Portuguese Beef Stew (Carne Guisada)

September 23, 2015September 23, 201525 Comments

My Vavô had Portuguese soup for supper every night when he got home from work, but Sunday’s were reserved for his favorite meal… Beef Stew. In St. Michael meat was expensive, much too expensive to have on a regular basis. So, when the family moved to the United States and a better life was set before them, my Vavô worked hard to achieve that better life for his family and to enjoy such luxuries in life as Beef Stew on Sundays.

Fernando Mota, my Vavô, achieved what he wanted for his family, he bought a home, became a U.S. citizen, paid taxes, raised three children, had several grandchildren and a few great-grandchildren before he passed away. He achieved the American dream in every sense of the term. Now all three of his children continue what he began by working hard, owning homes and helping their children and grandchildren to achieve the same and better. I wish my children could sit at a table with their great grandparents and enjoy a big bowl of Beef Stew. But, the next best thing is to chronicle these little details of my grandparents lives for them to learn about as they grow up. And food is a wonderful place to begin that journey of remembering and telling family stories. I like to use food as a vehicle to help my children to stay rooted in their heritage.

My family’s Beef Stew recipe is a melt in your mouth favorite, meant to be enjoyed with a good piece of Portuguese bread to sop up the molho (gravy/broth). You won’t find vegetables as you might in a traditional American Beef Stew, it’s made up of mainly meat and potatoes. And the flavors are out of this world with pepper, onion, garlic and spices. Take a look and see how we do it…

Start by taking your meat out of the fridge… you want it to come to room temperature. This dinner is meant for my small family, so I used just over a pound of chopped up beef, the packaging said “stew meat”.

Start preparing your ingredients by dicing one med/large onion.

1/2 lb. or 1 link of hot portuguese chouriço. If you like things a little less spicy, mild is fine too.

Peel the chouriço.

Slice.

Collect about 8 or 9 medium all-purpose potatoes. Nothing fancy here.

Peel them.

Chop them up.

And finally… One large clove of garlic.

Peel.

Add some olive oil to a large pot and heat over medium heat.

Add your onions in.

Next, add in your chouriço.

Add in your meat before you add in any liquid… sautée.

Add garlic to the pot.

Use 1/2 tsp. of Portuguese Allspice.

Add in one heaping Tbs. of crushed red pepper. This is not a terribly spicy pepper, it has some kick, but definitely mild in comparison to some hot sauces out there.

Add in potatoes.

Add in one full beer then refill that bottle with water and add in.

You should come right up to the top of your meat and potatoes with liquid, if it’s a little over, don’t worry, it will all soak in nicely.

Add in 1/2 a small can of tomato sauce.

Add in a pinch of salt to help with the seasoning of the potatoes, but don’t go nuts here, the pepper and the chouriço both have a good amount of salt in them as it is.

Simmer with the lid on over a med/low burner.

You should stir this every once in a while throughout the simmer.

In order to make this recipe work, this next part is essential. You need to cook this low and slow not only until the potatoes are tender, but until they just about fall apart on you. It’s the starch from the potato that brings the thickness to the molho (gravy/broth). Once the potatoes cook as described, taste for salt.

Recipe for Portuguese Beef Stew (Carne Guisada):

(serves 4)

2 lbs. chopped stew meat

1/2 lb. Portuguese hot chouriço, sliced

1 med/lg. onion, diced

1 clove fresh garlic, crushed and peeled

8-9 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

12 oz beer (or red wine for gluten-free preparation)

12 oz water

1/2 small 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 heaping Tbs. crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp Portuguese Allspice

pinch of salt

olive oil

(additional cooking water may be needed to keep moist during the cooking process)

Directions:

Once all the ingredients are prepped, heat a large pot with a few Tbs. olive oil over medium heat. Add in onions, sautée for a couple minutes. Add in chouriço and stew meat. Stir. Add in Allspice, garlic, and pepper, stir. Add in potatoes, beer, water, salt and tomato sauce. Stir. Cover and simmer over a med/low burner stirring about every 10 minutes or so. Cook for at least 1 – 1 1/2 hours until potatoes are extremely tender. (If during that hour and a half you see that it is starting to get dry before the potatoes are very well cooked, add in additional water, beer or wine accordingly)

Enjoy with a fresh Portuguese roll!

*note: This is a gluten-free recipe with the swapping out of beer for wine or as always gluten-free beer.

*note: to make your own Portuguese Allspice: combine 1/2 cup plain paprika (not smoked or spicy), 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp turmeric and 1/2 tsp. grated orange rind

*note: this can easily be made in a slow cooker, 8 hrs on low, just be sure when it is done, potatoes are beyond tender

Easy 3 Layer Dip

September 11, 2015September 11, 2015

Are you ready for some footballlllll???? We are! With the start of football season kicking off this weekend, I thought it only appropriate to post a fun, quick, tasty and super easy dip to take along to any football party or tailgating you might be doing! I have been making this dip for years and I can tell you from personal experience, it is almost addicting! Just three simple layers, this is a no-bake recipe that will have them asking for more each time you come out to a party!

Ready in under 5 minutes, this dip is perfect for the busy mom or dad on the run! It also keeps really well and can be made hours before the party and kept covered in the fridge! Take it out about an hour before you are ready to serve, grab a bag of tortilla chips and you’re good to go!

Add one bar of softened cream cheese to a mixing bowl.

To the cream cheese, add in a half a cup of sour cream. I used to do this recipe without this ingredient, so if you don’t have any on hand, don’t worry about it, but I find that it really helps with texture and softens this layer up a bit, which in turn helps get the dip on the chip.

