Picadinho de Porco (Minced Pork)

What do you get when you mix exploding eggs, with spicy mince and a fresh salsa? Well in my case, you get a Brazilian dish called Picadinho de Porco, a late supper and a side-scoop of irritation.


 

The exploding eggs? My (very unsuccesful) attempt at cooking eggs in the microwave. At least this time I wasn't splattered with bits of egg all over (and by "all over" I do mean ALL over - hair included). Everything did still wind up smelling like egg though. Which is not really the smell you're going after when you're already past hungry and have to clean up the debris to the soundtrack of the neighbours' whiny kids.

I suspect all of the above might have clouded my judgement of the final dish, as I found it pretty so-so, although TheHusband claimed to really like it. I will give it the benefit of the doubt and encourage you to make it and judge for yourself. And next time I'll stick to boiling eggs on the stove. But I think that pretty much goes without saying.

This is my submission for the Regional Recipe Roundup created & hosted by Darlene from Blazing Hot Wok. The spotlight falls on Brazil this month.

Picadinho de Porco (Minced Pork)

Adapted from The Global Gourmet

Serves 4 - 5

1 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 medium onion, finely diced

2 tomatoes, finely diced
500g lean pork, ground*
120g chorizo, casings removed

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp dried chilli (or to taste)
salt to taste

2 eggs, hard-boiled and sliced
coriander sprigs to garnish

1. Saute onion in oil over medium heat until softened. Add tomatoes and cook over medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated.

2. Grind/finely chop the chorizo and add to the tomato/onion mixture along with the minced pork. Stir through and cook, covered for 10 minutes. Remove lid and cook for another 10 - 15 minutes or until meat is cooked through.

3. Stir in lemon juice and chilli and season to taste (bear in mind the chorizo is salty already). Cook for a further 5 minutes over low heat.

Serve hot, garnished with egg and coriander and accompanied by rice and a fresh salsa.

* You can do this at home in a food processor if you struggle to get hold of pork mince (or want to avoid the fat content in store bought pork mince)

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 378.7 , Total fat 20.4 g, Saturated fat 7.0 g, Polyunsaturated fat 2.2 g, Monounsaturated fat 9.1 g, Cholesterol 216.4 mg, Sodium 430.5 mg, Potassium 756.6 mg, Total carbohydrate 4.9 g, Dietary fiber 0.8 g, Sugars 0.2 g, Protein 41.8 g

Good source of: Selenium 95.6 %, Thiamin 83.9 %, Phosphorus 40.5 %, Vitamin B6 39.2 %, Riboflavin 37.0 %, Niacin 35.7 %, Vitamin B12 30.5 %, Zinc 28.8 %