"Carne de porco à Alentejana"

 Ingredients

• 1.5 lb of pork stew meat (cubes)
• 1.5 lb of shrimp
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 cups of white wine
• 2 Tblsp Pepper Paste (massa de pimenta)
• Flour, salt, pepper
• 4 garlic cloves (minced)
• 6 large potatoes peeled and cut in cubes
• Parsley
• Vegetable pickles
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Vegetable/Canola Oil

 Preparation (yield 6 servings) 

1.  Marinade the pork cubes (the smaller it is the softer it'll be but not too small) with the wine, bay leaves, garlic, salt and pepper, and pepper paste for at least 2 hours.
2. Drain the marinade and save.
3. In a large pan pour some Vegetable/Canola Oil to fry the drained pork.  Pour some flour on top in order to keep juices in the meat.
4. After about 5 minutes frying add the marinade you set aside and let it cook for another 5 to 10 minutes until the meat becomes softer. 
5. In a separate pan fry the potato cubes.
6. Once pork is almost done add the shrimp.
7. Taste for salt.
8. Don't over cook the shrimp. Once it's pink it's done! 
9. Add the parsley after you turn the heat off. 
10. Let the fried potato cubes rest on some paper towel and then lay them out on a platter.  
11. Pour the pork and shrimp over the potatoes and serve with some lime or lemon and some vegetable pickles. 

Experience

This was definitely one of my favorite dishes EVER!  I will be making this very often because it not only tastes amazingly good it is also very easy to prepare if you get deveined shrimp and pre cut pork meat.  Mirella and I were very happy with the results and we pigged out on it!  I had plenty left over for the next day but the potatoes were gone.  I made some rice and poured the meat over it!  That worked out great too.  This is a dish to impress your guests with your culinary skills.  The pepper paste is the main taste of the dish and it will not be Portuguese without it!  Just writing this post is making me crave it again! You can use any type of seafood like mussels, clams, and scallops.  I chose shrimp because I love shrimp!  Here's a video that my friend Sonia sent me to give me the idea to make it!  It's in Portuguese but you can see how she makes it. Enjoy! http://dai.ly/boOfS7