I have put taco seasoning recipes up in different posts before, if you have some of that already made, then just add in 3 Tbs. of that, if not, just grab a packet of pre-made taco seasoning and add it in. I told you this would be quick and easy!

With these three ingredients in the bowl, whip together. I used my electric mixer, about 45 seconds on high did it just perfect. If you don’t have a mixer, it may take you a minute and a half to mix with a wooden spoon.

Once your mix is complete, scoop it out into your serving dish.

I usually use a pie plate for this, but today I had a pretty blue casserole dish at the ready, so I used that. I spread an even layer at the bottom.

Again, I told you this would be quick and easy. Grab your favorite salsa, hot and spicy, medium or mild, you know your crowd, use what you like… We like medium. I also like the body that the chunky variety gives. And hey if you already have a saucy salsa home-made and ready, go ahead and use it! Spread your salsa evenly to create your second layer.

Now add on some cheese, spread evenly to create your third and final layer. If you are a regular on this blog, you know that I almost always shred my own cheese, but quick and easy is the name of the game here today, so some pre-shredded is how I’m going today. Plus I find that when leaving the pre-shredded stuff exposed to air it holds up a bit better than freshly shredded. Please note that if you are trying to keep this gluten-free, you really need to check your labels because some company’s coat the cheese in flour to preserve.

Spread your cheese over your layer of salsa.

I like to add a couple of toppings to this dip. This is completely optional, so I don’t count it as a layer. The first topping I add is a small can of drained pre-sliced black olives.

The second and final topping I like to add is jalapeno. Again, this is totally optional.

I slice it up super thin.

Then spread about half a pepper’s worth of slices around the top.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Recipe for Easy 3 Layer Dip:

(serves 10-12)

1 bar cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1 packet taco seasoning

1 1/2 cups ready-made salsa

1 1/2 – 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 diced jalapeno (optional)

10 black olives, sliced (optional)

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, whip together cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning. Spread mixture into a pie plate or small casserole dish. Add an even layer of jarred salsa. Add an even layer of shredded cheese. Top with olives and jalapeno.

*Note – This recipe is Gluten-free as long as the specific brands used are gluten-free.

Baked Salt Cod Casserole (Bacalhau Assado)

September 9, 2015

The Italians have lasagna, the Greeks have moussaka, the Mexicans have enchiladas and the Portuguese have Bacalhau Assado. Whatever the country, a time consuming casserole dish filled with beautiful food is a cherished part of family gatherings and family dinners alike. I truly believe these dishes are where the phrase “Food of Love” was started. We Portuguese love our salt cod, so it is only natural that our most loved casserole has salt cod as the star. Derived from a country that has deep seeded roots as sea-faring navigators and fisherman, the Portuguese introduced Salt Cod to most of Europe. We have dozens upon dozens, perhaps even hundreds of recipes for salt cod and not any that I can think of for fresh cod. I suppose we wouldn’t need any recipes for fresh cod as salt cod is not only more delicious, but also considered a great comfort food. As a matter of fact, as I write this now, I can recall it has always just been naturally assumed in my family that when speaking of “cod fish” we think salt cod, not fresh. This became apparent to me later in life when at an American sea food restaurant where Atlantic Cod was served topped with little buttery cracker crumbs… I was almost confused to think of it fresh like some might be confused to think of bacon as fresh pork.

Portuguese Baked Salt Cod Casserole (Bacalhau Assado) is a serious dish for serious food lovers. Layers of carefully constructed sliced potatoes, salt cod and sautéed onions (Cebolada) all baked together and topped with boiled eggs and olives and infused with good olive oil to form the perfect balance of flavors, this dish has it all.

In my family, as I am quite sure in many Portuguese families, this wonderful creation is enjoyed at many a social gathering… but, most especially the holidays. A nice tray or casserole dish of Bacalhau Assado sits right near the Shrimp Mozambique and the Polvo (Octopus) each year at Christmas! A more delicious site has yet to be created!

Many of the recipes I post here on thePortugueseAmericanMom.com are easy, simple, inexpensive and quick. This is not one of those recipes. Although this dish is not at all complicated, it does require the coordination of several different steps and so is definitely not something that can get done in under a half hour. It is a labor of love and worth every minute!

Let’s start with the star ingredient… the cod fish…

Salt Cod at Portugalia Marketplace in Fall River, MA

With so much to choose from, it can be difficult to select just the right cut. I like to make my life a little bit easier, so I usually go for something without bones! 2 lbs. please 🙂

Here is what I brought home.

Just look at all that salt! Most of that will need to be removed for the cod to be edible.

Some people like to soak the fish overnight, which works well too… accept you will need to change the water a few times as it does tend to need more than just a soak… Me, I like to boil the salt out.

Boil and drain, this process will need to happen 2-3 times depending on just how salty the fish is and what your taste is… I like the fish to have a good amount of salt flavor, because otherwise what’s the point right? So, I try to keep the boiling process down to twice… Don’t forget this fish needs to stand up to potatoes and onions.

Gently with your hand, flake off chunks of fish to separate.

This is the broken up cod… you don’t want to mash it, you want it chunky.

Now that the cod is prepared, lets move onto the potatoes…

These are Yukon Gold potatoes… Any kind of all-purpose white potato will work as well.

Peel the potatoes and place them in a cold pot, then fill with cold water and a nice pinch of salt.

Look how golden these turned when cooked.

You want to thinly slice your potatoes, but you also want them to not fall apart… Just find a happy medium and whatever you are comfortable with will work.

