Alexandre Melo e Filipe Bilro

Larau, do you know what it is? Alex Melo and Filipe Bilro, founding chefs of the eponymous restaurant in Estremoz, explain: “larau was a word used in olive picking in the upper Alentejo, which designated the burlap cloth for picking it.” With roots deep in Portuguese origins, the chefs create the concept of Larau, which revolves around sharing, seasonality, and local ingredients.

Chef Dishes

Aubergine “escalivada”, hazelnut, game quail marinated in red wine and spices, red onion pickles, and carrots

Aubergine “escalivada”, hazelnut, game quail marinated in red wine and spices, red onion pickles, and carrots. “With this dish, we try to make an allusion to Serra d’Ossa, the heart of Estremoz, where there is still a vast flora and fauna. Eggplants represent the wet earth, crumbles stand for the rocks and moss, pickles represent vegetation”, authors Alex Melo and Filipe Bilro, from Larau, write.

Quail

In gastronomy, it is highly appreciated for its tender, tasty and delicate meat.

It is the smallest bird of the chicken family and excels in the art of camouflage. The quail is distinguished by its plump body, long and pointed wings, and brown down with beige stripes on the back. In gastronomy, it is highly appreciated for its tender, tasty and delicate meat. Fried, roasted, stewed, stuffed, sweaty, whatever way you cook it, it will always be tender and juicy.

Alentejo and Ribatejo

Miguel Torga once wrote that “more than enjoying the emotion of an enjoyable trip, whoever visits the Alentejo has to meditate”. Let’s meditate then, as we’re back to the ever charming Alentejo. Land of sea and mountains, its virtue lies in the middle, in the plains, where our product of the week comes from.