Portuguese Pork And Clams Food

PORTUGUESE PORK WITH CLAMS | PORCO ALENTEJANA

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, toss the pork chunks with the red pepper paste. Add the wine and toss again. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours or up to 36 hours.
• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and crank up the heat to 400°F (200°C).
• In a colander set over a large bowl, drain the pork, reserving the marinade. Pat the pork dry with paper towels.
• In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm 3 tablespoons olive oil. Working in batches, add the pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Add more oil in between batches, if needed. Transfer the pieces to a plate using a slotted spoon. If the bottom of the pot develops a dark coating, tip in some water in between batches and scrape it up.
• Lower the heat to medium, add the onion, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
• Pour in the reserved marinade, return the pork to the pot, and cook, covered, over low heat until the meat is tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If it looks as if the liquid will burble away, spoon in a bit of water.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the potato cubes with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil, season lightly with salt and with plenty of pepper, and scatter in one layer on a rimmed foil-lined baking sheet. Roast, flipping them once or twice, until golden brown, about 45 minutes.
• Discard any clams that feel heavy (which means they're full of sand), have broken shells, or don't close when tapped.
• Raise the heat under the pork to high, stir in the clams, cover, and cook until they open, 7 to 10 minutes. Toss out any that refuse to pop open. Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper if needed.
• To serve, remove half the clams from their shells, and return them to the pot. Toss out the shells. Line the bottom of the serving bowls with the potato cubes, top with the pork and clams and broth, and sprinkle with the cilantro. Have a large bowl at the ready for the shells.

PORTUGUESE PORK AND CLAMS

Steps:

• To Marinate: Combine the wine, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and cumin in a nonporous glass dish or bowl. Mix together. Add pork and toss to coat. Cover dish or bowl and refrigerate to marinate for 2 to 3 hours.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft. Remove pork from dish or bowl (reserving marinade) and add to skillet; brown quickly, then add potato cubes, reserved marinade, beans, cayenne pepper and clams or mussels. Cook until open, about 7 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.

EAST MEETS PORTUGAL 'ALENTEJANA' -- PORK AND CLAMS EAST MEETS WEST STYLE

Steps:

• Place the clams, salt and cornmeal in a bowl and completely cover with cold water. Let them soak and purge for 1 hour. Drain, rinse and set aside. In a hot saute pan, coat lightly with oil and saute half of the garlic and ginger. Add the zucchinis and caramelize, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and add drained clams.
• Deglaze with half of the wine and shaoxing and cover. Add a little water if needed if clams do not fully open. Once clams are open, set aside. (discard any that do not open). Keep liquid. Wipe pan out and coat with oil on high heat. Season the pork brisket with salt and paprika and brown on all sides. Add onions and caramelize. Add black beans.
• Deglaze with remaining shaoxing and wine and reduce by 50 percent. Add chicken stock and half of the reserved clam juice. Check for seasoning and add more clam juice if necessary. Bring to a simmer and reduce by 60 percent. Check again for seasoning and add zucchinis and clams. Add lemon juice and whisk in butter. Check one more time for flavor. While the sauce is reducing, season the pork tenderloin with salt and pepper and sear in a hot, oiled pan. Brown well on all sides and finish in a 375 degree oven until medium, about 10 minutes.
• For the potatoes, heat the curry oil to 375 degrees and first blanch the potatoes until lightly brown. This can and should be done in advance. Right before serving, fry again, this time until golden brown, drain well, season with salt, and toss with cilantro. (frying it twice produces a very crisp product).
• PLATING Using an o-ring in the center of the plate, fill with the pork sauce. Top with fried potatoes. Cut each pork tenderloin into 3 equal pieces and surround ring. Pull ring off and serve.
• Make a paste with curry powder, water salt and slowly add oil. Let stand for 1 hour to settle. Use top, yellow oil for garnish or frying.

PORK AND CLAMS

Steps:

• In a small food processor, combine garlic, salt, pepper flakes and paprika. Process until smooth. Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until smooth. In a glass mixing bowl, toss the meat with the pureed mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator, to marinate at least 8 hours, overnight if possible. In a cataplana (or a large saute pan with a lid), over medium heat, add the remaining 1/2 cup of oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions. Season with salt. Saute for 2 minutes. Add the pork and saute for 4 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Add the clams, and season with salt. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Remove from the heat and leave covered for 5 minutes. Remove any shells that do not open. Stir in the parsley. Serve in individual serving bowls with crusty bread.

PORTUGUESE PORK & CLAM STEW

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pot and brown pork in bunches. Set aside.
• Add the onion to the pan and cook for 4 minutes, add garlic, chili, paprika.
• and bay leaves and cook for three more minutes. Then stir in tomatoes, wine and stock and bring to the boil.
• Add the pork and chopped chorizo and cook covered for 45 minutes until the pork is tender.
• Add the clams then cover and cook for 5 minutes more until clams open. Stir coriander through stew and serve immediately with rice.