Now lets work with the onions… this part of the preparation is very similar to my Cebolada post less the tomatoes.

Start by slicing some onions, I like a varying slice, some thick some super thin.

Add onions to a hot pan with olive oil and add just a small pinch of salt… Saute over medium heat until tender.

One the onions have become tender, add in ground red pepper, minced garlic and Portuguese Allspice.

When your onions get to this stage, they are ready to go. (They should no longer be stiff at all, but not mushy either… you are looking for a medium bodied onion that is very flexible, this still needs to be baked once incorporated into the dish)

Now that all three elements of the recipe are ready, we can start to build…

Now start building the final product in your casserole dish… This recipe will fill a 9″x13″ pan. Add in a drizzle of olive oil to coat the bottom of the baking dish. I prefer either glass or stone as seen here… If using a metal pan, be sure to coat bottom and sides well. (I would even spread it around with a paper towel if using metal)

This is a simple layering process. Start with one even layer of potatoes. You will use about 1/3 of your sliced potatoes.

Now add in an even layer of onions. You should use about 1/3 of your onions.

Now for the cod fish. You will need about 1/2 of your fish now… I don’t like to put too much cod on top as I feel like it gets dried out, so sometimes I reserve a few pieces for the top, but I didn’t do that today.

Spread evenly atop the onions. I like to drizzle just a little olive oil at this point.

In the middle is when you want to use any potatoes that are not perfectly round due to falling apart in the cutting process… you want the bottom to be solid and the top to be pretty… So here they are.

Keep layering in that order… Potatoes, onions, cod…

Once you reach the top, finish you should have onions on top… Cover with aluminum foil. Bake in a 350°F oven for one hour. Then bake uncovered for about 15 minutes.

When it comes out of the oven, grab some olive oil, drizzle… grab some olives and sliced hard-boiled eggs (2) and decorate the top.

Serve hot… but, it’s still yummy when cooled a bit!

Recipe for Baked Salt Cod Casserole (Bacalhau Assado):

(serves 8-10)

2 lbs. salt cod, deboned

4 1/2 lbs. potatoes, peeled

5 large onions, sliced

1 heaping Tbs. ground red pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup olive oil, divided

12 olives

2 eggs, hard-boiled and sliced

1/2 tsp. Portuguese Allspice

kosher salt

Directions:

Start by washing and then boiling the cod fish. Drain and boil again. Drain and flake into chunks. Set aside.

In a large pot, boil (in lightly salted water)peeled potatoes. Allow to cool a bit and slice. Set aside.

In a large skillet, saute onions until tender. Add in garlic, red pepper and Allspice. Add in a small pinch of salt. Saute until very flexible, but not mushy.

In a 9″x13″ casserole dish, layer ingredients. Start with olive oil, then 1/3 potatoes, then 1/3 onions, then 1/2 the cod, then drizzle with olive oil and repeat using the next 1/3 potatoes, the next 1/3 onions and the remaining cod. To finish add the remaining potatoes then the remaining onions. Drizzle with olive oil again, cover with foil and bake at 350°F for one hour. Remove foil and continue to bake for 15 minutes.

Top with sliced hard-boiled egg and olives.

Enjoy!

*Note: This is a gluten-free recipe.

Ratatouille with Shrimp & Buttered Egg Noodles

September 7, 2015September 7, 2015

I truly love to garden. My father and my grandfathers always kept beautiful gardens. More than the gardening itself though, I love the produce that comes out of the garden… But, I must confess since I have had my two little cherubs, I haven’t really found the time needed to keep up a good garden… I used to produce beautiful tomatoes, hearty cucumber plants, shiny purple egg plants, and squash that would last right through to Thanksgiving! That was pre-kids though… I have had a couple of half-hearted attempts since then, but there is something about being 7,8 and 9 months pregnant in the summer heat that does not really endorse the sweat that goes into maintaining a good garden. And so that started it off… I will do little project with my kids, like planting peas or digging up potatoes, clipping fresh mint… but next year I am determined to have my full fledged garden once again!

Luckily, I live in an area where there is no shortage of farm stands or Farmer’s Markets! Yay me! So, although it’s not quite as satisfying as growing something yourself and turning it into a delicious life-sustaining meal… it’s still pretty great and I get to support the local farming community along the way. This meal is a prime example of how to turn gorgeous in season produce into something really quite amazing. If you have never tried Ratatouille, I suggest you do! Chock full of 5 different veggies that are all in season right now, Ratatouille is great way to either put those home grown goodies to good use or to support your local economy and eat a healthy and nutritious meal at the same time!

A traditional dish developed in the French country side, Ratatouille is meant to use up whatever vegetables a farmer might have on hand. I prefer to limit that to these 5… eggplant, zucchini, pepper (bell), onions and tomatoes (EZ-POT). It is great as a side dish or a main dish if you are a vegetarian, but my most favorite way to enjoy this dish is over a bed of buttered egg noodles and topped with some beautifully grilled shrimp. Let me show you how I do it…

Start off by preparing your vegetables. I am chopping these onions pretty large, about the size of a half-dollar… so you will either need one large onion as I have here or two medium.

One sweet bell pepper will do it and be sure to keep the size relatively the same as you did the onions.

Keeping the veggies all around the same size, chop your zucchini.

Aren’t these mini egg plants just beautiful? I found these at a local Farmer’s Market and I knew I needed to figure out some way to use them!

They are so small that most of them, I simply cut in half, but the larger ones, I quarter.

Grabbed these beautiful Roma tomatoes at the Farmer’s Market too.

