September has hit, and with it being ever so slightly cooler, I decided to cook a dish that reminds me of more Northern climes.
The first time I’d eaten salsichas com couve-lombarda was after seeing it on the menu at a very local churrasqueira in Ajuda, Lisbon. Except it’s not a typical churrasco barbecue dish: it’s a concoction of fresh pork sausages wrapped in savoy cabbage, which is braised in a sauce made from a typical refogado and tomatoes.
The savoy cabbage (couve-lombarda)
Cabbage – in particular savoy cabbage (couve-lombarda) – is easy to find in Portugal. The way to treat it for this dish is to carefully peel off large individual leaves from the whole cabbage, wash them, then finely trim off the thicker white spines at the base of the cabbage leaves . This helps to roll the sausages into the leaves, and helps to even out the texture of the final dish.
Once they’re washed and trimmed, throw them in salted boiling water for about 6-7 minutes to wilt, which will allow you to easily roll in the sausages. Don’t leave them for too long, though, or they’ll end up falling apart at the end of cooking.
Next, lay out a couple of leaves on a board – two or three should be enough – and place one or two fresh sausages on them (depending on how big your leaves are), perpendicular to the spine of the cabbage (ie spine going up, sausages across). Wrap them like a burrito, folding in the edges. Repeat until all the sausages are wrapped.
Fresh pork sausages from the butcher or supermarket are ideal, just don’t choose unnecessarily long, or unnecessarily thick (like Brazilian salsichas) cuts.
Tomatoes, fresh or tinned
Since it’s early September and tomatoes are still really ripe in Portugal, I used skinless, fresh tomatoes, diced to the consistency of tinned tomatoes. If tomatoes aren’t in season, go for chopped tinned tomatoes.
To peel off the skin, I waited until the cabbage leaves were done wilting in the boiling water, removed them, then threw the tomatoes in the same pan. Once you start to see slits in the skin, take them out and put them under cold running water. This ‘shocks’ the skin off, so you’ll easily be able to remove it.
O refogado
The base is easy: sliced red onions (not diced; you want them to come out in the final dish) then garlic, then carrots and bay leaf. Add a touch of tomato paste for extra smokiness, if you want. Deglaze with wine or liquor (I used port), add the tomatoes, cook down for a couple of minutes, then lay in your sausage/cabbage wraps, cover almost to the top with boiling water and leave braising over a medium heat, lid on, for 40 minutes or so.
Serve with rice, or perhaps atop a sweet potato puree. A comforting companion as autumn approaches in Portugal. Enjoy!
Braised pork sausages in savoy cabbage (salsichas frescas c/ couve-lombarda)
Ingredients
- 5 fresh pork sausages
- 1 savoy cabbage
- 1 red onion sliced into strips
- 2 cloves garlic diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 fresh plum tomatoes or 400g tinned tomatoes
- 1 shot port wine or 100ml white wine
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel around 9 – 10 large leaves from the cabbage, wash and finely trim off the thicker part of the stems.
- Add the leaves to salted boiling water and wilt for 6-7 mins (not for too long, as the leaves will overcook). Prepare vegetables while boiling.
- Remove the leaves, let cool, and begin assembling sausage wraps. Place 2 – 3 leaves lengthwise, place 1 or 2 sausages (depending on how big your cabbage leaves are) on top, perpendicular to the stems of the cabbage, and wrap, stuffing in the edges as you go. Repeat until all sausages are wrapped.
- Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add sliced red onion, sautée for 2 minutes.
- Add garlic; sautée for a further minute.
- Add the carrot and bay leaf, and sautée for 2 minutes more.
- Add a glug of port wine (or 100m white wine), and let simmer for 2 minutes or until alcohol has evaporated.
- Next, add the diced tomatoes, season with a healthy of pinch salt, pepper and nutmeg, and let simmer for 5 minutes.
- Carefully place wraps in sauce, one-by-one, and add boiling water until wraps are almost covered. Cover pan, and leave on a medium heat for 45 mins, adjusting the heat if the sauce is boiling too vigorously.
- Once ready, serve each wrap over a bed of rice (or potato purée), spoon over some of the sauce, and season with fresh chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon.
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