What is Cozido à Portuguesa?
At its core, Cozido is a hearty, layered stew of meats, sausages, and vegetables. Its brilliance lies in its simplicity and the quality of its components. A traditional Cozido includes:
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Meats: A variety of cuts like beef shank, pork shoulder, ribs, chicken, and sometimes pig’s ear and trotter for gelatinous richness.
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Sausages: The indispensable chouriço (smoked paprika sausage), morcela (blood sausage), and farinheira (a unique bread and paprika sausage).
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Vegetables: Potatoes, carrots, cabbage, turnips, and rice or chickpeas often served on the side.
The magic happens when these ingredients are slowly boiled together in a single large pot, allowing the flavors to meld into a rich, aromatic broth that becomes a meal in itself.
The Furnas Method: A Volcanic Masterpiece
What Maria Lawton, the host of Maria’s Portuguese Table, highlights in her Azorean episode is the extraordinary cooking process unique to Furnas. Here, the Cozido is not cooked on a stove but buried in the hot, steaming fumaroles of the active volcano.
What is Cozido à Portuguesa?
At its core, Cozido is a hearty, layered stew of meats, sausages, and vegetables. Its brilliance lies in its simplicity and the quality of its components. A traditional Cozido includes:
-
Meats: A variety of cuts like beef shank, pork shoulder, ribs, chicken, and sometimes pig’s ear and trotter for gelatinous richness.
-
Sausages: The indispensable chouriço (smoked paprika sausage), morcela (blood sausage), and farinheira (a unique bread and paprika sausage).
-
Vegetables: Potatoes, carrots, cabbage, turnips, and rice or chickpeas often served on the side.
The magic happens when these ingredients are slowly boiled together in a single large pot, allowing the flavors to meld into a rich, aromatic broth that becomes a meal in itself.
The Furnas Method: A Volcanic Masterpiece
What Maria Lawton, the host of Maria’s Portuguese Table, highlights in her Azorean episode is the extraordinary cooking process unique to Furnas. Here, the Cozido is not cooked on a stove but buried in the hot, steaming fumaroles of the active volcano.