That’s it for prepping your veggies, now let’s move on to the cooking… You will need one medium heavy bottom pot, I am using a enamel coated cast iron pot. You will also need a bowl used to keep the sautéed veggies as you go through each step.

Start with some olive oil in a nice heavy bottomed pot… You will continue to add in just a tablespoon or so of olive oil before each sauteing each vegetable.

Saute vegetables one at a time and remove from pot when through with each one, reserving them for the end. I start with my onions.

Next I move on to my zucchini. I have removed the perfectly cooked onions so they don’t get over cooked.

After removing my zucchini, I add in a bit more olive oil and saute my mini egg plants. I continue this process next with the peppers and the tomatoes.

Once the tomatoes have been sautéed, add in all the reserved veggies… Then add in the fresh herbs and taste for salt and pepper… add if needed. Simmer for 10 minutes and serve hot. (at this point you could also add 1 clove of garlic, minced)

Add in a couple sprigs of thyme. Mine is young thyme from a little plant I have in my kitchen, so no need to remove the leaves, if you have a heartier plant, just remove the leaves and chop a bit.

My Rosemary is also from a plant in my kitchen, but is a bit more hearty, so I removed the leaves from about half a sprig and chopped them before adding into my pot.

After simmering for 10 minutes, this should be your end result.

Now to get some quick shrimp going…

Simply sprinkle some Hungarian Paprika (if you don’t have the Hungarian variety, just add about a 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper to 1 Tbs. of plain paprika). Add on a sprinkle of kosher salt and your prep is done. These are easy peel, deveined shrimp.

Lay them out on a hot grill pan that has been drizzled with a bit of olive oil.

When they start to get pink, after about a minute, flip each one and cook another minute or so.

Recipe for Ratatouille with Shrimp & Buttered Egg Noodles:

(serves 6-8)

For the Ratatouille:

1 large onion, large diced

1 medium zucchini, sliced and halved

1 small eggplant (or 8 mini eggplants), large diced

2-3 Roma tomatoes, sliced and halved

1 sweet bell pepper, large diced

2 sprigs fresh Thyme, chopped

1/2 sprig Rosemary, chopped

kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

10 Tbs. olive oil

For the Shrimp:

1 dozen large shrimp, deveined and easy peel

2 tsp. Hungarian paprika

kosher salt to taste

1 Tbs. olive oil

For the Egg Noodles:

1/2 package broad egg noodles

6 cups salted water

1/4 stick butter

Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced (optional)

Directions:

In a medium heavy bottomed pot set over medium heat, saute each vegetable in 2 Tbs. of olive oil separately keeping the tomatoes for last. After each vegetable is sautéed, set aside and reserve. After the last vegetable is sautéed, the tomatoes, add in all the reserved vegetables. Add in herbs and salt and pepper and simmer for ten minutes.

Add Hungarian Paprika and salt to shrimp in a small bowl. Then, in a hot grill pan drizzled with 1 Tbs. olive oil, grill shrimp on both sides until pink throughout.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in noodles. Cook to package specifications. Drain… Add in butter salt and pepper.

On a platter… Lay out egg noodles first, then layer on the Ratatouille and then top with shrimp. Serve, enjoy!

*Note: Ratatouille itself along with the shrimp are gluten-free… use rice noodles in keeping with the set up of the dish or serve without noodles.

Caprese Salad

September 5, 2015September 4, 2015

I didn’t know about Caprese Salad until I was an adult. Not something very common in the Portuguese household I grew up in. We had tomatoes, sure, but basil, nah… parsley, yes, couves (kale) yes, but no basil. And sure we had cheese, but not motzerella cheese, heck my parents even made their own white cheese in a little ring (which is totally delicious and totally off topic). But, I digress, the point it, this is not something I was ever exposed to… however, later on… sometime in my mid-20’s I think, I experienced this salad… Yes, I said experienced, because in my opinion, it is surely not like any other salad I had ever had… And I have been making this late summer salad ever since!

It’s a simple salad, just three main ingredients. The key to this salad is balance. The medley of flavors is something that can not be created with anything else in the world. Freshly grown tomatoes straight from the garden, hand picked basil leaves and good quality motzerella cheese topped with a simple drizzle of olive oil, aged balsamic vinegar and a dash of salt and pepper… could there possibly be anything better?

I have these lovely sweet cherry tomatoes. In season and perfect for any salad, but when tomatoes are the star ingredient, they are especially yummy.

Slice them up and place them right in your serving bowl.

Have you seen these cute little snack packs. Each pack contains three mini cheese balls.

This size ball matches up perfectly to the size of the tomato.

Slice each ball in half and add to the tomatoes.

Grab some fresh basil. You want to pinch it off right where you see the next leaves sprouting. That will ensure new growth.

I like to match up the number of tomatoes to cheese and leaves… but, just a torn leaf.

Tare each leaf to equal the number of tomatoes. This will ensure each bite has all three ingredients.

Mix together in preparation for dressing.

Start the dressing by sprinkling kosher salt.

Crack some fresh cracked black pepper.

Now drizzle with extra version olive oil.

A nice aged imported balsamic vinegar is key here, so you want to buy the nicest one you can afford… You should be able to get a decent one for under $20 and it will last a while…

Drizzle the balsamic.

Toss and serve.

I’m not sure if you noticed, but please take note, I made sure that each ingredient was exactly equal. That is to say there are an equal number of tomato pieces to cheese pieces to basil pieces ensuring that each and every bite will incorporate all three ingredients at the same time allowing them to join together in a wonderful burst of flavor in your mouth!

