Portuguese-Style Peas with Eggs (Ervilhas com Ovos Estilo Portugues).

Portuguese-Style Peas with Eggs (Ervilhas com Ovos Estilo Portugues)...I've got to say this dish is more of a homey sort of dish... made with real humble ingredients. Nothing fancy really. But when I first came across this recipe, it instantly reminded me of the Romanian dish called, "Mancare de Mazare cu Pui"... or peas with chicken. In the Portuguese version, the chicken is replaced with smoked sausage and eggs are added on top of the pea stew in the final stages of the cooking time. It was the eggs that drew me to the dish...ok, maybe the sausage too:). But eggs on top of anything will make any dish a thousand times better... in my case anyway:).

In Portugal, this dish wasn't really meant for the wealthy, rather it was a dish for the common folk.... working families who used basic ingredients to feed their families. While smoked sausage was most always available, not all had the means to use the sausage liberally... some would stretch the sausage and use just enough to flavor the dish. Most often they would add a bit more of the other ingredients in the dish... such as potatoes, peas, onions, etc.... to make up for the lack of meat. In order for this dish to be true to the Portuguese cuisine, a dry-smoked pork chourico sausage should be used. Maybe a linguica could be used as an alternative. In my case, I chose to use a smoked chicken andouille sausage. It isn't authentic, so I'm calling this dish Portuguese-style...if you have access to the chourico sausage, then it would be ideal to use it in this dish.

While this stew can be a great winter dish, it can easily be made during the summer months when fresh vegetables are available....great way to use some garden-fresh peas and tomatoes. It's also great for the summer months, because the dish can be cooked in a matter of minutes and you don't need to use your oven. Simply served with some homemade bread, the dish can easily be a weeknight meal. If you don't have fresh peas, frozen peas are an excellent substitution. A classic Portuguese stew... pure comfort food. The dish even has the Portuguese flag colors... most of them any way:). Hope you enjoy...

Tip: If you want more of a "saucy" dish, opt to add a bit of water/stock along with the tomatoes...or even extra tomato pulp. Mine was on the drier side, probably due to me fiddling with the camera and allowing the sauce to simmer too long:).

You will need: totally inspired by Crumb...and the beautiful photos.

2-3 TBS olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2-3 links(6-8 oz) smoked sausage, sliced

1/2 tsp hot smoky paprika(or regular)

1/2 tsp sweet paprika

1 TBS sherry vinegar(or red wine vinegar), optional

1 cup grated fresh tomatoes( or a bit more)

1 bay leaf

salt/pepper to taste

2 cups frozen peas( or fresh, blanched first)

4 eggs

a handful of extra peas, optional

Topping:

coriander leaves or parsley...even chives

Directions:

1. Dice onion, mince garlic, slice sausage and grate the tomatoes.

2. Heat pan on medium heat and add oil.

3. Add diced onion and garlic to pan and lower heat to med/low.

4. Cook onion until soft, 5-7 minutes... stirring often. Season with a bit of salt.

5. Add sliced sausage and paprika. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes.

6. Add sherry vinegar and deglaze the pan, then add the grated tomato and bay leaf. Stir in peas.

7. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer.

8. Cook for about 10 minutes... or until tomatoes have cooked through and peas are tender.

9. Use a spoon/spatula to create four hollows in the pea stew.

10. Carefully break an egg into each hollow(at this point, I sprinkled a handful of frozen peas, as I wanted some bright green showing....totally optional) . Cover the skillet and simmer until the eggs are cooked as desired....7-10 minutes.

11. Sprinkle with a little fresh coriander/parsley or even some chives.