Carne de porco à alentejana was the second dish tasted during the lavish dinner at “Casa do Alentejo” restaurant in Lisbon.
It seems that the cook who invented this recipe, which actually comes from the Algarve (the southernmost region of Portugal), named it so because the meat used was pork from Alentejo, a region in Portugal.
In the Algarve, pigs were fed fish leftovers, which gave their meat an unpleasant taste. So, the cooks from that region created a new recipe: pork with clams so that the clams could mask the taste of the meat. When they discovered that pork in Alentejo was better, they started using that meat, and the dish was hence named “Carne de porco à alentejana”.
The pork is accompanied by potatoes and fresh cilantro; in some restaurants, it is served with slices of lemon and/or orange to enhance the flavors, while in the north of the country, it is more common to use chopped parsley instead of cilantro.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Portuguese
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1.32 lbs pork (cubed)
- 2 tbsp chili paste
- 1.76 lbs potatoes
- 0.88 lbs clams
- 1 cup white wine
- 1.76 oz lard (or extra virgin olive oil)
- as needed vegetable oil (for frying the potatoes)
- as needed fresh cilantro (or parsley)
- 4 cloves garlic
Steps
Crush the garlic cloves with coarse salt and pepper in a mortar.
Season the meat with the garlic and red chili paste, and the white wine.
Let it marinate for at least 1 hour.
Soak the clams in cold water with salt, changing the water frequently while adding salt.
Heat the lard or extra virgin olive oil in a pan, fry the meat until golden brown (reserving the marinade).
Then add the clams to open them and the marinade. The sauce should not dry out completely, so add some water if necessary.
Cut the potatoes into cubes and fry them in oil until golden.
Add them to the meat with the clams.
Serve with chopped cilantro.
Affiliate Link #adv
A Land Called Alentejo to learn more about the Portuguese region.
