South Africa has a
small but influential Portuguese population and several very good Portuguese
restaurants. It is thought that this dish was introduced by Portuguese from
neighbouring Mozambique and Angola. It is a rich spicy dish of steak cubes in a
red wine, beef stock, chilli sauce with lots
of garlic. Serve with crispy chips and rolls to soak up the juices. Accompany
with a salad.
15 ml butter - 15 ml olive oil - 1kg beef
rump or fillet, cut into 3 cm cubes - Freshly ground black pepper - 2 large
onions, finely chopped - 3 sliced hot red chillies - 8 cloves of garlic,
roughly chopped - 2 tspns corn flour, mixed to a paste with a little cold water
- 1 t paprika - 2 sprigs of rosemary - 1 fresh bay leaf - 250 ml rich beef
stock - 375 ml red wine - 1/4 cup of brandy - 125 ml cream - salt and freshly
ground pepper to taste - optional: 25 to 30 black olives - grated zest of one
lemon
Heat the butter with the oil in a heavy bottomed pot.
Fry off the steak cubes to your satisfaction, medium rare is good. Set aside to
rest. Add the onions and chilli to the pot and fry them gently till soft and
beginning to caramelise. Add the garlic and fry gently for one minute. Add the
corn flour and fry for a minute or two. Add the paprika, the herbs and then
pour on the stock, the wine and the brandy. Stir till you have a good thick
sauce. Add the cream, the optional black olives and then the beef. Taste and
adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, topped with a
grating of lemon zest. Serves 4. A good wine to go with it would be Axe Hill’s
Distinta, made from Souzao and Tinta Barocca or De Krans Touriga Naçional.
Portuguese grapes for a Portuguese dish
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