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Pork and Clams with Cilantro
Claudia Rodrigues

Portuguese Pork and Clams | Carne de Porco à Alentejana

Discover the rich flavours of Portugal with Carne de Porco à Alentejana, a hearty stew featuring pork, clams and served over fries.
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Servings: 4 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs pork shoulder or loin or a mixture for more flavour cut into 2" cubes
  • 6-8 cloves garlic sliced
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1/4 cup lard (pork fat)
  • olive oil
  • 2-4 russette potatoes peeled and cut into 1" cubes
  • 2 lbs littleneck clams
  • 1/2 cup Coriander/ Cilantro for garnish

Equipment

  • 1 Cast Iron Pan
  • 1 Braiser

Method
 

Marinade Pork for 12hrs
  1. Add pork to a large mixing bowl or tupperware and season with salt, paprika, black pepper, garlic and bay leaves, add in white wine and combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.
Searing Pork
  1. Remove pork from marinade and run thruw de salad spinner. RESERVE MARINADE, do not discard.
  2. Heat cast iron pan, add oilve oil to coat bottom and working in batches sear the pork. Reserve the seared pork in a bowl.
Braising Pork and Clams
  1. After searing the pork, add the lard to the braiser and heat. Add the pork and it's juices and cook for 5 minutes.
    Add the reserved marinade, including the garlic and the bay leaves, stir scraping up any brown bits from the pan, then reduce heat to medium or medium low. Cook for 5 minutes. Check the dones of the pork.
    Add in the Clams, cover and cook for 5minutes.
Potatoes
  1. Rise the potatoes until the water runs clear then soak the potatoes in ice cold water for 15-20minutes. Dry the potatoes in the salad spinner ensuring they are completely dry. Fry the potatoes in the airfryer until crispy.
Assembly
  1. Layer fried potatoes in the bottom of a deep sided serving dish. Top the potatoes with the braised pork and the steamed clams and drizzle pan juices from the pork over the top and toss very gently to combine. Garnish with Cilantro.

Notes

This dish is sometimes served with giardiniera, which a mix of pickled vegetables. I personaly do not like it, so I usually do not included it in my dishes. It adds a bit of contrast to the dish.