Chef Stephen Jackson’s Brazilian-style beef dish: Picanha with feijoada

HELLO everyone. Last week I was on holiday in Portugal, in the Algarve, a place I’ve not been for many years.

It was a most enjoyable week of golf and gluttony, the highlight of which was one of the most memorable dishes I’ve had in many moons and I’d like to tell you all about it and offer my domesticated version.

The dish I ate was Brazilian in origin and combined two of the classic recipes from the South American country.

Picanha is essentially a long skewer, onto which is pushed several large, well-seasoned steaks from the sirloin or top rump.

The skewer is placed in front of a grill and rotated until the outer layers of the meat are cooked.

Then, the skewer is brought to the table and sliced theatrically by a waiter and the customer uses little tongs to remove the juicy outer layers, much like you see in kebab shops.

The meat then gets taken back to the kitchen to be cooked again and this proceeds until the steaks are finished, or, as in our case, when you simply can’t eat any more. Boy, was I pogged!

To accompany this delicious meat we were served a sort of feijoada, which is the name given to a group of dishes served as a feast in Brazil.

Feijoada comprises many elements, but chiefly includes a casserole of black beans, a few smoked sausages, deep-fried bananas, rice, some fried potatoes, a fruity pepper salsa and manioc flour, lightly-toasted and mixed with smoky bacon.

Oh and a chargrilled pineapple.

I know what you’re thinking. I did too. Way too many flavours! But here’s the thing – it works. It works SO well. I was utterly entranced.

The smokiness of the sausages and beans, the fruit of the salsa and crunchy-coated banana and the rich, juicy beef. Oh, it was an epiphany.

I can still taste it now and I’m desperate to get going on my own version.

Some of the ingredients may be hard to find, but there’s fun to be had in trying to find suitable replacements.

I can pretty much guarantee we’ll not be able to find linguiça sausages round these parts, but we should thank the Poles, of whom there are many in the Huddersfield area, for their kielbasa and kabanos, both of which would be fine substitutes here. Manioc flour is also not easy to find – try health food or African stores, but it’s the least important of the additions.

Picanha with Feijoada

THE beans you can make in advance, as with the salsa.

Serves 4

The Beef:@ 4 x 8-10oz. rump steaks from a good butcher, well-seasoned just before cooking

The Beans:@ 800g black beans, soaked overnight in fresh water 500g chorizo sausage, finely diced 2 bayleaves 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced A pinch of cumin 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 orange

The Salsa:@ 1 onion, finely chopped 1 green pepper, seeded and finely chopped 1 red pepper, seeded and finely chopped The juice and rind of a lime 6 fresh, ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped, juices reserved A little fresh coriander, chopped S&P

Toasted Manioc:@ Cassava flour (also known as tapioca flour or manioc flour) A few rashers smoked streaky bacon, cut into strips

The sausages:@ Smoked pork sausages (ideally, linguica, but Kabanos or Kielbasa will do)

The bananas:@ 4 bananas A pinch of flour 1 egg, beaten Fine breadcrumbs Oil for deep-frying

Also:@ 1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into thick slices (optional) A few cooked new potatoes and/or plain boiled rice.

First, the beans. Put the drained soaked beans in a suitable pot and cover with water about twice the depth of the beans themselves. Bring to the boil and simmer gently. Quarter the orange, remove the pips and add to the beans. While the beans are cooking, in a little oil fry the onion and garlic until translucent, then add the chorizo, the bayleaves and cumin. When the chorizo is golden, add this to the simmering beans and cook gently until the beans are beginning to fall apart. When the beans are ready, remove the bayleaves and orange pieces and take out a couple of ladlefuls of beans. Whizz them in a blender, then return to the pan. You’re after a nice creamy bean casserole here, so you’ll have to judge the consistency.

For the manioc, quickly fry the bacon in a pan until golden and crispy, then add a few tablespoons of cassava flour and toast this gently until it reaches a nice pale brown colour. Reserve.

To make the salsa, combine all the ingredients, adding the tomato juices, season to taste and keep refrigerated until needed.

For the bananas, heat a pan with enough oil to deep-fry the bananas. Peel the fruit and roll in a little flour, then dip in the egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Repeat the egg and breadcrumbs stage. Deep fry the bananas until golden and crunchy and keep warm.

Cook the steaks briskly on a chargrill pan, a barbecue or even under the grill. Grill or roast the sausages.

If you’re serving pineapple, chargrill or grill it at the same time as the steaks. Finally, cook the rice or sauté the potatoes, and serve everything at once. Tradition says you should drink beer, but I find a nice zappy red like an Argentine Shiraz is perfect.

Portugal’s lesser-known demarcated wine regions

Alentejo:

Until recently the Alentejo was much better known for cereals, grain and sunflowers than for wine. It has been discovered that the climate and soil are particularly suited to viticulture. Results have proved most encouraging, so time and money is now being invested in growing vines and making wine.

The best quality wine comes from the eastern part of the area near the Spanish border, particularly Borba and Reguengos de Monsaraz.

Algarve:

Algarve is perhaps better known for tourism than wine production.

Those who still cultivate a few vines take their grapes to one of five co-operatives dotted along the coast to be made into wine. The best known are Lagoa and Portinao.

Being in the south and bordering the Mediterranean, the summer days are long and hot, resulting in grapes with a high sugar content. The wine tends to be high in alcohol — 13 percent — and low in acidity.

The red wines are a light ruby color and excellent with food, while the dry whites make an ideal aperitif. In 1978 the Algarve was officially recognized as “Regiao Demarcada.”

Bairrada:

The vineyards of Bairrada just to the south of Oporto have suffered a somewhat checkered history.

