Portuguese garlic pork bites (pica-pau)

Name: Portuguese garlic pork bites (pica-pau)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 4 Pork loin steaks, cut into thin bite-size strips; 0.4 Garlic, sliced; 3 g Paprika; 1 g Bay leaves; 2 g Salt; 30 ml Olive oil; 15 g Butter; 0.5 Chicken stock cubes, dissolved in 120ml hot water; 0.5 Lemons, juiced; 80 g Pickled onions, halved; 10 g Fresh parsley, chopped; 0.5 Bread, crusty, to mop up

Little strips of pork fried hard and fast with garlic, bay and paprika, then finished with a splash of sharp pickles. Pica-pau means 'woodpecker' in Portuguese: you peck at them with cocktail sticks and mop up the juices with bread.

Ingredients

4 Pork loin steaks, cut into thin bite-size strips
0.4 Garlic, sliced
3 g Paprika
1 g Bay leaves
2 g Salt
30 ml Olive oil
15 g Butter
0.5 Chicken stock cubes, dissolved in 120ml hot water
0.5 Lemons, juiced
80 g Pickled onions, halved
10 g Fresh parsley, chopped
0.5 Bread, crusty, to mop up

Method

Toss the pork with half the garlic, the paprika and salt, and leave for 10 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan until very hot and fry the pork in two batches for 3–4 minutes until browned. Return it all to the pan.
Add the rest of the garlic, the bay and butter, fry for a minute, then pour in the stock and lemon juice. Bubble for 3–4 minutes until slightly reduced and glossy.
Stir in the pickled onions and parsley. Serve in a dish with cocktail sticks and bread for the juices.