Penacova “fakes” the lack of lamprey and creates an event with new delicacies from the river

At the beginning of March, Penacova City Council is organising a new gastronomic event, dedicated to dishes associated with riverside traditions, due to the lack of lamprey, which traditionally motivated a festival at this time of year.

“Penacova à Mesa”, as the event is called, will take place from March 1 to 9 and seeks to celebrate the various dishes linked to the riverside traditions of the municipality, such as river fish, shad, but also lamprey, said the Mayor, Álvaro Coimbra.

The event “is a way of marking in the calendar a gastronomic event that has existed for many years, normally dedicated only to lamprey, but adapted to the current circumstances”, said the mayor, recalling the lack of that fish in Portuguese rivers, particularly in the Mondego, where its fishing and preparation is traditional.

“We have adapted to the new times, with an event with a different format and expanded to include other delicacies related to the river, such as shad and river fish,” he said.

For Álvaro Coimbra, the continuation of the lamprey festival, which normally took place between February and March, meant “abundance and reduced prices”, but the reality is different. “There are restaurants that serve lamprey, but at very high prices and by reservation only, which makes it difficult to organise a festival”, he explained, stressing that the municipality’s priority is to preserve and recover this species.

According to Álvaro Coimbra, there are several restaurants in the municipality that already offer other river dishes on their menu, and the event was created in dialogue with local restaurants.

“It was necessary to occupy this space at this time with another event, also related to traditions and local gastronomy, which was done with the agreement of most restaurants,” he said.

In addition to lamprey rice with turnip greens, there will be other dishes such as fried river fish or fish in escabeche sauce or fried shad, in an event that also aims to showcase the region's traditional sweets, such as pastéis de Lorvão or nevadas. "These are delicacies that are part of our traditional cuisine and that obviously have a very strong connection to the Mondego and Alva rivers. In addition to all this, for dessert we propose conventual sweets that originated in the monastery of Lorvão, with nevadas and pastéis de Lorvão being the best known", highlights the mayor.

At the beginning of March, Penacova City Council is organising a new gastronomic event, dedicated to dishes associated with riverside traditions, due to the lack of lamprey, which traditionally motivated a festival at this time of year.

“Penacova à Mesa”, as the event is called, will take place from March 1 to 9 and seeks to celebrate the various dishes linked to the riverside traditions of the municipality, such as river fish, shad, but also lamprey, said the Mayor, Álvaro Coimbra.

The event “is a way of marking in the calendar a gastronomic event that has existed for many years, normally dedicated only to lamprey, but adapted to the current circumstances”, said the mayor, recalling the lack of that fish in Portuguese rivers, particularly in the Mondego, where its fishing and preparation is traditional.

“We have adapted to the new times, with an event with a different format and expanded to include other delicacies related to the river, such as shad and river fish,” he said.

For Álvaro Coimbra, the continuation of the lamprey festival, which normally took place between February and March, meant “abundance and reduced prices”, but the reality is different. “There are restaurants that serve lamprey, but at very high prices and by reservation only, which makes it difficult to organise a festival”, he explained, stressing that the municipality’s priority is to preserve and recover this species.

According to Álvaro Coimbra, there are several restaurants in the municipality that already offer other river dishes on their menu, and the event was created in dialogue with local restaurants.

“It was necessary to occupy this space at this time with another event, also related to traditions and local gastronomy, which was done with the agreement of most restaurants,” he said.

In addition to lamprey rice with turnip greens, there will be other dishes such as fried river fish or fish in escabeche sauce or fried shad, in an event that also aims to showcase the region's traditional sweets, such as pastéis de Lorvão or nevadas. "These are delicacies that are part of our traditional cuisine and that obviously have a very strong connection to the Mondego and Alva rivers. In addition to all this, for dessert we propose conventual sweets that originated in the monastery of Lorvão, with nevadas and pastéis de Lorvão being the best known", highlights the mayor.

At the beginning of March, Penacova City Council is organising a new gastronomic event, dedicated to dishes associated with riverside traditions, due to the lack of lamprey, which traditionally motivated a festival at this time of year.

“Penacova à Mesa”, as the event is called, will take place from March 1 to 9 and seeks to celebrate the various dishes linked to the riverside traditions of the municipality, such as river fish, shad, but also lamprey, said the Mayor, Álvaro Coimbra.

The event “is a way of marking in the calendar a gastronomic event that has existed for many years, normally dedicated only to lamprey, but adapted to the current circumstances”, said the mayor, recalling the lack of that fish in Portuguese rivers, particularly in the Mondego, where its fishing and preparation is traditional.

“We have adapted to the new times, with an event with a different format and expanded to include other delicacies related to the river, such as shad and river fish,” he said.

For Álvaro Coimbra, the continuation of the lamprey festival, which normally took place between February and March, meant “abundance and reduced prices”, but the reality is different. “There are restaurants that serve lamprey, but at very high prices and by reservation only, which makes it difficult to organise a festival”, he explained, stressing that the municipality’s priority is to preserve and recover this species.

According to Álvaro Coimbra, there are several restaurants in the municipality that already offer other river dishes on their menu, and the event was created in dialogue with local restaurants.

“It was necessary to occupy this space at this time with another event, also related to traditions and local gastronomy, which was done with the agreement of most restaurants,” he said.

In addition to lamprey rice with turnip greens, there will be other dishes such as fried river fish or fish in escabeche sauce or fried shad, in an event that also aims to showcase the region's traditional sweets, such as pastéis de Lorvão or nevadas. "These are delicacies that are part of our traditional cuisine and that obviously have a very strong connection to the Mondego and Alva rivers. In addition to all this, for dessert we propose conventual sweets that originated in the monastery of Lorvão, with nevadas and pastéis de Lorvão being the best known", highlights the mayor.