Recipe for Caprese Salad:

(serves 1-4)

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

12 mini motzerella cheese balls, halved

4 fresh basil leaves, torn into thirds

1 pinch kosher salt

4 cracks black pepper

2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Toss tomatoes, cheese and basil together in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. Serve.

Enjoy!

*Note: this is a gluten-free recipe.

Shrimp Mozambique (Camarão Moçambique)

September 2, 2015September 2, 20159 Comments

Although this meal can feed a number of people, I decided to make this dish for my husband as a surprise dinner at home after the kids were tucked into bed. It was our Engage-aversary, 9 years since he popped the question, what better time for an elegant meal? But, it was a Tuesday night, he was working and I had charge of two toddlers all day and evening… so needless to say my energy was not at its peek. I needed a quick meal that was just fancy enough for my little candle lit affair… I had some shrimp in the freezer and everything else in the pantry… so, I thought why not? The dish was delish as always and we got to celebrate and have an adult date night right in our own dining room.

I grew up eating Shrimp Mozambique. And to eat Shrimp Mozambique is to love Shrimp Mozambique. In my family and in my little area of New England, Shrimp Mozambique is a mainstay. We serve it every Christmas and several times throughout the year for different gatherings and parties. Elegant in its presentation, exotic in its flavor and almost magical in its ability to transform a dinner into a party! All this and you might think this is going to be a long drawn out and expensive recipe that is hard to understand and even harder to follow… but you would be all wrong on all counts. In fact, Shrimp Mozambique is not only quick and easy, but pretty reasonable to make at home especially if you can pick up this size shrimp on sale for $6.99 for a 2 lb. bag like I did in the freezer section!

With under 10 ingredients, most of which you will be able to find in your pantry… onions, garlic, salt etc. it’s super easy to throw together. And from start to finish you can have this meal on the table in under 30 minutes. The two ingredients that are key in this dish are the Azafran (but this can be easily subbed out with saffron) and the crushed red pepper. Crushed red pepper is a wet jarred pepper that is usually ground and cured with salt. You should be able to find it in your Portuguese or Spanish section of your market.

Melt one stick of butter into a pot.

Finely dice 1/2 a large onion or one whole medium onion.

Add onions into your melted butter… you will want to get these started before you add in the garlic as they have a longer cook time than garlic and the last thing you want is burnt garlic!

You will need about 6 cloves of garlic.

Smash your garlic before mincing, it helps to release lots of the flavors on everyone.

Mince garlic.

Once the onions have started to soften, add in your garlic.

You will want to be sure to stir frequently.

Azafran seasoning is similar to saffron, but only about 1/5 the price.4

You will need one packet per pound and so in this case we are making two pounds, so we will need to add two packets.

Add in two packets of the Azafran seasoning.

Add in one heaping Tbs. crushed red pepper. (I think this photo is so cool… my pepper was in the fridge and the pot is really hot causing that white smoke you see around the pepper)

I’ve always been partial to this size shrimp for this recipe. If you like bigger shrimp, go ahead and use it, but this works well for parties, family dinner or anytime.

You can put them in the pot straight from the freezer, no need to pre-soak. I should mention that I leave the peel on, I feel like half the flavor of this dish comes from that peel… I know it can be a bit of a pain to peel while you eat, but it is sooo worth it… and hey, it will slow you down too! Take some time to enjoy your meal!

Stir to coat the shrimp with all the spices and color.

Add in one bottle of beer any run of the mill domestic will do. (If you are allergic to gluten, you could substitute about 1 1/2 cups of dry white wine or just a gluten-free beer)

Be sure the shrimp are coated. Add in a pinch of kosher salt.

Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, when it comes to a boil lower heat to a simmer and cook for 8-12 minutes and then immediately remove from heat.

The last thing you want is overcooked, mushy and mealy shrimp. Do not over cook this. Shrimp cook really quickly, the smaller the shrimp the faster the cook… I am allowing 8-12 minutes for larger shrimp and to cook off the alcohol in the beer.

There… perfectly cooked shrimp! Now, don’t forget to taste for salt, add another pinch if needed.

For a party, I like to keep white rice separate, but for a dinner party or meal at home, I like to plate my shrimp right onto a bed of cooked white rice.

Recipe for Shrimp Mozambique (Camarão Moçambique):

(serves 4-6, dinner —- serves 10-15 party)

2 lbs frozen, deveined, easy peel shrimp (do not remove peel)

1 stick butter

1/2 lg. onion, finely diced

6 garlic cloves, smashed and minced

1 Tbs. crushed red pepper, heaping

1 beer (12 oz)

2 packets Goya Azafran Seasoning

kosher salt to taste

Directions:

In a medium pot, melt one stick of butter. Add in onions, saute for about 5 minutes. Add in garlic, saute an additional 5 minutes. Add in a pinch of salt. Add in Azafran, stir. Add in crushed red pepper, stir. Add in frozen shrimp, stir to coat shrimp in sauce. Add in beer, stir, cover and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook for 8-12 minutes. Taste for salt, add if needed. Serve over a bed of white rice.

Enjoy!

*note – Gluten-free adjustment, use gluten-free beer or white wine in place of beer.

Stacy’s Blueberry Mojitos

August 27, 2015August 28, 2015

There is no more refreshing summer cocktail than a Mojito… Not too sweet, just a little tang and just the right amount of alcohol to, well, to not taste like alcohol. This blueberry Mojito was inspired by a local restaurant that was right on the water and charged me $10.50 for one drink… I had to try to recreate it… What I did was take the inspiration and ran with it adding in little touches that appealed to me. I love blueberries and this time of year is a great time to pick some up at farm stands everywhere. And an entire pitcher doesn’t come near $10.50!

