potuguese style steak or fish

fatscholes · Post by **fatscholes** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 11:28 am

can anyone tell me the cooking method of this...
i know its either steak of fish with potatoes and tmoato sauce but are the fish or steak cooked first or just sealed before going in the clay pots to cook in the oven....and also for how long?

Lesley Jean · Post by **Lesley Jean** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:13 am

Hi, I do a version of this with skinless, boneless cod loins.. I gently fry onion and garlic, then add carrots and courgettes, sliced, and loads of chopped fresh tomatoes, fresh herbs, chopped (parsley and coriander are good) potatoes and enough stock to make it moist. season and put into a casserole dish in the oven for about 45 mins. Then add the cod about 20 mins at the end of the cooking time. With steak you do need to sear in hot oil before you put in with the other ingredients. Steak is difficult as it depends how you like your steak cooked.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:29 am

Lesley,

I've never been able to understand " loin " in the context of fish

Surely fish don't have loins

fatscholes · Post by **fatscholes** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 12:21 pm

thanks, attempting somwthing like this at the weekend.

digger · Post by **digger** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 12:46 pm

fatscholes, try this with loin of pork:

cook/fry onion & garlic add tomato, water & wine plus any herbs you fancy and seasoning. Chuck in the pork which may be about half covered by the sauce … spoon some over the top, and more seasoning. Cook till the pork falls apart with a wooden spoon, and the sauce will have reduced by half. No need to seal the meat.

blue · Post by **blue** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 3:25 pm

Lesley Jean/Digger,
please tell me are these dishes open or covered?

digger · Post by **digger** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 3:57 pm

this method of cooking meat is popular in pt. More popular than roasting. It’s called “carne estufada” (steamed meat).

I cook my pork in a saucepan with a lid on, for about an hour & half, basting every 20 mins.

You can use anything! beef with onion & red wine. Any meat is nice hot or cold and the sauce can be added to and thickened after the meat is cooked. One reason my wife likes this method: no oven to clean!

Lesley Jean · Post by **Lesley Jean** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 1:20 pm

blue wrote:Lesley Jean/Digger,
please tell me are these dishes open or covered?

Covered, I always put a lid on the casserole dish.

Jeremy... I know it always sounds weird...but that is what Tesco in it's wisdom call it.....

blue · Post by **blue** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 2:29 pm

Thanks Digger & Lesley Jean
it might have seemed an odd question but I have had a lovely dish out there that is made with pork, clams, poatatoes, onion, toms etc. that is cooked in a shallow terracota dish without a lid, really delicious. Don't know how to cook it though.

nightrider · Post by **nightrider** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:35 pm

Hi Blue,

The dish that you are describing would appear to be on similiar lines to a Cataplana dish...yet you say it was cooked in an uncovered shallow clay type dish

Like Digger for similiar recipes, I use a covered saucepan....rather than the actual copper cataplana pan...although I have been pondering on purchasing one.

Nightrider.

ps The subject of these postings would appear to be running alongside the Recipe Corner?

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 12:17 pm

Blue, this sounds like the pork with clams which I love to eat at Lanterna. I have seen them heating up food in the open dishes, but always assumed that the food had been cooked closed and in advance. Otherwise the pork would take forever. No doubt the clams go in towards the end.