Tagged: Clams

Recipes

Rebecca’s Mussels – Mexilhões with Garlic,Cilantro, Fennel and Saffron

Mussels a Rebecca

These mouthwatering mussels made by my daughter in law Rebecca who’s a great cook, take only minutes to prepare. She served them as an appetizer along with fresh Portuguese papo seco rolls for dipping and Portuguese wine of course. You can also make this same recipe substituting little neck clams. It’s a perfect summer dish.

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds mussels (cleaned)

1 large onion (minced)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1/4 cup fennel (minced)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

pinch of saffron

1 cup white wine

1 cup chicken broth

1 cube (Knorr Garlic Cilantro cubes)

parsley, or fennel leaves for garnish (finely minced)

Preparation:

Saute the onion, garlic, and fennel in olive oil with the salt and pepper for 10-15 minutes until tender. Add wine, chicken broth, saffron and cilantro cube. Cook and reduce by 1/2.

Add the mussels, cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until the mussels open.

Top with the fennel leaves or parsley as garnish before serving.


Appetizers / fish / Holiday Recipes / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes / shrimp

Mariscada – Portuguese Shellfish Stew

Mariscada - Portuguese Shellfish Stew

Mariscada

This is my family’s favorite seafood dish which I learned from a Portuguese chef many years ago. I make it for Christmas Eve dinner every year. The combination of ingredients and spices blend perfectly with the fresh seafood and creates a rich flavorful broth. The seafood will pair perfectly with Portuguese rice.

This recipe is the main dish image page in my; Taste Portugal | 101 easy Portuguese recipes cookbook.

Recipe #47  ————– PORTUGUESE SHELLFISH STEW

mariscadaServes 2-4

Ingredients:

1 whole uncooked lobster (chopped into quarters)

1 pound raw, peeled and de-veined Shrimp

1 pound little mussels or little neck clams (washed)

½ pound scallops

½ pound of squid (cut into rings) (optional)

1 small onion (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

¼ cup olive oil

1 cup Vinho Verde or white wine

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (garnish)

Squeeze of lemon juice

Dash of hot sauce (if desired)

Preparation

Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil in a large heavy skillet on medium heat for one minute. Add lobster, and saute for a few minutes on low heat. Add clams, wine, paprika, salt and pepper, cover and let cook for 5 minutes.

Add the chicken broth, shrimp, squid, and scallops, cover and cook on medium heat for another 5 minutes or until the clams open.

Add butter and continue cooking for another 5 minutes for the butter to thicken the sauce.

Taste for saltiness and add hot sauce or more seasonings if desired.

Add the chopped cilantro and top with a squeeze of lemon juice before serving.

Serve with rice.

Note: You may substitute chicken broth with 1 chicken bouillon cube and 1 cup water.

Holiday Recipes / Photo Gallery / rice

Maria’s Seafood Rice – Arroz com Marisco a Maria

I make this Seafood Rice dish for every family celebration since we are all seafood lovers! The recipe is very versatile so you can change up the seafood ingredients to what ever you prefer. Sometimes I also add lobster when it’s in season.

I like to cook the rice separate from the seafood because the rice comes out fluffier. Some people cook the rice in with the seafood but that may leave the seafood dry too. You can also use only regular long rice if you prefer,  but increase it to 3 and 1/2 cups.

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

Rice:

2 cups long grain rice

1 (8 oz) package of Goya Yellow Rice mix

1 medium onion (finely chopped)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon of paprika

1 chicken bouillon cube

6 cups of boiling water

1 teaspoon salt

Seafood ingredients:

2 pounds of uncooked peeled shrimp

1 pound of little neck clams  (washed)

1 pound of mussels in or out of shell

1 pound of squid (chopped into rings and pieces)

1 pound of scallops

1 small onion (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (finely minced)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup of vinho verde or dry white wine

1 cup chicken stock

Dash of Piri Piri or hot sauce

2 cups frozen baby peas

2 tablespoons of chopped parsley or cilantro for garnish

Lemon wedges for garnish

Preparation:

Step 1:

Make the rice first by sauteing the onion in a heavy medium pan with the olive oil for a few minutes until translucent but not browned. Add the long grain rice to the onion and stir to coat with the olive oil. Let brown for 1 minute stirring often.

Add the boiling water, salt, paprika and bouillon cube. Let come to a boil and add the Yellow rice. Stir, cover and reduce heat to medium. Let cook for about 15 – 20 minutes stirring once in a while. Add more boiling water if you find the rice is getting to dry. Taste and add more salt if desired.

Step 2:

In a medium skillet, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Add the clams, squid, and mussels and cook for one minute. Add the wine, butter, paprika, piri piri, salt, stock and shrimp.

Cook for about 5 minutes on high until the seafood is cooked and clams open. Taste and add more seasoning if desired. Add the peas and cook for 1 minute. Set seafood aside until rice is fully cooked.

Step 3:

Place the rice into a wide paella pan or oven proof serving tray. Pour the seafood over the rice spreading the seafood evenly. Place in the oven at 350  degrees f for a few minutes for the flavors to incorporate. Keep in the warm oven until ready to serve but not too long or the rice will become dry.

Step 4:

Garnish with lemon wedges and cilantro or parsley. Serve and enjoy!

Main Dish / Photo Gallery

Linguini & Vinho Verde Clam Sauce – Ameijoas à Bulhão Pato

Vinho verde clam sauce

This recipe is inspired by the classic Ameijoas à Bulhão Pato (recipe below). Raimundo António de Bulhão Pato was a nineteenth century writer, poet and politician. He was also a gourmet cook with signature dishes he created such as clams, hare, partridge and grouper. Ameijoas à Bulhão Pato is one of the most popular appetizers today.

My Linguini dish is very easy and uses basic pantry ingredients. I used canned whole baby clams but you can substitute with chopped clams or fresh clams in the shell if you prefer.

I also used Vinho Verde because it pairs perfectly with fish and seafood. I cook with it whenever a recipe calls for using white wine.

If you like a more cream based sauce simply add a little cream and more butter to the sauce and little it thicken before adding the pasta. Enjoy!

Linguini & Vinho Verde Wine Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients:

8 oz (1/2 package of Linguini)

1 10 ounce can of cooked baby clams or chopped clams

2 cloves of garlic (thinly sliced)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup of Vinho Verde (or any dry white wine)

1/4 cup of clam juice or chicken broth (optional)

Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Black pepper

Salt

Parsley or cilantro  (finely minced)

Instructions:

Drain the clams into a bowl and save the clam juice.

Cook the pasta in salted water and the reserved clam juice until al dente.

In a medium skillet add the olive oil, butter and garlic. Cook on medium heat until the garlic is translucent. Add the drained clams, Vinho Verde and clam juice.

Cook for about 5 minutes on low heat until the wine reduces a little. Taste and add crushed black pepper and more salt if desired.

 


Drain the pasta and add it to the clam sauce. Stir well. Add the parsley or cilantro and top with grated Parmesan cheese. Mix gently and cook for a minute or two for the sauce to incorporate into the pasta.

Top with more fresh grated cheese when serving. Enjoy!

 

 

Clams a Bulhão Pato Recipe:

Serves: 1

 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon diced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons dry white wine
15 little neck clams, cleaned

 

 

Instructions:

Lemon segments (to supreme the lemons, cut lengthwise, remove the peel, pith, and membranes and use only the soft flesh)

In a pan, add the olive oil and garlic over high heat and cook until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add clams, white wine, half the cilantro, and cover. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Uncover the pan and make sure that all clams are open, discarding any that aren’t. Top with remaining cilantro and lemon segments. Serve immediately.

Holiday Recipes / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Portuguese Christmas / Recipes / rice

Arroz de Marisco – Seafood Rice Casserole

The bountiful seafood in the oceans of Portugal’s sea coast inspires this flavorful Seafood rice that is perfect for a celebration or anytime.

This recipe is inspired from a recipe that I learned many years ago from a Portuguese chef that worked at my brothers Portuguese restaurant!

You can improvise the recipe by adding more of your favorite seafood or omitting some ingredients. Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:

1 whole fresh lobster (cut into pieces)

1 pound of uncooked medium shrimp (peeled and deveined)

1 pound of scallops

1 pound of little neck clams (washed)

1 pound of mussels (washed and cleaned)

1 small onion (finely chopped)

1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)

1/2 cup of ripe tomatoes (crushed)

½ of a small, red bell pepper (chopped)

1 cup of uncooked peas

Pinch of Saffron

1 teaspoon paprika  

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups of chicken broth

2 cups of long grain uncooked rice

½ cup of Vinho Verde or white wine

Fresh chopped Cilantro for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute the onion, red peppers and garlic in a large deep heavy oven proof skillet or Cataplana pan until translucent.

Add the lobster pieces and brown for a few minutes.

Add the wine, tomatoes, paprika, and salt, and cook for about 5 minutes until reduced.

Add the broth and bring to a boil.

Add the rice and saffron and stir while cooking for about 5 minutes on high heat.

Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Remove the pan from the burner and stir in the peas.

Arrange the shrimp, scallops, clams, and mussels, evenly submerged on top of the rice.

Bake in the oven uncovered for about 30 minutes until the rice and seafood is cooked.

Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

Notes:

You may need to cook the rice longer if you find it’s not fully cooked.

Add more broth if you find the rice too dry and bake or cook for a few minutes longer however Paella rice is typically dry.

Serves 4-6

 

Holiday Recipes / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes

Carne de Porco à Alentejana

“Carne Alentejana is just like JELLO” my husband tells me;

“There’s always room for Carne Alentejana!” 🙂

Carne de Porco à Alentejana is one of the most traditional Portuguese dishes found on the menus of Portuguese restaurants through out the world.  The dishes name, “Alentejana” meas that the dish comes from the Alentejo region of Portugal.

The origin of its name, “Além-Tejo”, literally translates to “Beyond the Tagus” or “Across the Tagus”. The region is separated from the rest of Portugal by the Tagus river, and extends to the south where it borders the Algarve region.

The name Carne de Porco Alentejana was to distinguish that the pork used in the dish is from that region of the country which produces the Black Iberian Pig. The meat from the Iberian pig has a higher fat content which produces a more tender and flavorful meat.

 

Ingredients:

2 lbs pork loin (cut into 2 in cubes)

1 small onion chopped

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 teaspoon red pepper paste

1 – 1 /2 teaspoon Sea Salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1 bay leaf

1 cup white wine or Vinho Verde

1 tablespoon  smoked paprika

2 teaspoons Piri Piri or Tabasco hot sauce

4 cups raw potatoes cut into 2 inch cubes

2 lbs small fresh little neck clams

1/2 cup pickled vegetables (Gardeneira)

1 chicken boullion cube

Chopped Cilantro for garnish (if desired)

Olives for garnish

Oil for frying

 

Instructions:

In a large bowl, season pork with; salt, garlic, bay leaf, paprika, cumin, red pepper, and 1/2 cup of the wine.

Stir well and let the meat marinate for at least 2 hours or leave overnight.

Before you begin cooking the pork, fry potatoes in hot oil until golden brown, season with sea salt and set aside.

Place clams in a bowl with cold water and 1 tsp sea salt. Let them sit for about 1/2 -1 hour in refrigerator so they let the sandiness out of them.

Preheat large skillet or wok on high heat with 1/4 cup olive oil and add onions.

Cook for about 1 minute then add the drained, marinaded pork mixture, (save the liquid). Let meat brown on all sides and cook for about 5 minutes.

Rinse and dry clams and add to the pork with 1/2 cup of wine, bouillon  and the leftover marinade. (Add more wine if desired to make more sauce)

Cover and cook on med heat until the clams open.

Taste the pork and add more salt or Tabasco sauce if desired. Add the potatoes into the pork and stir gently.  Add pickled vegetables, olives and  chopped cilantro for garnish if desired.

Here’s a great video that shows you the classic step by step recipe that is similar to mine.

 

 

Enjoy! Tia Maria…