Cozido à Madeirense is a traditional Portuguese recipe (from Madeira) for a classic stew of salt pork and mixed vegetables served on a bed of couscous. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Portuguese version of: Cozido à Madeirense.
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This was originally a mainland Portuguese dish, but the Madeiran version of the stew includes pork, sweet potato, and, originally, couscous. Couscous was once prepared by families with the wheat they harvested, but today it's ready to eat. In the past, to check that the water in the couscous pot hadn't evaporated, they would throw a few pebbles or limpet or cockle shells into the bottom of the pot. If they didn't jingle over the fire while boiling, it was a sign that the water had run out.
Nowadays, the couscous pot is replaced by a rice ball. In this case, the couscous ball is added to the broth where the stew cooks. You add it in the last 10 minutes.
Wash the meat and cook in in a pan of water until tender (about 50 minutes); this also helps remove the excess salt.
When the meat is almost cooked, add all the washed, whole vegetables. Remove the tough outer leaves from the cabbage.
Add the sprig of thyme.
As the each of the vegetables cook, remove them from the broth.
Moisten the couscous with a little water and place in the bottom of the couscous steamer.
Once the meat and all the vegetables are cooked (the vegetables have already been removed from the pot), place the couscous steamer over the meat pot to steam. To prevent steam from escaping, place a towel on the edge of the pot between the pot and the couscous steamer. Once everything is ready, add the vegetables and meat back to the broth (except the couscous), so that the stew is served piping hot.
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