Welcome to the Curly Cook, a food blog dedicated to good food and wine with Portuguese flare!

Monday, May 7, 2007

Bife a Cavalo



Before Rachel Ray. my Mom was (and still is) the fastest cook I know. She would have my brother and I time her, just to prove that her making food at home was just as quick, if not quicker than going to a fast food place (which is what my brother and I usually wanted) This dish is as close as Portuguese cuisine gets to fast food; only tastier and I’m sure, healthier.

I’m pretty sure this is my brother’s favourite dish, second maybe only to Shepherds Pie. I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit, adding sauted onions and mushrooms to the plate, since they go so well with everything else in the dish. Bife a Cavalo, literally means “Beef Steak, Horse-style,” which makes not sense to me. The only thing I can think of is that it’s a meal for someone who is as hungry as a horse. That would make sense, since it is alot of food and is a quick dish to make. I’ll go with that interpretation until I (or you) hear different.

So as a tribute to my Mom who made this, and many other dishes in 30 minutes flat, and my brother, who convinced me to start this blog in the first place, I present ” Beef steak if you’re as hungry as a horse” :)

Ingredients (For 2)

2 thin fast fry beef steaks

2 cloves of garlic, chopped in quarters

1 onion, coarsely chopped

6 or so mushrooms, coarsely chopped

2 potatoes, cut for fries

2 eggs

salt & pepper

1. If you want to deep fry the potatoes (the traditional way) do it closer to the end so that they stay warm. I personally do not like deep frying so I chose to bake my potatoes on a baking sheet with some oil @ 400 F for 15 minutes. You could just as easily use pre cut french fries and bake them. Your choice.

2. Heat some oil in a medium sized skillet and add the garlic to infuse it. Add the beef steaks being sure to brown each side. Season with salt and pepper. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the steak.

3. Remove beef from skillet and place one steak on its own plate and cover to keep warm.

4. There should be some juices left in the skillet to saute the onions and mushrooms in. If not, add a little more oil, then saute the onions for a minute and add the mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms have released their juices remove.

5. Divide half of the sauted onions and mushrooms and pile on top of the steak. Cover the plate again.

6. Still using the same skillet (did I mention I don’t like doing dishes!) add a little bit of oil to fry the eggs. Fry however you like it, although in this case sunny side up is perfect to dip your fries in :)

7. The potatoes should be ready by now, and you can arrange them around the beef piled with the mushroom onion saute.

8. Finally, add the fried egg on top of the sauted mushrooms and onion and check the clock…betcha it was less than 30 minutes!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a great recipe that my mother would make.

In her version the steak is first
pounded flat with a meat hammer to thin it out. Cheaper cuts of steak work for this. Then marinated in Vinho d'Alhos a wine garlic marinate at least 4 hours.

Cook in a hot skillet with melted butter until medium. Then pour in the remaining marinate cook until sauce is thickened a bit.

Served in a warmed clay plate also know as a casuella (spanish).

Assemble in the plate a piece of toast, topped with a slice of lean ham, the steak, and fried egg on top. Drizzle sides with sauce and serve with fried potatoes - yum!!

Anonymous said...

This recipe is not called "Bife a Cavalo" wich would translate as "Horse Riding Steak" but "Bife com ovo a cavalo" litterally "Steak with an egg on horseback" just because you put the fried egg over the steak, riding it.

Also pay attention to the portuguese language subtle variations... "a" is different from "à". If the recipe was really called "Bife a Cavalo" it would translate as I previously said but, if it was "Bife à Cavalo" it would mean "Steak Horse Style".

"lestatmm@hotmail.com"

Anonymous said...

La ringrazio per Blog intiresny