Carne de Porco à Alentejana (Pork with clams) is one of the most traditional and popular

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

dishes of

Portuguese cuisine The oldest known book on Portuguese cuisine, entitled ''Livro de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria de Portugal'', from the 16th century, describes many popular dishes of meat, fish, poultry and others. ''Culinária Portuguesa'', by António-Maria De O ...

. It is a combination of pork and

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two she ...

s, with potatoes and coriander. Usually, about 800 g of pork are marinated for some time in white wine, paprika, red pepper paste, chopped garlic, coriander, bay leaf, and salt and white pepper.

Cumin Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

It is then fried until golden brown, when clams are added and cooked. Traditionally, this dish is served with cubed potato fries or baked potatoes. Its origin is uncertain, the name would appear to be from

Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alent ...

, but this is disputed by some, who give its roots to the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

. The reason behind it are the

clams Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two shel ...

, who are much more popular in seaside towns rather than places far from the ocean, like the majority of Alentejo who only has one sizeable fishing port,

Sines Sines () is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The municipality, divided into two parishes, has around 14,214 inhabitants (2021) in an area of . Sines holds an important oil refinery and several petrochemical industries. It is also a popular ...

, and small fishing villages on the coast, and has a mainly meat-based cuisine. It may be an example of

fusion cuisine Fusion cuisine is cuisine that combines elements of different culinary traditions that originate from different countries, regions, or cultures. They can occur naturally and become aspects of culturally relevant cuisines, or they can be part of ...

between pork dishes of inner Alentejo and seafood dishes of coastal Algarve.

References

Portuguese fusion cuisine Pork dishes Seafood dishes {{meat-stub

See also

References