Soon, I was serving it at parties and gatherings with friends and it became a frequently requested treat! My friend Jennifer recently hosted a girlfriend of ours, Virginie, from Paris and we had a little get together, so I made a fresh pitcher right at her house! Take a look…

I started off by making a simple syrup. Just one cup of white sugar and one cup of water.

Bring it to a boil and let it cool.

I brought over some freshly cut mint from my garden. Tear up about half of these leaves and save some for garnishing individual glasses.

Three fresh limes.

I cut up two of them into 8 chunks each… I saved one lime to slice into individual glasses as garnish.

This is my favorite Mojito pitcher! Isn’t it pretty with all the blue and green running through it? I gave it a quick wash and it’s ready… I mix everything right in the pitcher, no need to dirty a bowl… If you are making this for a party, i would suggest a large bowl so that you can refill… but, we are just having a small get together.

Plop the limes into the pitcher, squeezing them as they go in.

Jen didn’t have a wooden spoon handy, so I used a regular utility spoon to start the muddling process. To muddle, you are basically just squishing everything down.

Add in mint and continue to muddle everything together

Add in one quart of freshly washed blueberries and continue to muddle. You want to work it so that about half the blueberries are popped open.

Add in mint and continue to muddle everything together.

Add in about half of the simple syrup and continue to muddle.

Add the rum in with what you have muddled so far and stir. At this point, refrigerate for about an hour or so. Make sure you are using white rum, no spiced rum in these babies.

To finish off your mixture, add in sparkling water and stir.

To this mixture, add in a few cups of ice.

Add some ice to the glass and pour.

Recipe for Stacy’s Blueberry Mojitos:

(serves 6-10)

1/2 cup simple syrup

1 quart blueberries, washed

3 limes

1 bunch fresh mint, about 8-10 sprigs

1 liter lime sparkling water

1 cup white rum

Directions:

Prepare the simple syrup by bringing one cup of sugar and one cup of water to a boil and cooling. Also, keep sparkling water refrigerated until it is time to add in.

Cut 2 limes into 8 chunks each. Slice the remaining lime into circles for garnishing. Strip 3-4 sprigs of mint and tear the leaves. Reserve the remaining mint sprigs for garnishing.

In a pitcher muddle all the fruit and mint together with a wooden spoon. Add in simple syrup and rum, stir. refrigerate mixture for at least one hour or up to a day.

When ready to serve, add in sparkling water. Add 3-4 cups of ice and serve. Garnish with lime circles and mint and add in ice to each glass.

*This is a gluten-free recipe if using Cruzan rum.

Sausage Stuffed Peppers

August 21, 2015August 21, 2015

Bell peppers and I have had a tumultuous past. As a kid I hated all of them, but someone once told me that every 7 years your taste buds change. In my case this is definitely true. I still don’t care much for the green bell peppers, but the red, orange and yellow ones are super sweet and really lovely. I think one of the reasons for my aversion to bell peppers started when I would try to eat the traditional stuffed bell pepper, over cooked mushy green bell pepper with some pretty bland ground beef, rice and tomato sauce… Now that I have an appreciation for this fine vegetable and we are in the time of year that they are popping out of people’s gardens across the nation, I decided to give the bell pepper the status it deserves. So, I created the Sausage Stuffed Pepper!

In this beautiful little pepper you will find not only lean ground beef, but hot Italian sausage, brown rice, onions, tomato sauce and my secret ingredient… Swiss cheese. I decided to keep the ingredients super simple and let the sausage do most of the work for me. It’s a super simple and delicious dinner to get on the table to spice things up. And as a mom, I have to tell ya, I love it when a fully balanced meal is all in one tidy package like this.

Now, my husband is still at odds with the poor little bell pepper, so I simply took some of the filling and placed it in an individual casserole dish for him. If you have pepper haters in your life or just want to try something different, this filling can be placed in a hollowed out zucchini, eggplant or ooooo spaghetti squash, yum. It’s super versatile and easy to work with. Give it a try!

The recipe I am going to go through with you is for my small family, so I am only making three peppers and a small casserole as I mentioned… but, you can absolutely double or triple without a problem… You could even double and freeze half if you like…

Start with some lean ground beef, the sausage will provide plenty of fat. I use half a pound. Start this sauteing in a large skillet over medium heat.

Then I used three hot Italian sausages… If you don’t care for spicy food, you could certainly use mild, it will be super yummy too!

I cut down the side to remove the casing.

Give one medium onion a medium dice.

This is a small can of plain tomato sauce. You will use half now and half when you bake and serve.

You’ll want to shred up about a cup for the filling.

then you’ll want to shred up some more for the topping.

Brown up your ground beef while breaking up and browning your sausage meat.

Add your onions right in while you are doing this.

Let them get all nice and brown and lovely in the pan.

Add in about a cup and a half of cooked brown rice. (this is great to do when you have left over rice from dinner the night before… you might even cook a bit extra if you know this is your plan… saves you a step)

Once all combined, I like to transfer to a bowl to cool it a bit. If you want to stick to the pan, that’s fine too, less dishes.

Add in half a small can of tomato sauce.

Combine.

Then add in your cup of cheese and mix in… if your mixture is super hot, you will have to work quickly here so that the cheese doesn’t all clump together.

Once combined, just taste for salt and add a pinch of salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Here are my peppers, aren’t they pretty? Notice, I left out the green 🙂

You’ll want to cut off the top and remove the seeds from both top and bottom. I try and cut just the very top so there is lots of room for stuffing.

