On our second stay in Tavira, our apartment had a rooftop terrace and a barbecue. I bought a whole fish at the supermarket, took it back and filled it with garlic, lemon and parsley. It was the kind of simple holiday cooking that stays with you long after you get home.
It was one of the best fish meals I have eaten. There was no elaborate sauce or long list of ingredients. The fish, the heat and those few flavours did the work. It is one of the memories that makes me want a strong place for good seafood at Lebrewski.
The point is not to recreate the rooftop on a plate. It is to keep that instinct: find ingredients worth cooking, treat them with care and know when enough is enough. The Algarve’s fish and produce are a source of excitement, not something to cover up. Good cooking can be generous without being complicated.