So as we have been lucky enough to have Olhão’s Saturday market on our doorstep the past five months we must be pretty good as the food being sold is excellent! Last Saturday I was fortunate enough to be able to spend time with one of our favourite stallholders ‘Produtos da Nossa Horta‘.
Their stall caught our eye early last year, and has since become one of the stalls we check out every Saturday. Not only is all of the produce they sell grown and made by this lovely husband and wife team, it is also organic and local. Based in São Brás they have had the stall in Olhão just under two years now, and in that time they have become a firm favourite of ours. They have been growing crops for much longer though. Silvia shared with me her recollections of growing vegetables as a young child with her parents; in fact some of what she and Bruno sell was grown by her parents!
Produtos da Nossa Horta, tal como o nome indica, trata-se de produtos biológico cultivados com muito carinho, que queremos partilhar convosco
I wasn’t surprised to learn that whilst Silvia enjoys working the land, it is running the market stall which she particularly enjoys. She’s always so friendly and helpful, and like Elisabete of Charcutaria Formosa very tolerant of our basic Portuguese. Whilst Bruno manages Productos da Nossa Horta full time, Silvia juggles this alongside her marketing job. We think she’s amazing as growing and selling your own produce is hard work, particularly when as well as having another job you are pregnant as Silvia is at the moment. As well as vegetables and fruit we’ve also bought eggs and cake from Silvia. The cake was traditional Easter cake with the egg inside, it was delicious. We are really going to miss Productos da Nossa Horta and the other Saturday market stallholders over the summer, but can’t wait to meet Joana in the autumn. We do hope everything goes well for you.
If you have not yet been to this Saturday market then do go as it really is superb, even on rainy days like it was last Saturday. The stallholders are all very friendly, and their produce is excellent so don’t just look buy. The vast majority of sellers will have grown/produced what they are selling, and the smaller stalls are very likely to be selling organic produce even if they don’t mention it.
If organic is important to you, after all ‘you are what you eat‘, then Produtos da Nossa Horta is a must visit. Their stall is at the eastern end of market about four stalls down from the end. Just look out for Silvia and/or their ‘Produtos da Nossa Horta’ signs. We recommend getting there before 10am as the market does get very busy, and you can always have breakfast at one of the cafes! Don’t panic though if you can’t make it to the market as they do home deliveries within a 20km radius (approximately) of São Brás. Click here to find out more.
Can you spot Silvia?
PS I’m off to celebrate my Birthday now, I won’t say which one! Before I go though I must mention how delicious Silvia’s olives with carrots are, and that their avocados are perfect. If you are in Olhão, do go and buy some tomorrow 🙂