They are all ready, you don’t need to do anything to the insides other than remove those seeds.

Now to prepare the baking dish, I put in some olive oil. (This baking dish I am using is stone, if you are using a metal baking dish, be sure to really coat with a non-stick cooking spray or a bit more oil)

And about half of what is remaining in that small can of tomato sauce… I like to reserve some for serving.

Place the peppers in the pan standing up.

Fill each one evenly.

It’s great if you over stuff a bit.

Then top with your remaining cheese. Pile it on, don’t be shy.

Pop the top back on and it’s ready to go into your preheated 350°F oven for about half an hour. (I like my pepper a bit on the firm side and the filling is fully cooked so that’s just really getting heated through. If you like a softer pepper, go for 45 minutes, etc, until you get the pepper to the consistency you like)

And this is what you get when they come out of the oven… Still firm enough to stand up and hold the filling and heated to perfection.

Recipe for Sausage Stuffed Peppers:

(serves 3-4)

1/2 lb. lean ground beef

3 Hot Italian Sausage links, removed from casing

1 medium onion, diced

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

1 small can tomato sauce, divided

1 1/2 cups Swiss cheese, shredded

3 bell peppers, seeded

kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

1 Tbs. olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a skillet brown the ground beef, sausage and onion over medium heat. Once fully browned and onions are soft, add in cooked brown rice. Combine and transfer to a mixing bowl for easier handling. Add in 1/2 can of tomato sauce. Combine. Add in 1 cup of shredded cheese. Combine.

Prepare peppers by cutting off the top and removing the seeds from the top and bottom. Prepare a baking dish by adding in the olive oil and 1/2 of the remaining tomato sauce. Spread.

Add filling to each pepper, overstuffing if possible. Top with remaining cheese. Add on the top of each pepper. Bake for 30-45 minutes uncovered.

Serve with remaining tomato sauce, Enjoy!

*This is a gluten-free recipe.

Portuguese Baked Pork and Beans (Feijão Assado)

August 5, 20158 Comments

If ever there was a Portuguese comfort food, Feijão Assado is it for me! This recipe has been passed down in my family for generations and it is something that I come back to time and time again. I have memories throughout my whole life of my Vavó and my Mom making Feijão Assado and Soupa de Feijão (Bean Soup) for family dinners, parties and holiday celebrations. Because the time to initially soak and cook the beans can take some time they would always cook the two together reserving half the beans for the soup and the other half for the baked beans. The Soupa de Feijão recipe is coming this fall, but for now we will focus on this warm, creamy savory comfort food.

I’ve called it Portuguese Baked Pork and Beans instead of just Portuguese Baked Beans because I have made this into the main course for our supper tonight by adding not only salt pork and a little bit of chouriço, but a whole pound of chouriço. My grandmother would never have put an entire pound of chouriço in anything, she always said that chouriço was just added to recipes for the taste. So, as I write out the recipe tutorial I will note the adjustment should you chose to go the traditional route.

This dish and a nice fresh portuguese roll is a filling, balanced and super nutritious meal. However, as I mentioned, you can also bring it as a great party food or pot luck contribution and really get people talking! Often times, if I am throwing a dinner party where I am serving roast pork or pork chops I will make this to go along side. I’ve also known Feijão Assado to make a great breakfast food. Whichever way you decide to make it, try it out soon because it really is a very different way to eat your beans.

I use while nave beans for this recipe because my Vavó always said the smaller the white bean the better. This is your basic one pound package.

Fill a 6 cup bowl about 3/4 of the way with water… this may seem a bit big, but these beans absorb almost all this water over night.

As you can see the beans are way down at the bottom of the bowl. You may be tempted to add salt at this point, avoid that temptation! White beans actually absorb water without salt, not sure why, but they do. You’ll have plenty of time to flavor later.

Cover it up and let stand over night at least 6-8 hours or up to 12 hours.

And there it is… look how they have plumped up!

Now you will want to start this next step with fresh water. So drain off the beans, this also gets rid of any residual dirt… if you want to rinse your beans and pick through, now would be a good time for that as well.

Then, cut a medium onion in half and add it into the water.

Peel three garlic cloves and add those in too… The onions and garlic really flavor the beans while they are cooking, but you are still not adding in salt.

Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Once you have a boil going, lower the heat and continue to boil until beans are tender (about an hour and a half).

When beans are tender, shut off the flame. NOW you can finally add in a pinch of salt… not too much, just a pinch.

This is a good view of how tender the beans are. You want them naturally breaking up a bit.

Drain most of the water from the beans. Don’t worry about the onions and garlic, those will melt right into the dish.

You will want to reserve about one cup of the cooking liquid. This will help with keeping the beans moist while baking and it also helps to create the creamy texture.

Add in one small can of tomato sauce.

Salt… Be careful here, my Vavó always said salt adds flavor and it takes it away. So, start with 1/2 tsp and taste after you mix everything together. Both chouriço and the wet red pepper both have salt in them, so you don’t want to over do it. And remember you already added in a pinch.

One good chunk of salt pork or a couple of slices of thick cut bacon (not too smoky) or even pancetta would be nice here. I am adding mine in whole, my grandmother would chop it up, it’s up to you which you would like to do. I think it’s pretty in the center when it comes out of the oven.

One heaping tablespoon of wet red crushed pepper is next… if you only have dry, they just add in half as much.

Now just a pinch of Portuguese All Spice… If you don’t have access to this spice just add in a pinch of sweet paprika and you’ll be ok here.

