna and Galega olive oil, where the sweetness of the peppers meets the elegance of a characterful olive oil, and chickpea salad with cod and cilantro, simple and generous as Alentejo cuisine has always been. And because August in Alentejo is also sweet, we bring two treasures of Évora's conventual tradition — Toucinho do Céu (Bacon from Heaven), dense and fragrant with almond and egg yolks, and Pão de Rala, one of the noblest and least known sweets outside the region. To finish, tomato migas with scrambled eggs — a humble, quick, and deeply comforting dish that summarizes everything good about honest cooking.

But August in Alentejo also brings another novelty in the air — the smell of warm earth announcing the grape harvest. The grapes are almost ready, and with them the promise of another year of wines that tell the story of this land. It's the right time to discover — or rediscover — our selection: from fresh and mineral whites to full-bodied reds that call for a set table and good company, not forgetting the sparkling wine that elegantly opens any celebration.

And then there's "vinho de talha" (amphora wine). Made the old-fashioned way, in clay amphoras, following a method more than two thousand years old — the same one the Romans used on these plains. A living, unique wine that changes every year and is found nowhere else. If you haven't tried it yet, August is the perfect time to discover it — before the harvest brings a new vintage and the amphora is renewed.

The table is set. The winery is ready. Stay tuned.