PORTUGUESE-STYLE PORK AND CLAMS WITH CHORIZO AND FRIED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°F.
• Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Swirl in the pork fat and wait 1 minute. Taste a piece of the pork confit to see if it needs more seasoning. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary. Place the pork confit in the pan, being careful not to crowd it. (You may need to do this in two pans or two batches.) Sear the pork 4 to 5 minutes on the first side. When the first side is nicely caramelized, turn the pork cubes over, and brown them on all sides. Stir in the fried potatoes, heat them through, and coat them well with the pork fat. Transfer the pan to the oven to keep it warm.
• Heat a Dutch oven over high heat for 2 minutes. Swirl in the olive oil and wait 1 minute. Crumble the chorizo into the pan, and sauté about 4 minutes, until the sausage is crisped on one side but not fully cooked. Add the shallots and thyme, stirring to coat them with the chorizo oil. Add the clams and the roasted tomatoes, stirring for about 2 minutes to combine all the ingredients and coat the clams. Pour in the vermouth and cover the pan. Let the clams steam a few minutes, until they open. Remove the lid and add the stock. Discard any unopened clams. Bring to a simmer, stirring well to combine the flavors, and swirl in the butter. Taste for seasoning. Spoon the clams and chorizo into a large, warm, shallow bowl.
• Meanwhile, take the pork out of the oven and return it to the stove, over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir well, so that it coats the meat and potatoes. After a minute or two, when the garlic is translucent and just starting to color, stir in the parsley. Arrange the pork and potatoes over the clams and chorizo.
• Serve with a large serving spoon and lots of crusty bread. If you are feeling over the top, a bowl of aïoli would really gild the lily (see page 148).
• Fried Potatoes
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Place the potatoes in a roasting pan, and toss well with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the garlic, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and 1 heaping teaspoon salt. Cover tightly with aluminum foil, and roast the potatoes about 50 minutes, until they're tender. (The time will really depend on size, age, and variety of potatoes.) When the potatoes have cooled, peel them, discard the bay leaves and thyme, and crumble the potatoes into chunky pieces with your hands.
• Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. (To get the potatoes nicely browned and crisp, don't overcrowd them. You may have to use two pans or brown them in batches.) Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and wait 1 more minute. Add the crumbled potatoes, and season with the thyme leaves, salt, and pepper. Sauté the potatoes until they are crispy on one side. (Don't try to move them or turn them if they are stuck to the pan; they will eventually release themselves, just be patient.) After about 8 minutes, when they've browned nicely on the first side, stir them to let them color on all sides. Serve immediately, or set aside on a baking sheet.
• Roasted Tomatoes
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Slice the tomatoes in half lengthwise, toss them with the olive oil, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Place the tomatoes, cut side down, on a baking sheet, and roast in the oven 30 to 40 minutes, until their skins blister and shrivel. When the tomatoes have cooled, pull off their skins and crush them gently with your hands.
• Note
• This is one of the more involved recipes in this book, but if you plan ahead and prep well, it's actually simple the evening of the dinner. Confit the pork a day or two in advance (remember, it will need to sit in the brine for 2 days before that!). Roast the tomatoes and potatoes in the morning, and then, closer to dinnertime, fry the potatoes and set them aside. The sautéing of the pork and steaming of the clams should be done at the last minute.

CHORIZO AND CLAMS, PORTUGUESE STYLE

Steps:

• In a large pot or sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion begins to wilt, about 3 minutes. Crumble the chorizo into the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to firm, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, bay leaf, wine, and water and bring to a boil. Cover partially and cook until the liquid is reduced and the mixture is saucy, 5 minutes.
• Add the shellfish to the pan, cover all the way, and cook until the shells open and their meat is slightly firm, about 5 minutes. Discard any shellfish that fail to open, then serve right away.

PORK AND CLAMS (AMEIJOAS NA CATAPLANA)

Steps:

• Wash clams thoroughly under running water, and discard any that do not close when tapped, which means they are dead.
• Soak overnight in salt water, to expel sand.
• Heat olive oil in a (cataplanda) cast iron dutch oven.
• Fry onions and garlic until soft and golden.
• Add pork and brown on all sides.
• Add clams and dry white wine.
• Increase heat, and cook briskly, shaking pan until wine has reduced.
• Add tomatoes, coriander or parsley, cayenne pepper,salt, and black pepper.
• Cover tightly and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until pork is tender.
• Traditionaly the"Cataplana" (cast iron dutch oven) is brought to the table for serving.