Mix all together.

I like to peel the skin off my chouriço for easier eating, personal preference.

Slice it up. As I mentioned above, my grandmother would only have added half as much, this is totally up to you. Also, I should note that I am using hot chouriço, you can also use mild and be just fine. The flavor profile is the same save the heat factor.

Add your chourço into your bean mixture.

I bought a set of these beautiful baking dishes the last time I was in Portugal and pain stakingly brought them back to the states with me. It’s made of a traditional Azorean pottery. If you don’t have this dish, you can either use a 9×12″ stoneware dish or any regular baking dish will work.

Pour directly into your baking dish.

As you can see, it still looks pretty soupy, that's perfect.

As you can see, it still looks pretty soupy (like a thick soup), that’s perfect.

Be sure chouriço is evenly distributed. Bake at 375°F for 90 minutes.

Recipe for Portuguese Baked Pork and Beans (Feijão Assado):

(serves 4-6)

1 lb. dry Navy beans, soaked 8-12 hrs.

1 lb. chouriço, peeled and sliced

1 small can tomato sauce

1 onion, peeled and chopped in half.

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 heaping Tbs. wet crushed red pepper (or half the amount of dry)

1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste

1/2 tsp. Portuguese All Spice or paprika

1″ cut of salt pork (or three slices of thick cut bacon, non-smoky flavor)

Directions:

Soak beans over night in plain water.

Drain beans. Cook beans in a soup pot with fresh water, onion and garlic. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and reduce heat. Cook for 90 minutes or until beans are very tender. After cooking is complete, shut off flame add in a pinch of salt and allow to sit covered for about 20 mins.

Drain beans reserving one cup cooking water. Add in tomato sauce, salt, pepper, pork and chouriço. Mix together. Pour into a 9×12″ baking dish and bake at 375°F for 90 minutes.

Enjoy!

*note – this is a gluten-free recipe.

Simple Chicken Stock

July 31, 2015March 11, 2016

A simple chicken stock is something that every home cook should master. Not only is it much healthier that then stuff you can buy in cans at the grocery store, but it can save you a bundle! A good chicken stock can make a quick meal taste like you slaved over a hot stove all day long 🙂

This particular recipe is a basic one. I like to have a basic recipe on hand in gallon zip lock bags in my freezer because I never know what I will want to make with it… But, if you know that you always like a certain recipe that calls for ginger and soy, then by all means cut up some ginger and toss it in. If you love the taste of a hearty traditional chicken soup, then add in some thyme and rosemary. Once you get this basic recipe down, the sky is the limit. I have used this chicken stock in recipes right here on this blog time and time again. Check these out… Lemon Chicken Soup (Canja), Slit Pea Soup and Lobster Risotto. And when you are done with making your stock, you’ve got some delicious cooked chicken meat to use in recipes like Cran-Raisin & Walnut Chicken Salad Wrap.

This is probably one of the most simple recipes you will see… you may wonder why you haven’t been freezing your own stock for years!

Start off by adding one whole chicken to the biggest stock pot you have on hand. Be sure to remove the packets with the gizzard. As for the neck, that is great for stock too, I remove it, but you can certainly keep it in the pot.

To this peel and roughly chop a carrot… I like to cut it down the middle to maximize open carrot area. Roughly chop a couple stalks of celery with or without the leaves. Then add in one onion halved and a bunch of parsley. (Again if you are planning to mostly make mexican based dishes, you could add in cilantro instead of parsley)

The next thing I like to add is a good handful of salt… I like to control the salt in my stock and I am making a good amount here so I add in about 1/8 cup of kosher salt. (Adjust salt to your taste and health requirements) This also helps flavor the chicken for later use. (This is also when you could choose to add in other herbs and spices like cracked black pepper, coriander, garlic, jalapeno, thyme, rosemary, sage, or ginger etc.)

Add water. You will want to add water up to about 2″ from the top of your pot. Just to allow room for boiling.

Boil this for about 1 hour with the lid on. Then shut it off without uncovering. Allow to cool completely. This will take at least 4-6 hours. Once completely cooled, you can skim off the fat if you so choose as well.

Once liquid and chicken have completely cooled, strain into containers. You can use the stock or bag in 1 gallon freezer bags, old cool whip containers or ice cube trays and freeze. The stock will also be great in your fridge for 3-4 days.

At this point, I usually can’t resist making some kind of soup right away, usually a chicken noodle or a mexican tortilla soup or something… then I freeze the rest. I get about 3-4 gallons of stock from this process.

Recipe for Simple Chicken Stock:

1 whole chicken

1 onion, halved

2-3 carrots, roughly chopped

2-3 celery stalks, roughly chopped

1 bunch parsley

1/8 cup kosher salt

water

Directions:

Add all to pot cover with water (up to 2″ from top of large stock pot). Boil for one hour (Add water to replace evaporated water). Cool completely over 4-6 hours. Use, refrigerate or freeze.

*note – this is a gluten-free recipe

the portuguese american mom

stay awhile… have a cup of tea, let's get creative!

Tag: gluten free

Portuguese Beef Stew (Carne Guisada)

Easy 3 Layer Dip

Baked Salt Cod Casserole (Bacalhau Assado)

Ratatouille with Shrimp & Buttered Egg Noodles

Caprese Salad

Shrimp Mozambique (Camarão Moçambique)

Stacy’s Blueberry Mojitos

Sausage Stuffed Peppers

Portuguese Baked Pork and Beans (Feijão Assado)

Simple Chicken Stock