Autumn Lunch in Portugal
Grazing long lunch with sangria and a cozy sunset.
Like most expats, we moved to Portugal for the beautiful weather. Autumn could be mistaken as an extension of summer. The sun still lingers during the day, making it the perfect background for a long alfresco lunch.
Last November, I cooked and styled this lunch setting ‘Autumn in the Mediterranean’.
The menu consisted of vibrant salads, tender seafood, juicy vegetables and sangria for all. For table decorations, the theme was coastal with a hint of warm amber tones.
Grilled octopus with roasted artichokes
Butternut pumpkin with quinoa
Table Decor
Colour Palette
A colour scheme helps kick off the imagination for a tablescape. I wanted this to feel coastal but not too summery, which is why I added a few darker tones.
My colour inspo was teal, beige, warm orange and soft chocolate. You don’t have to buy tableware and linen all in these colours, you can also incorporate things like fruit (eg. oranges) and brown pine cones.
Autumn coastal colour palette.
Table Linen
The perfect canvas for your table is a crisp off-white (or plain white) table cloth. It allows you to get creative with placemats, napkins & cutlery.
Off-white table cloth makes the perfect base.
In line with the coastal theme, I used light beige woven placemats and teal cotton napkins.
A creative and easy way to place your napkins is tying them into a knot. For extra presentation purposes, I like to add a hand written name tag and a piece of fruit to match the colour scheme.
Table linen supplier list:
Knotted napkins.
Tableware & Decorative Items
How to decorate your dining table can be overwhelming when there are so many choices. Here’s my go-to list of items I like to use:
Functional
Dining plates (and perhaps a small entree plate or bowl on top)
Serving plates (these are usually a different colour or a unique shape)
Clear red wine glasses
Coasters (my go-to are wooden coasters)
Decorative
Candle holders & candles at different heights
Small vases/ cups.
Opt for classic clear wine glasses, rather than coloured seasonal textured glasses, for styling longevity.
Blue serving plate & brown small vase.
Serving bowl used for sharing hummus.
Flowers
No Nonna Lizzie table is complete without some beautiful blooms ❤️
My go-to floral design is a foliage garland down the middle of the table, with flowers in small vases and woven through the garland.
Eucalyptus leaves
Here’s what you need:
Foliage Garland
Eucalyptus leaves: Populus, baby blue or olive leaves.
Small flowers: eg. Carnations. I usually choose white and choose another colour (ie. orange for this tablescape).
Optional: Floral wire
Small Vase Arrangements
Small flowers: eg. Carnations, lisianthus or spray roses.
Adding small flowers with a pop of colour to the garland and small vases.
Here’s how to do it:
Foliage Garland
Prepare your eucalyptus branches by cutting and separating them into various lengths.
Prepare your flowers by selecting 8-10 flower heads with cut stems no longer than 10cms.
Lay your longest or thickest pieces of eucalyptus branches along the middle of the table first. Then go in and add smaller branches and flowers.
Optional: Additional Cascading Garland
Create 3-4 bundles of eucalyptus branches around 40cm long. Secure with floral wire.
Connect each bundle using floral wire. Start with the middle section of one bundle and work your way to the next, securing the wire around the middle of each bundle.
Hang your garland off the table to the floor. You might also want to place heavy branches on top to weigh it down on the table.
Small Vase Arrangements
Add 2-4 flowers in each vase. No need to over do it, as the garland will already be busy with flowers.
Cascading foliage garland down the end of the table.
What we ate and drank…
True Nonna Lizzie style is sharing everything. I made the below dishes to share:
Rocket artichoke quinoa salad
Roasted butternut squash stuffed with vegan mince and quinoa
For drinks, I’m super lucky my husband is the token bar tender at home. He made delicious red wine sangria. Can’t go wrong with sangria for lunch!
Nonna Lizzie hummus & bread.
Chargrilled octopus
Red sangria
Although this lunch was a year ago, I still remember styling and cooking as if it were yesterday. About a week after this lunch, I found out I was pregnant. Hence Nonna Lizzie has been a bit on hold as I’ve been busy with my boy Raphael!
But it’s time to start getting back into it and I can’t wait to do more long lunches and tablescapes.
Happy cooking and styling!
xx
