Chef Margarida
Chouriço Assado na Brasa
Chouriço set ablaze with aguardente, cooked by fire until the casing splits and the paprika-rich fat pools in the dish. Tear the bread. Press it into the fat. This is how we've always done it.
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Ervilhas com Ovos Escalfados
Created by
Spring peas braised slowly with chouriço and bacon, eggs nestled on top to poach in the aromatic sauce. One pan, no fuss, pure comfort. This is how Portuguese grandmothers have been feeding families for generations.
Breakfast & Brunch
Portuguese
Comfort Food
One Pot
15 min
Active Time
35 min cook•50 min total
Yield4 servings
There's a moment in spring when fresh peas arrive at the market and suddenly this is the only dish that makes sense. Avó Leonor would buy them still in the pod, and I'd sit at her kitchen table shelling them into a ceramic bowl while she built the refogado. The smell of onion softening in azeite, the sizzle of chouriço releasing its smoky fat. Before I knew what I was learning, I was learning everything.
Ervilhas com ovos escalfados is peasant genius. One pan. A handful of ingredients. Eggs poached directly in the stew so their yolks break and enrich the sauce when you cut into them. This is the kind of cooking that doesn't need a recipe because it lives in your hands once you've made it a few times. But someone has to teach you the first time.
The chouriço matters. Real Portuguese chouriço, smoked and seasoned with garlic and wine, not the Spanish chorizo you find everywhere now. The pork fat and the paprika oil become the base of your sauce. The peas cook in this, absorbing everything. The eggs go in last, covered gently until the whites set but the yolks stay liquid.
At Mesa da Avó, I serve this for brunch sometimes, and people are always surprised that something so simple can taste so complete. But that's Portuguese cooking. We don't complicate things that are already perfect. We just pay attention.
Ervilhas com ovos is a quintessential example of Portuguese one-pot cooking, where eggs served as the affordable protein that stretched a meal to feed a family. The dish gained popularity in rural Portugal where fresh peas marked the arrival of spring after long winters of preserved foods. The technique of poaching eggs directly in a vegetable stew appears across Portuguese regional cooking, from the tomato-based ovos com tomate to this verdant springtime version.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh or frozen peas
Quantity
500g
chouriço
Quantity
150g
sliced into rounds
bacon or toucinho
Quantity
100g
diced
onion
Quantity
1 large
finely chopped
garlic
Quantity
3 cloves
minced
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
2
peeled and chopped
extra virgin olive oil (azeite)
Quantity
1/4 cup
bay leaf
Quantity
1
water or light chicken broth
Quantity
1 cup
eggs
Quantity
4-6 large
fresh cilantro (coentros)
Quantity
1 large bunch
roughly chopped
sweet paprika (colorau)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
sea salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
crusty bread
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh or frozen peas | 500g |
| chouriçosliced into rounds | 150g |
| bacon or toucinhodiced | 100g |
| onionfinely chopped | 1 large |
| garlicminced | 3 cloves |
| ripe tomatoespeeled and chopped | 2 |
| extra virgin olive oil (azeite) | 1/4 cup |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| water or light chicken broth | 1 cup |
| eggs | 4-6 large |
| fresh cilantro (coentros)roughly chopped | 1 large bunch |
| sweet paprika (colorau) | 1 teaspoon |
| sea salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
| crusty bread | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide, deep skillet or shallow braising pan with lid (about 28cm)
- •Wooden spoon
Instructions
- 1
Render the pork
In a wide, deep skillet or shallow braising pan, warm the azeite over medium heat. Add the diced bacon and cook until it begins to render its fat and turn golden at the edges, about 4 minutes. Add the chouriço rounds and let them sizzle until they release their paprika-tinted oil into the pan, another 2 minutes. The kitchen should start smelling like your grandmother's house on a Sunday.
Use real Portuguese chouriço, not Spanish chorizo. The flavor is different. Chouriço is smoked, drier, and seasoned with garlic and wine. If you can't find it, linguiça works in a pinch. - 2
Build the refogado
Add the chopped onion to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. It should melt into the pork fat, not brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant. Stir in the paprika, letting it bloom in the fat for 30 seconds. This is your foundation. Não tenhas pressa.
The refogado is everything. Rush it and you lose the depth. Avó Leonor always said the onion should practically dissolve before you add anything else. - 3
Add tomatoes and peas
Add the chopped tomatoes and bay leaf, stirring to combine. Let the tomatoes break down and meld with the refogado for about 5 minutes. Pour in the water or broth. Add the peas and stir gently. Season with salt and pepper, remembering the chouriço and bacon are already salty. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and cook until the peas are just tender, about 10 minutes for frozen or 15 for fresh.
- 4
Create nests for the eggs
Taste the braising liquid and adjust the seasoning. There should be enough liquid to come about halfway up the peas. If it's too dry, add a splash more water. Using the back of a spoon, make small wells in the peas, spacing them evenly around the pan. These are the nests where your eggs will poach.
- 5
Poach the eggs
Crack an egg into each well, being careful not to break the yolks. Season the eggs lightly with salt. Cover the pan and let the eggs poach gently over medium-low heat until the whites are set but the yolks remain runny, about 5 to 7 minutes. Don't lift the lid to check every minute. Trust the process. You'll know they're ready when the whites look opaque.
If you like your yolks more set, give them another minute or two. But in my house, a runny yolk is the whole point. It breaks over the peas and becomes part of the sauce. - 6
Finish and serve
Remove the lid and scatter the coentros generously over the top. Bring the pan directly to the table while everything is still bubbling gently. Serve immediately with plenty of crusty bread for sopping up the sauce. This is a dish meant to be eaten from the pan, family-style, with everyone reaching in. A cozinha é memória.
Chef Tips
- •Fresh peas in season are worth the extra work of shelling, but frozen peas are perfectly acceptable and what most Portuguese families use today. Don't let anyone shame you for using frozen. Even Avó Leonor used them when fresh weren't available.
- •The braising liquid should have body but not be soupy. You want enough to poach the eggs but not so much that the dish becomes a watery stew. The bread will soak up whatever sauce remains.
- •If your pan doesn't have a good lid, use aluminum foil. The steam is what cooks the tops of the eggs without flipping them.
- •Some families add a splash of white wine when building the refogado. Others add a pinch of cumin. I've documented both versions. Neither is wrong, but this recipe is how Avó Leonor made it: simple, letting the chouriço do the work.
Advance Preparation
- •The refogado with peas can be made several hours ahead and refrigerated. Reheat gently before adding the eggs.
- •This dish cannot be fully made ahead. The eggs must be poached just before serving to achieve the proper runny yolk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 375g)
Calories
660 calories
Total Fat
46 g
Saturated Fat
13 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
31 g
Cholesterol
293 mg
Sodium
1370 mg
Total Carbohydrates
27 g
Dietary Fiber
8 g
Sugars
10 g
Protein
35 g
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