No sooner had the vineyards been established again than they were attacked by odium and phylloxera.

As many of them were not replanted until the late 1920s, Bairrada was not included in the original 1908 demarcation. Since then, tremendous strides have been made; and the high quality of the wine was reorganized in 1978 when the region was promoted to the “regioes demarcadas.”

In an average year 80 percent of production is red and the remainder white and sparkling wine. All red Bairrada must spend at least 18 months in cask and six months in bottle before being sold. Bairrada wines are marketed in claret-shaped bottles.

Bucelas:

Bucelas is a tiny village tucked away amongst the hills some 15 miles north of Lisbon. Vines grow on the slopes leading down to the river Trancao. The loam soil is particularly suited to the Arinto grape, which yields a highly distinctive dry white wine.

Most grapes are still fermented in open wooden vats. When fermentation has finished the wine is transferred to enormous casks of Brazilian oak and left to quietly mature in huge stone-built adegas.

Colares:

Colares is perched on the most western point of Portugal, under the towering heights of Sintra.

Sadly, many of the labor-intensive vineyards are becoming overgrown as the villagers go to seek a more prosperous life in the cities of Portugal and Europe.

The indigenous Ramisco vine has survived the ravages of phylloxera due to the sandy nature of the soil, which in some parts reaches 25 feet in depth.

Windbreaks of interwoven cane and willow have to be built to protect the vines from the winds and salt of the Atlantic, which can tear the shoots and blight the leaves.

All Colares wines must be made by the Adega Regional. The largest firms will then mature the ready-made wines in their own cellars.

Red Colares averages 11 to 12 percent alcohol, is astringent when young, full of fruit and rich in tannin, the main reason for its longer life. With age they acquire a silky, velvety taste.

Dao:

Geographically the Dao region lies south of the Douro and west of Serra da Estrela that forms a natural boundary with Spain. The region takes its name from the River Dao, which flows through it. About 80 percent of Dao production is red wine.

Being inland and mountainous, the climate is quite extreme. The winters are very cold, so that the vines do not begin to develop until late spring. In summer, the sun can be so fierce that the grapes are scorched.

Vintage time is usually the end of September. Dao wines are blended from a number of grape varieties, depending on the slight differences in soil and climate from one part of the region to another.

The red grape skins are left with the must for the duration of the fermentation; as a result the wines have an intense color and high tannin that is balanced by an exceptionally high glycerin content.

The color of the whites deepens with cask maturation. Many producers are beginning to develop new production methods to create lighter wines with characteristics more suited to the export markets.

Estremadura:

Just to the northwest of Lisbon and bordering the Atlantic Ocean lie the gently rolling hills of the Estremadura. Vines thrive in the mild climate and clay-limestone soil. Prolific quantities of grapes are produced, making the Estremadura Portugal’s largest wine-producing region in terms of quantity.

The best wines are made on those slopes with a south and west exposure, particularly around Torres Vedras. Most of the wine is made by cooperatives with modern vinification equipment.

Lafoes:

This small area is sandwiched between the Vinho Verde and Dao regions. Production is predominantly red (9,000 cases, compared with 1,000 cases of white).

The wines are light and fruity with higher than average acidity.

Madeira:

Madeira wines are named after the grape variety from which they are made: Sercial, Verdehlo, Boal, and Malmsey.

Sercial and Verdehlo styles are fermented completely dry, while grape spirit is added to Boal and Malmsey to arrest fermentation, so that these wines contain a certain amount of residual sugar.

Most Madeira wines are blended wines and are cooked for a long time with a process called “estufa.” They are matured in casks that form a solera system until they are bottled. Alcoholic strength is between 17 to 19 percent.

Pinhel:

Pinhel is hidden amongst the northern hills near the Spanish frontier. Pinhel is also a small area most famous for its full dry white wines.

Ribatejo:

The valley of the Tagus is an unlikely place to find vineyards. Normally, the vine flourishes in very poor soil, but the rich alluvial flood plains of the Tagus seem to be the exception. Around 8 million cases of full earthy whites and around 700,000 cases of red are produced in the area.

The reds have an intense deep color, are high in alcohol with a rich black currant-like taste and full lasting finish.

Some of Portugal’s best “garrafeira” wines are made in Ribatejo.

Setubal:

The vine holds a predominant position in the peninsula of Setubal thanks to the very exceptional soil and climatic conditions. Its best known wine is the Moscatel de Setubal but the light wine of the Setubal area is really excellent. These are wines with an alcohol content below 12 percent, full-bodied, which benefit from cask maturation.

Frango com Piri-Piri - Chicken Piri-Piri

Ingredients: (6-8 servings)

• 2 whole chickens
• Olive oil
• Salted butter
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• Half a bottle of Piri-Piri sauce
• Paprika
• ground coriander
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 scallions, sliced
• Chopped parsley
• 1 piece fresh ginger, grated
• Bay Leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

How to Cook:

Clean the chickens (removing any gubbins inside the body) and thoroughly rinse, then drain and leave to dry. Place the bird, breast side down, on a cutting board and with a large knife, cut it through the centre (but don't slice it in half) Spread the bird out, then with a mallet or some such, BEAT IT UP!!! A few good smashes should do it! You want flat whole chickens that can be spread out on a B-B-Q grill.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a blender and pour half the sauce over the chickens in a large bowl. Cover and let marinade in a refrigerator for 4 hours. Also put the remaining marinade in the fridge.
Place the chickens, skin side up, on the grill of a B-B-Q or over a charcoal fire. Brush the chickens with some of the remaining marinade and cook until ready, continually brushing the chickens with marinade.