These Galician Percebes ( Goose Neck Barnacles) were already cooked and served alongside all the other mariscos at Romerijo in El Puerto de Santa Maria. All kinds of prawns at all kinds of prices, crabs, lobsters, crayfish. Percebes are very expensive and harvesting them can be very dangerous. They are traditionally boiled in seawater. To eat them you grab the beak and twist and pull away from the “stocking” then pop the flesh into your mouth.
In Portugal, near Lisboa, we were once served Percebes as an optional starter rather than the traditional cheese or olives. They are cheaper in Portugal (from the Alentejo coast) but it would have been a surprise when they turned up on the bill. The restaurant called Furnas do Guincho was beautiful and we ate the Percebes anyway as they fitted the location and menu.
