Carne Alentejana Recipes

PORTUGUESE PORK AND CLAMS - CARNE DE PORCO à ALENTEJANA

Steps:

• Cut the pork into approximately 3cm cubes and place in a bowl or deep dish.
• Add the wine, crushed garlic cloves, bay leaves, pepper paste and paprika to the dish.
• Mix thoroughly and be sure the pork gets a good coating. Cover, and leave to marinade for at least 2 hours.
• While the pork is marinating, we can prepare our clams. Place them in a large bowl and cover them with cold salted water. You'll want to leave them for at least an hour.
• With the pork marinated, separate the pork and keep the marinade. Sear the pork in a hot pan.
• Once all of the pork is seared, pour the remaining marinade on top of the pork. Let it simmer with a lid for around 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes.
• Give them a nice coating of olive oil and salt, and spread them on a baking tray. Place them in the oven at 200°. Cook them in the oven for around 30-40 minutes until they're golden brown.
• Drain the clams into a large colander or sieve, remove any with broken shells, or any clams that don't close when you touch them.
• If you've timed this correctly, we should be reaching the point where everything is nearly ready, the clams will only need around 5 minutes so pause here if your potatoes aren't quite done.
• Place all of the clams into the pan with the pork. Use a lid and let the clams steam and simmer in the liquid. They'll take around 5 to 7 minutes to cook and open.
• While the clams are cooking, spread your potatoes evenly on a plate.
• Once the clams are cooked, discard any that did not open. We think its best to remove about half of the clams from their shells and leave them in the sauce.
• Spoon the pork, clams and plenty of the sauce on top of the potato base layer!

CARNE DE PORCO A ALENTEJANA (PORK MEAT WITH CLAMS)

Steps:

• 1. In a food processor add the garlic, salt, pimenta muida or red pepper, and paprika; process until smooth, then slowly drizzle in 1/2 of the olive oil as you process.
• 2. In a plastic zip bag add the cubed pork, the garlic mixture, and 1 1/2 cups of white wine, zip bag and toss a couple of times and place in refrigerate overnight or at least for 8 hours.
• 3. Remove from refrigerator and let sit for 10 minutes. In a large pot add remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil and saute onions until golden, remove meat with slotted spoon and lightly saute. Then add the marinade and remaining 1 1/2 cups of wine; let come to a boil, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes or when meat is done,if needed add the water, add the clams and contiue to cook, when opened add shrimp and cook until shrimp turn pink; discard any clams that have not opened.
• 4. Remove from heat and top with the parsley. This dish is served right out of the pot. On a plate add some of the cubed fried potatoes and top with some pork, dip your crusty bread in the sauce and yum, so good. Enjoy!
• 5. I no longer live a portuguese community so I order my Portuguese Olive Oil on line now at www.portuguesefoodsonline.com

CARNE DE PORCO ALENTEJANA

Steps:

• 1. In a large bowl, season pork with; salt, garlic, bay leaf, paprika, cumin, red pepper, 1/2 cup of the wine.
• 2. Stir well and let marinate for at least 2 hours or leave overnight.
• 3. Before you begin cooking the pork, fry potatoes in hot oil until golden brown, season with sea salt and set aside.
• 4. Place clams in a bowl with cold water and 1 tsp sea salt. Let them sit for about 1/2 -1 hour in refrigerator so they let the sandiness out of them.
• 5. Preheat large skillet or wok on high heat with 1/4 cup olive oil and add onions. Cook for about 1 minute then add the drained, marinaded pork mixture, (save the liquid). Let meat brown on all sides and cook for about 5 minutes.
• 6. Rinse and dry clams and add to the pork with 1/2 cup of wine and the leftover marinade. (Add more wine if desired to make more sauce) Cover and cook on med heat until the clams open. Taste the pork and add more salt or Tabasco sauce if desired. Add the potatoes into the pork.
• 7. Add pickled vegetables and chopped cilantro for garnish.

CARNE ALENTEJANA RECIPE

Steps:

• 1. Place the pork in a nonaluminum container and add the 1 cup wine, paprika, bay leaf, cloves, and 3 of the garlic cloves. Toss well to mix evenly, cover, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, drain the pork, reserving the marinade. Pat the meat dry. 2. In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the lard or warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Working in batches, brown the pork cubes on all sides until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate. 3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons lard or warm the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Add the onions and saute until soft, 8-10 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cloves garlic and the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the browned pork to the onion mixture along with the reserved marinade, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the pork is tender, about 1 hour. Check from time to time and add more wine if the pork threatens to scorch. 4. Add the clams, discarding any that are open or have broken shells, cover, raise the heat to high, and cook until the clams open, about 5 minutes. (Discard any clams that failed to open.) 5. Transfer the pork and clams to a warmed serving dish and sprinkle with the cilantro and parsley. Serve immediately.

PORTUGUESE PORK ALENTEJANA

Steps:

• In large bowl, combine wine, paprika, salt and pepper, blend well. Add garlic cloves, bay leaf, and cubed meat, turn meat in marinade to coat pieces. Marinate for 6 hours, turning occasionally.
• Drain pork; reserve marinade. Pat cubes completely dry. Discard garlic and bay leaf. Melt 1 teaspoon of oil in large skillet. Add pork cubes, stirring frequently so that the meat colors quickly and evenly. Transfer with slotted spoon to a bowl.
• Pour reserved marinade into skillet and bring to a boil over high heat, scraping off any brown particles clinging to the inside of pan. Boil briskly uncovered until marinade is reduced to 1 cup. Pour over pork and set aside.
• In 6 to 8 quart pan, heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil; add onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently until onion is soft but not brown. Add garlic, tomatoes and crushed red pepper. Simmer, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.
• Spread the clams, hinged side down, over the tomato sauce; cover the pan tightly and cook over medium to high heat for ten minutes or until clams open. Stir in reserved pork and juices. Simmer for 5 minutes to heat thoroughly. Sprinkle with parsley.