#FlavoursOfLisbon event with Monarch Airlines

Raise your hand if you want to do more European travelling!  Yeah me too, it’s crazy that with Europe literally on our doorstep I have visited so little of it.  Last year I made a conscious effort to start exploring with a trip to Barcelona , however this year with two American trips coming up and one day off left, it’s unlikely I’ll get the chance (not that I’m complaining!).  Next year I am hoping to get lots of city breaks in and really start getting Europe under my belt.  Lisbon has been on my radar for a while, and now it’s even easier to get to with Monarch Airlines’ new flight paths, taking you there direct from Manchester, Birmingham and London.  To celebrate their latest route, Monarch invited myself and some fab bloggers to create some flavours of Lisbon.

Now, I was a little nervous about this event, if you know me then you will be aware that I can’t cook.  More accurately, all my years of not wanting to cook have now left me with no cooking skills, somewhat embarrassing at age 27.  Luckily, everyone was really friendly and our chef was super skilled.  We got split into two groups to make competing dishes, which eased my stress about doing the whole dish alone!

The first thing we made was our main course of Portuguese Pork and Clam Stew (recipe here if you want to have a try).  I was amazed when I saw the result, it was very fresh, tasty and took me out of my comfort zone just enough.  The recipe was surprisingly easy to follow, especially with our expert guidance and I learnt some really useful tips about food prep, and trust me I need as many of those as possible.

We also made Portuguese Custard Tarts, which were my favourite (no surprise as I have a sweet tooth)!  The texture was lovely and they were just sweet enough, I might have had two…  I’m going to make these again, they were surprisingly simple.  Here is the recipe if you want to give them a try yourself.

Have you ever been to Lisbon?  What would you recommend?