“Posta à Mirandesa”

Recipe to four persons

Ingredients:

·         1,2 Kg of "mirandesa” veal

·         Coarse salt

·         Potatoes 

·         Lettuce

Preparation:

The coal should be strong at the beginning. The embers should be distributed on a regular stove or fireplace in order to provide a uniform distribution of heat. The grid must be placed at a height of about 10 cm from the embers.

The meat should be cut in pieces with a thickness of 3 to 4 cm (about 300 grams per slice).

1.      Place the meat on the grill without any seasoning. After this operation, and if desired, sprinkle with coarse salt.

2.      Turn the meat without sticking when small beads of blood appear on the superior surface.
          The time that is left at the grill depends on your personal taste, totally cooked or slightly raw meat.
          To retain juiciness the meat cannot be chopped.

3.      The fire must be strong in order to create a crust that prevents the juices from coming out.

4.      When the meat is grilled at your own taste take it from the grid and serve it with unpeeled boiled potatoes and lettuce.

“ALHEIRA”

Ingredients:

3 lb Lean beef*

1 1/2 lb Calf meat

1/2 lb Chicken

1/2 lb Turkey

1 1/2 lb Day old wheat bread

1/4 lb Ham (optional)

4 Garlic cloves

4 ts Olive oil

2 oz Pork drippings

Paprika, salt and piripiri

10 Feet tripe casing

Preparation:

Boil the meats together long enough to make the bones separate from the meat by themselves.
Reserve the resulting broth and set meats aside. In a large bowl place the thinly sliced bread
and add the reserved broth. Cover with a towel and, as soon as the bread is soft enough, mash it with a wooden spoon.
Add the mashed garlic and ground piripiri, paprika and a little salt. Add the meats cut in very little pieces.
Mix thoroughly. When everything is completely mixed add the olive oil and the pork drippings, hot.
Fill the casing using a suitable funnel. Tie each 'alheira' so that it's about 8" long,
with the filling concentrated in the middle section, leaving the ends almost empty.
Smoke for 2 or 3 hours a day, for a week. Tie both ends together - the 'alheira' should be U shaped.
A typical way of serving 'alheiras' is frying them in hot oil, and presenting them with fried eggs and potato chips.
Some add broccoli or greens as a side dish.

Sweet Rice

Ingredients:

2 cups of water

1 cup of white rice

2 cups of hot milk (whole milk works better)

1 cup of sugar

1 fresh lemon rind (use a vegetable peeler for big pieces for easier removal)

Toppings

Cinnamon

Preparation:

1 Boil the water in a medium saucepan.

2 Add the rice and cover, simmering for 20 minutes.

3 Add the milk, sugar and lemon rind, stirring constantly until thickened to oatmeal consistency for about 15-20 minutes.

4 It will also thicken while cooling.

5 Pour into one large serving plate and remove the lemon rind.

6 Spread flat and allow cooling on a wire rack.

7 It can be decorated with cinnamon by pinching a bit between your fingers and loosing it while your hand is no more than an inch away from the rice (crisscross patterns are traditional), or just dusting the entire top with the cinnamon.

8 Serve at room temperature.