Portuguese-Style Pork and Clams with Chorizo and Fried Potatoes

Name: Portuguese-Style Pork and Clams with Chorizo and Fried Potatoes
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons pork fat (from the confit); 1 1/4 pounds pork confit (see pages 213–214), cut into 1-inch cubes; Fried potatoes (recipe follows); 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 3/4 pound fresh Mexican chorizo, casings removed; 1/2 cup sliced shallots; 1 tablespoon thyme leaves; 3 pounds Manila clams, well scrubbed; Roasted tomatoes (recipe follows); 1 1/2 cups vermouth; 1 cup chicken stock; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces; 2 tablespoons minced garlic; 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1 head garlic, cut in half horizontally and smashed; 2 bay leaves; 6 sprigs thyme, plus 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 6 Roma or other roasting tomatoes; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 teaspoons thyme leaves; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

January 24, 2012

My first real chef position was at Alloro, a small Italian restaurant in Boston’s North End. In this all-Italian neighborhood, the owner was not Italian, but rather a Portuguese guy named Armando. Some cultures care more about food than others, and, like the Italians, the Portuguese are definitely devoted to their cuisine. Armando loved to tell me about the Old Country and the dishes his mother made for him when he was growing up. This dish is traditionally made with pork loin, but when I tried it, the loin was dry and didn’t seem to marry well with the flavors of the clams. So I decided to try it with pork confit, which would get crispy on the outside but stay meltingly tender on the inside. To give more pork flavor to the broth, I added chorizo and came up with my own version of pork (and pork!) and clams. In honor of Armando, I always make my pork and clams with fried potatoes. If he had his way, everything would come with fried potatoes.

Cooks' Note

This is one of the more involved recipes in this book, but if you plan ahead and prep well, it’s actually simple the evening of the dinner. Confit the pork a day or two in advance (remember, it will need to sit in the brine for 2 days before that!). Roast

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