~ "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; Through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." ~ "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing" ~ "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." ~ "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."~

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

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.

11 comments:

retete- ina said...

o bunatate ce ai facut aici,o zi placuta

Ellie said...

Multumesc, Retete-Ina. Chiar este o mancare usoarea de facut si foarte buna:). Sper sa iti placa si tie daca o incerci...
Iti doresc si tie zi minunata...

Speranta said...

Ellie,imi place cum arata ...asa de frumos este aranjata !
Reteta ta merita incercata
Usor de facut si este o bunatate .

Mazarea imi place foarte mult ,cand eram copil culegeam din gradina mazare si mancam si cruda era buna .

o zi frumoasa iti doresc...

Ellie said...

Speranta, Multumesc mult! Sa sti ca reteta merita incercata....mai ales daca iti place mazare:). Si mie imi place mazare cruda... asa de frageda si buna este.
Am avut si eu in gradina odata...si cand udam mazarea mai culegeam si eu una ca sa o mananc cruda:). Tare buna era.

O zi placuta!

Mommy Bee said...

Hi, Ellie! I found your site when looking up homemade somoas. I just wanted to say that you have some of the most amazing looking recipes! I'm here in Montana too and was just inspired when I found your blog. I just have to keep my hubby from looking at it so I don't get a mile long list of what I must make! :oD
Thanks for posting your recipes!
Blessings,
Cynthia

Ashleyta said...

Ooooo...I like the sound of this recipe...love peas and eggs! Just bought some Kielbasa from Costco so now I know exactly how I'm going to use some of it =) Thanks for a great idea...have a great day!

Ellie said...

Mommy Bee,
Oh, I am so glad you stopped by... thank you so much for your kind comment. Really sweet of you.. and I appreciate yo taking the time to write!
I am happy that you are enjoying the recipes...and I have to admit that the samoa cookies are one of my favorites:)! They are really, really good...they do take some time to make, but they are worth it in the end. Hopefully you can give them a try one day...I think your husband will like them too:). Have a great day!

Ashleyta, I am glad I could be of inspiration:)... glad you like the recipe. It's a simple meal to prepare and it's quite delicious.... especially of you like peas. We really enjoyed it, and I am planning on making it more often, I usually have frozen peas around and eggs:). Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Isabelle @ Crumb said...

Hi Ellie, I just found your post by tracking back a link to my blog... I always like to see how my recipes evolve in someone else's hands. So glad you enjoyed this dish. It's one of my favourites!
I've been poking around your blog and I'm very excited to see you've shared some traditional Romanian dishes, which is a cuisine I've been meaning to learn more about. I have to try your Mancare de Mazare cu Pui sometime soon!

Ellie said...

Isabelle, Thanks for stopping by and for the inspiration to make the dish. We loved it! I hope you can give the Romanian version a try one day:)... it's simple and quite similar.

kayla said...

Ellie, If you ever have the time you should give the famous Portuguese dessert a try, Pastéis de nata. It's a baked custard in a puff type pastry cup. While warm sprinkle with powder sugar and/or cinnamon. They are to die for! especially if you are as into cooking foreign foods as we can see.. : )

Ellie said...

Oh, Kayla thanks for mentioning the Pastéis de nata. I have some homemade puff pastry in the freezer!... was wanting to make some apple turnovers with it, but now will definitely want to try the custard cups:).
I'm always looking for something different, so thank you! Sweet of to to share this recipe and for stopping by:)