Qatar 2022: the best dishes of the teams that play the second date of the quarterfinals

A new “final” for Morocco, Portugal, France and England, teams that dispute the pass to the semifinals today. Once again, giving someone as a favorite is complicated, but beyond the goals, this is a good opportunity to get to know the gastronomy of each country.

The first game of the day is played by Portugal – Morocco, Portuguese gastronomy is based on seafood (fish and shellfish), like other foods from the area, it receives influence from Spanish and Arabic, which has allowed it to have a mixture of flavors, aromas and textures. The dishes that most characterize this meal are:

– Bacalhau com Natas (Cod with Cream): Cod is the most traditional fish in Portugal and there are more than 500 ways to prepare it, but one of the favorites for tourists is the one with cream or milk cream. The cod is baked and covered with potatoes, onions and heavy cream. A dish to repeat despite the amount of calories it has.

– Franchesinha: This is a traditional Porto dish, but it has spread throughout the country. The franchesinha is a large mixed sandwich, made with white bread and stuffed with everything: ham, sausage, chorizo, cheese and fried egg. All this is put on top of a meat sauce with a spicy touch.

In the case of Morocco, what stands out most about this gastronomy is the absence of pork derivatives, but also the techniques and the particular use of spices and dressings. These are the two most famous dishes in the country:

– The tajines: It is a dish made up of vegetables that are cooked with meat that can be chicken, lamb or beef, sometimes it is also made with fish. The name of this dish comes from the type of container in which it is cooked over low heat for hours.

– The couscous: One does not speak of Moroccan food without referring to couscous, which is nothing more than a wheat semolina-based stew with abundant chickpeas. The broth with which it is watered at the end is made from flour. This dish is the soup of Moroccan cuisine.

Today the French and English also face each other in a duel that promises to be complicated for both. But if we refer to food, France has an important advantage because its gastronomy was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010 for the quality of its ingredients. the perfect combination with its wines and the presentation of the dishes that are usually quite elegant. Here we describe the two most popular dishes:

– Ratatouille: It is a mixture of vegetables cut into pieces, fried in olive oil and flavored with fresh Provencal herbs, such as rosemary, oregano, bay leaf, thyme and basil. Eggplants, tomatoes, garlic, zucchini, onions and bell peppers can be added to this dish.

– Boeuf Bourguignon: This dish consists of slow-cooked veal in Burgundy red wine, carrots, garlic, onions and an aromatic bouquet garni. It is usually accompanied by mushrooms, bacon and Chinese onion.

In the case of England, it has much more “modern” food and that is why food from other countries is eaten in the country, but you can enjoy these two dishes if you visit this country:

– Sausages and mashed potatoes: It is a fairly simple dish, but one of the most commonly found in bars and restaurants and consists of sausages and mash that is usually accompanied by peas and sauce.

– Cornish pasties: As expected, the empanada is one of the most typical dishes in all of England, but its origins are from a small town in the southeast of the country: Cornwall and it is a pasty stuffed with meat and vegetables that the miners used to eat inside the mines.

Due to the country’s location, it is frequently based on seafood and is classified within Mediterranean cuisine, although it usually has bread, wine and oil as the main ingredients. It receives notable influences from Spanish, Arab cuisine and also from the former Portuguese colonies, making its gastronomy a wide mixture of flavors, aromas and textures.