Our second day of hiking was a relatively short hike from Apúlia up to Esposende. Instead of taking the direct route, we packed a lunch and took a major detour through the Parque Natural do Litoral Norte, a large park on a peninsula west of Esposende consisting of rolling sand dunes and views of the Cávado river estuary. After completing that detour, we passed through the smaller town of Fão. Our guide recommended that we make a short diversion in Fão to check out Pastelaria Fãozense for the local specialty, which is Clarinhas de Fão (pastries made with pumpkin threads). Alas, Pastelaria Fãozense was closed for vacation when we came by, but just across the way is another local bakery specializing in Clarinhas de Fão, Pasuca.
Pasuca is the typical Portuguese bakery, that also serves as a café with a good selection of coffee drinks, along with an impressive assortment of pastries. But we were here for the Clarinhas de Fão, which are traditional Portuguese pastriesmade from a very thin fried pastry filled with, literally, pumpkin threads (you know, the pulpy stuff you scoop out making a jack-o-lantern), mixed with sugar, lemon, and spices. Usually served dusted with fresh powdered sugar. You can see them here in their uncoated state, since they generally dust them with sugar to order so they don’t get soggy.
Ordering a plate of Clarinhas and espressos for everyone, we retired to a table out front for a mid-afternoon snack, now freshly dusted. They look a bit like beignets in this state, since it’s basically sugar-dusted fried bits (although not served hot, at least here at Pasuca).
How were they? Well, Clarinhas de Fão taste surprisingly like they sound: it’s basically a pumpkin pastry, with a lightly spiced filling that tastes almost exactly like the pumpkin jam that’s ubiquitous on Portuguese breakfast tables: with just enough light spicing to give it a more sweet than savory flavor. What’s a bit surprising is the texture: the thready nature of the pumpkin pulp is only partly softened, so there’s a fair bit of that pulpy texture that comes through. But despite that, it actually works pretty well: they aren’t stringy enough to get stuck in your teeth, so you can enjoy a slightly chewy bit of spiced pumpkin in each bite.
It wouldn’t be my first choice for a pastry (indeed, most places with Clarinhas de Fão also has Pastels de Nata), but they certainly were worth a try, and Pasuca was a nice, relaxing stop on our hike.
