Portuguese Pork with Clams

Lovely Meal

I first tasted this dish in the seaside resort of Nazare, Portugal.

The main street restaurants were doing a fair trade, but my father-in-law (who lived not far away and knew all the best places to eat), guided me down a narrow alley to a small cafe, where people were queuing to get inside.

Fortunately, the Portuguese do not dawdle over a meal, so we were soon seated and served this meal, which I can only describe as 'Superb'!

 

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 10 Minutes + 2 hours marinading
Cooking Time: 30 Minutes

 1 lb lean pork, finely diced  2  medium tomatoes, diced
 1 white onion, finely chopped  2 lb fresh clams in their shelss, scrubbed
 2 cloves garlic, crushed  2 large potatoes
 1 glass white wine  1 cup pickled vegetables  
  1 teasp sugar  1 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

 

Place the pork cubes in a bowl, add the wine, sugar, garlic , mix well, and leave to marinade for at least a couple of hours, or overnight.

Drain the pork. Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions and pork together until the pork is browned all over. Add the marinade to the pan, along with the tomatoes, and simmer until the pork is cooked and the liquid has reduced. 

In the meantime, peel and dice the potatoes, and fry in a little oil until crispy golden. Blot to remove excess oil, and keep warm until the pork is ready.

Steam the clams in a large pan with a little white wine until they open.

When ready to serve this dish, stir in the clams,fried potatoes, coriander and pickled vegetables and rush to the table with it.