Here’s a riff on one of my favorite dishes, the classic Portuguese dish “Porco Alentejana”. I first tasted this dish with pork, clams, and fried potatoes over 40 years ago at the “12345 Club” the Cabana Carioca at 123 West 45th St. in Manhattan. Since then I try it every time I eat at a Brazilian or Portuguese restaurant. The secret to the dish is the complex traditional Portuguese red pepper paste condiment that provides a distinctive flavor to the broth. For this recipe, I substitute sustainably farmed mussels for small hard-shelled clams and smokey fried Portuguese linguiça for the pork shoulder. Super flavorful and satisfying, the briny-plump-tender mussels, crisp-smokey sausage, and roasted slices of potato provide you with a dish from culinary heaven. If you want to lower the carbs omit the potatoes, but don’t forget the crusty bread to dip in the sumptuous broth! Bom proveito!
Portuguese Mussels with Linguiça and Fried Potatoes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 pounds of fresh mussels washed and picked over discarding any that are open and don’t close when tapped.
½ pound linguiça thinly sliced
¼ cup red pepper paste
1 ¾ cups dry white wine
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed
2 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/4” thick or cut into 1-inch cubes
(See *Note)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
In a large bowl, toss the potato slices/cubes with 2 tablespoons oil, season lightly with salt and plenty of pepper, and scatter in one layer on a rimmed foil-lined baking sheet. Roast, flipping them once or twice, until fork tender and golden brown about 30-40 minutes.
In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm 2 tablespoons olive oil. Fry the linguiça until it is brown and crispy.
Lower the heat to medium, add the onion and cook stirring until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
Add the red pepper paste and stir for a couple of minutes before adding the wine and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer for a couple of minutes, cover and remove from the heat until the potatoes are out of the oven.
Once the potatoes are done, raise the heat under the pot to high, bring to a boil and stir in the mussels. Cover and cook until they begin to open (2-3 minutes) stirring occasionally and picking out the mussels as they fully open. (Note: cooking mussels this way ensures perfectly cooked large, plump, tender mussels that are not overcooked, shriveled, and tiny.) Discard any mussels that don’t open.
To serve, line the bottom of the serving bowls with the potato slices or cubes, top with the linguiça, mussels, and broth, and sprinkle with the cilantro. (See *Note)
Serve with crusty bread for dipping. Have a large bowl ready for the shells.
*Note: if you want to lower the carbs in this dish omit the potatoes.
Adapted from: https://leitesculinaria.com/7675/recipes-portuguese-pork-with-clams.html
Wine pairing: the traditional wine to serve with this meal is “vinho verde” a light, crisp white wine from Portugal. Other options would be Chablis, Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino, Albariño, or Verdejo. You could also try a Rosé or light Beaujolais. Avoid wines that have heavy tannins.
