Try Pork-And-Clam Dish For Introduction To Portuguese Cooking

The Portuguese are champions at eating well. Snacking on cakes and pastries is a national pastime. Scarcely a street corner lacks a “pasteleria,” where a dozen different egg and almond sugar cakes are offered with tea, coffee, a glass of port wine or sticky cherry liqueur called “ginginha.” (Red wine with 7-Up is a favorite.)

The bistros that line the streets of downtown Lisbon epitomize the original meaning of “restaurant” as a place which restores body and spirit. A chattering crowd, mainly men but some women too, line tightly packed long tables.

We squeeze into three surprisingly comfortable chairs. Wine arrives in a water bottle, the famous “vinho verde” or light green wine of Portugal that is vinified early to retain fresh flavor and low alcohol.

I eyeball plates while the waiter spreads a white paper cloth and deposits upon it dishes of olives, little pots of tuna, sardine and cheese spreads, and slices of dark, chewy bread.

My neighbor is tucking into the dish of the day, fried salt cod with deep-fried baby potatoes, so I have the same. My husband opts for grilled fresh fish.

Our son, ever adventurous, orders a mystery dish that turns out to be a scrumptious kind of cassoulet of green fava beans with bits of pork and smoked sausage.

As we relax over dessert - creamy rice pudding with cinnamon, the rich caramel custard called flan, and chocolate mousse - I look around the room. From the 10-foot square kitchen, three busy women provide dishes for upwards of 60 customers.

The cheerful servers are all male.

The atmosphere is clublike: Drinkers line the bar, football scores are chalked on a blackboard, and a vendor tours the room selling not flowers but lottery tickets. As throughout Portugal, the coffee is top notch.

This first meal in Portugal turns out to be an archetype. Hors d’oeuvres are universal, we discover, offered with bread for a small cover charge.

They may include slivers of Portuguese dry smoked ham cured in paprika, slices of little dry sheep or cow cheeses, and sardines pickled with onion, peppers and orange.

Main courses emphasize pork and the game that is in season. They come in dark, powerful sauces that are rich with wine and pungent with garlic, onion, bay leaf, smoked bacon, paprika and sometimes Tabasco sauce.

The pork dishes vary from region to region. My favorite was Porco con Ameijoas, piquant pork with the little Venus clams familiar in Italian “spaghetti alla vongole.”

Pork with Clams (Porco con Ameijoas)

I find our littleneck or cherrystone clams an excellent alternative to European clams in this recipe. If you like food hot, sprinkle a few drops of Tabasco sauce on top just before serving.

30 small clams (such as littleneck or cherrystone)

1-1/2 pounds pork tenderloin

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon flour

Pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 to 4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons tomato puree, optional

Wash clams, discarding any that do not close when tapped on work surface. Trim any sinew or fat from tenderloin and cut it into 1-inch cubes.

Mix paprika, flour and pepper to taste and toss pork cubes until well coated with mixture. Do not season with salt, as clams may be salty.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet. Add pork and saute over medium heat until browned on all sides, stirring often, 5 to 7 minutes. Do not crowd pan; brown pork in 2 batches if necessary. Reduce heat. Cook, covered, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in shallow casserole. Add onion and saute until beginning to brown. Stir in garlic, bay leaves, water, tomato puree and pepper to taste. Set clams on top. Cover and gently cook until clams just open, 5 to 7 minutes. Discard any that do not open (do not overcook clams or they will be tough.)

Stir pork into clams and heat 1 to 2 minutes longer. Discard bay leaves. Adjust seasonings. Serve in casserole.

Yield: 4 servings.