Picada à Madeirense: A Traditional Beef Dish...

Picado as an adjective in Portuguese is the masculine form of meaning ''chopped'' or ''cut into small pieces'' there are other meanings however the relative ones mentioned describe the dish I want to share with you...

The dish being a popular menu choice on the island of Madeira, Portugal is served on an oval platter consisting mainly of marinated steak pieces in a rich gravy rather than a sauce as the meat juices prevail, served with batata fritas aka homemade fried potatoes also known as french fries.

Tinned mushrooms and black olives are often added (I prefer fresh mushrooms) the meat is presented in the middle of the platter while the fried potatoes surround the meat and sliced tomatoes are often placed on top with extra black olives.

It's an informal family dish often eaten with a tooth pick or a small fork. Restaurants these days tend to serve Picada with additonal plates and the meal is portioned out. The platter comes in different sizes, small, medium and large depending on how hungry you are or how many people are sharing the dish.

Impotant Note:

I prefer to use fillet beef for this dish but with rising prices this is not always feasible and I use other cuts such as striploin or ribeye. Choose a tender cut of beef (ask your local butcher, as some cuts can differ in quality) and marinade the mixture for a good few hours if you can, this will aid flavour and also texture. The added salt to the marinade also helps to tenderise the meat.

HP sauce is a popular British sauce named after London's Houses of Parliament, with a base flavour of tomatoes, malt vinegar and molasses. It is a tangy and slightly sweet tasting, thick sauce, traditionally served with savoury dishes like steak and chips, sausage and mash, sandwiches, cooked breakfasts and burgers.

I discovered (accidently) HP sauce adds a 'must have' rich flavour to my picada. It's absolutley impossible to make the dish without an added dollop of HP sauce. A1 Steak sauce or Worcestershire sauce have similar flavor profiles if HP sauce is not accessible, either one would be a reasonable close option.

This tasty little salad is actually my daughters idea. We serve it along with the picada, chips and garlic bread instead of serving the tomatoes on top of the beef steak dish. I have to say it's a fabulous accompaniment and came about when my daughter asked for a small seperate plate and proceeded to arrange her slices of tomato and black olives very neatly along with some fresh basil leaves. The added feta cheese works brilliantly. Great textures too! Hope you enjoy...