Recipe: Picado à Madeirense

Picado a Madeirense

A Picado or picandinho is a traditional Madeira dish.  It is found in most restaurants around the island.  The picado is served on an oblong platter on a bed of fries or circled by fries.   When you order a picado, you will be asked how many people will be sharing and eating along.  Furthermore, it is a less formal dish.  You can eat it with a tooth pick or scoop your portion onto your plate and eat with fork and knife.  It is also very much appreciated by the young ones in the group.

A Picado can be a meal but also a sort of tapas which you share with friends at the end of the day while savoring a glass of local beer or wine.

Here is an easy recipe.  You can of course modify it by changing the type of meat or adding some vegetables like peppers in the preparation.  Let your imagination and your taste buds run the show…

Ingredients

• 500gr of beef cut in small irregular cubes (rump or loin)
• 100gr of mushrooms
• 2 large laurel bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• Butter
• Rock salt & pepper
• 1 Teaspoon of tomato paste (concentrated tomato puree)
• 1 Tablespoon of oxtail soup – in the original recipe – I however leave it out.
• One half beef bouillon cube
• 1 large glass of white wine
• A little cream (if you wish)
• A little olive oil

Preparation

• Mix the beef cubes with the laurel bay leaves and the minced garlic. Mix it well so the beef can impregnate itself with the laurel and garlic. Let it marinate.  This can also be prepared a bit in advance.  Keep it refrigerated if this is the case.
• Take a large frying pan, add a large chunk of butter.
• Bring the butter to melt and add some olive oil.
• Add the marinated meat and the half beef bouillon cube.
• Mix gently, making sure that only one layer of meat chunks covers the bottom of the pan.
• Once the meat is seared / brown on both sides, add the mushrooms.
• Now add a little cream, the tomato paste, the oxtail soup (if you want) and the white wine.
• Mix it all well together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Heat the picado once more to bring it close to a boil (do not boil it though).
• Then remove the pan from the fire, cover it and let it all marinate.

Enjoy

Serve the picado with fries and a side salad.  Many add olives om the picado before serving.  Get toothpicks ready.  Take the beer out of the fridge or open a great bottle of local wine.   Bom Apetite!

If you are looking for more typical Madeira recipes, come this way.