Portuguese Pork Alentejana Recipes

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.

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!

PORK ALENTEJANA

Steps:

• For marinade, combine wine, paprika, garlic, bay leaves, 1 tsp salt, and dash of pepper. Add pork. Cover; marinate 2 hours or overnight in refrigerator, stirring occasionally.
• Drain port, reserving marinade. Pat meat dry. In skillet brown pork in half of the hot oil. Add reserved marinade. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered about 45 minutes or till liquid is almost evaporated. Skim off fat and remove bay leaves.
• Meanwhile, cook onions and pimentos in the remaining hot oil until the onion is tender. Add the clams, the 1/2 tsp salt, and the 1/4 tsp of pepper. Cover and cook 5 to 7 minutes or till shells open (discard any that do not open).
• Add pork mixture to the clam mixture; heat through.