Carne de Porco à AlentejanaPork and Clams

Pork and clams sounds like an odd couple until you taste it. The pork soaks up a marinade of white wine, garlic and massa de pimentão (sweet red pepper paste), then the clams open on top and release their sea-salty juice into everything. Crisp fried potato cubes and a fistful of coriander finish it off.

Despite the name, most food historians think the dish comes from the Algarve coast, not inland Alentejo, where clams are hard to come by. Either way, it's on menus all over Portugal.

The recipe

Carne de Porco à AlentejanaPork and Clams

Pork marinated in wine, garlic and red pepper paste, tossed with clams, crisp potatoes and coriander. Portugal's great surf-and-turf, cooked in a cataplana.

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Prep20 min

Cook40 min

Total60 min

Serves4

Ingredients

MetricUS

Serves

4

½×1×2×3×

• 800 g boneless pork shoulder, cut into 3 cm cubes
• 2 tbsp massa de pimentão (or 2 tsp sweet paprika mixed with 1 tbsp olive oil)
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 250 ml dry white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 kg clams, purged in salted water for 1–2 hours
• 600 g potatoes, cut into 2 cm cubes
• 4 tbsp olive oil, plus oil for the potatoes
• 1 large bunch coriander, chopped
• Lemon wedges and pickles (pickled carrots, cauliflower) to serve
• Salt

Method

1. Mix the pork with the pepper paste, garlic, wine and bay leaves. Cover and marinate in the fridge overnight, or for at least 4 hours.
2. Lift the pork out of the marinade and pat it dry. Keep the marinade.
3. Fry or air fry the potato cubes until golden and crisp (air fryer: 200 °C for 18–20 minutes with a spray of oil, shaking twice). Season with salt.
4. Heat the olive oil in the cataplana or a wide pan over high heat. Brown the pork in batches until coloured on all sides.
5. Return all the pork, pour in the marinade and simmer for 20 minutes, until the pork is tender and the sauce has reduced by half.
6. Add the clams, close the cataplana (or cover the pan) and cook for 5–7 minutes, shaking once, until the clams open. Throw away any that stay shut.
7. Fold in the potatoes and most of the coriander. Scatter the rest on top and serve with lemon wedges and pickles.

Notes

Clear ticks

Tap ingredients and steps to tick them off. Scaling changes the quantities at the start of each line; check the rest by eye.

Make it in a cataplana

This is one of the best dishes for a cataplana. The sealed lid traps the clam steam so the pork absorbs it. Bring the closed pan to the table on a cork board and open it in front of everyone.

From the shop

What you’ll need

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Portuguese

Artame stainless steel cataplana, 30 cm

The family size: enough cataplana de marisco for four, carried to the table and opened in a cloud of steam.

Tip: Check it fits your largest burner before you buy.

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Portuguese

Piri-piri chillies from Portugal

Whole dried bird's-eye chillies, the heat behind frango piri-piri and the bottle of chilli oil on every Portuguese table.

Tip: Two packs last a year. Crush them as you need them.

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Portuguese

Casafina Portuguese cork oval placemats, set of 4

Natural Portuguese cork placemats that take hot plates and look good with any tableware.

Tip: Wipe clean, don't soak.

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Portuguese

Vista Alegre Bicos goblets, set of 4

Vista Alegre has made porcelain and glass in Portugal since 1824. These goblets suit a Vinho Verde with your cataplana.

Tip: All-purpose goblets: wine, water or sangria.

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