You can’t visit Portugal without sampling at least one pastel de nata (and believe me, you’ll quickly learn that one will not be enough). These flaky tarts filled with a creamy egg custard are a staple of Portuguese cuisine. Your mouth will start salivating as soon as you smell the eggy, vanilla custard and see the golden brown tart with the slight char on top. To me, a fresh-out-of-the-oven pastel de nata is the culinary equivalent to a warm hug. Some background on this ubiquitous pastry of Portugal: A group of Catholic monks in Lisbon came up with the pastel de nata more than 300 years ago. Their monastery closed…