Lapas grelhadas
Photo: Gartxoak · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Limpets were subsistence food on Madeira long before they were a starter, gathered off the volcanic shelf by anyone with a knife and a low tide. They are cooked in the shell so the liquor stays in, on a flat metal plate set straight over the heat, with a lump of garlic butter dropped on each one. Harvesting is now regulated to protect the beds, and the season closes for part of the year, which is why the price on a Funchal menu moves. Lemon is not optional.

Book a food experience

Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.

Browse every bookable food experience

Common allergens: Molluscs, Milk

Make it at home

Yield Serves 2Hands-on 15 minTotal 20 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 24 fresh limpets in the shell
  • 80g butter, softened
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • Small handful of parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges
  • Black pepper

Method

  1. Rinse the limpets under cold running water and scrub the shells. Do not soak them, which flushes out the liquor.
  2. Beat the softened butter with the chopped garlic, parsley and a good grind of black pepper.
  3. Heat a heavy flat metal dish or cast-iron pan over a high flame until it is properly hot.
  4. Arrange the limpets shell side down in a single layer so the liquor stays in each shell.
  5. Drop a teaspoon of garlic butter onto each limpet and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the butter is bubbling and the flesh has just firmed.
  6. Take the whole dish to the table and squeeze lemon over the limpets immediately before eating.

Tip from the editors. Cook them no longer than five minutes. Limpets turn to rubber quickly and no amount of butter brings them back.

Where to eat lapas grelhadas

Lapas grelhadas in Funchal

Featured by TableJourney as a signature dish of Funchal. See where to eat Lapas grelhadas in Funchal or the Funchal signature dishes guide.

More cities are in research. Want lapas grelhadas covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →