Steak – Tia Maria's Blog

June 17, 2020

Portuguese Festa Food | Mini Prego/Steak Sliders

Time to Festa everyone! The months of June through September is “Festa” season throughout Portugal and in Portuguese communities around the world. Since most festas have been canceled this year in the USA due to the Corona Virus, I’ve brought the classic recipes for you to enjoy in your own backyard festa! I’ve started my series of “Festa Foods” posts with my Mini Prego Sliders. I’ve made these smaller sandwiches using mini Papo Seco rolls. Sauted onions add a savory bite and the shoe string fries are a total game changer on the traditional plain sandwich. No Portuguese festa is complete without some Portuguese beer of course. Happy Summer and Happy Festa Everyone!

Ingredients for 1 dozen sliders:

1 dozen mini papo seco rolls (cut larger rolls in half if you don’t have the mini)

12 (4-6)oz sirloin strip steaks cut to 1/2 inch thick

2 large onions (sliced)

1 pound shoe string fries (frozen or fresh) (this is optional)

1 to 2 tablespoons my spice mix (found at this link: https://tiamariasblog.com/portuguese-dry-rub/ )

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon white vinegar or white wine

Preparation:

Bring steaks to room temperature before cooking. Season with spice mix.

Cook unions in a large skillet in a few tablespoons of olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add salt and vinegar and cook until tender but not overcooked. Leave in skillet and set aside on low heat.

Meanwhile cook fries and keep warm.

When both onions and fries are cooked prepare steaks.

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in large heavy skillet to very hot. Cook 6 steaks at time 2 to 3 minutes on each side depending on your taste of doneness. If you like a rare steak cook less. You may need to add a few more tablespoons of oil in the second batch of steaks.

When steaks are cooked add cooked onions to pan.

Assemble sliders with steak, then onions and fries on top.

Bife a Portuguesa | Steak and Egg Portuguese Style

You’ll find this classic steak dish on just about every Portuguese restaurant’s menu. What makes this dish so flavorful is the combination of red wine, garlic and olive oil which creates a rich sauce that is poured over the steak and egg.

This recipe is from my Taste Portugal cook book! I had the book marks printed for my first book signing! The Galo de Barcelos brings good luck!

Ingredients: Serves 2

2 (8oz) sirloin steaks (½ or 1 inch thick)

4 cloves garlic (sliced)

Salt

Pepper

2 eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 or 6 small potatoes (peeled and sliced into ¼ inch slices or regular cuts)

Oil for frying potatoes

Wine reduction:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoon of butter

½ cup red wine

Preparation:

Season the steaks with salt and pepper and let marinade overnight or for at least 1 hour. Fry potatoes in hot oil, drain, and season with salt and keep warm in the oven.

Cook steaks with the garlic in hot skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and add wine reduction ingredients. Cook the reduction until reduced by half.

Place the steaks back in the pan on low heat with the reduction. Meanwhile, cook 2 eggs sunny side up in a separate small nonstick skillet.

Heat a large serving plate in the oven. Place steak in the center of the plate surrounded by the home fries.

Place one egg on top of each steak. Pour sauce from the pan over the steak and eggs. Season with more salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley if desired.

This dish is usually served with a serving of Portuguese rice as well, but optional. Enjoy!