Pork and pippies (Carne de porco à alentejana)

Allow your meat to marinate for a few hours so you can get the complete flavour experience. With an extra splash of wine and some fried spuds, add in your pippies and give it a quick toss. Make sure you serve it with bread to mop up all that sauce. Food Safari Water

• serves

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp capsicum paste (see note)
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• Pinch of salt
• 3 bay leaves
• pinch dried chilli
• 500 ml (2 cups) white wine
• 1 kg pork neck, cut into 2 cm cubes 
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 kg potatoes, cut in 2 cm cubes
• 100 g pork lard
• 100 ml olive oil
• 500 g vongole
• To serve, coriander sprigs, pickled vegetables, lemon wedges and olives, to serve

Marinating time: 2-3 hr

Instructions

Combine the capsicum paste, garlic, salt, bay leaves, chilli and half the wine in a large bowl. Add the pork, toss to coat, then cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight if time permits. Bring to room temperature before cooking.

Heat the vegetable oil for deep-frying in a large saucepan to 180˚C. Fry the potatoes until golden, then set aside.

In a large heavy-based saucepan, melt the lard and olive oil over low heat. Drain the pork and reserve the marinade. Fry the pork in batches until golden and set aside. Add the reserved marinade and the remaining wine and simmer for a few minutes or until reduced a little.

Return the pork to the pan along with the vongole. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the vongole start to open. Add the potatoes and gently toss everything together. Serve on a large platter garnished with coriander sprigs, pickled vegetables, olives and lemon wedges.

Note

• While capsicum paste is readily available in jars from delicatessens, to make your own, place 3 seeded and sliced red capsicums in a colander and sprinkle with 3 handfuls of rock salt. Leave for about 1 week in order to dehydrate the capsicum. Puree in a food processor to form a smooth paste. Put the paste in a jar and cover with a piece of muslin. Pour olive oil on top of cloth in order to preserve the paste. Will keep refrigerated for up to 3 months.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.