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Alheira Frita com Ovo Estrelado

Serves 4 to 6 Appetizer meat, Appetizers

Alheira Frita com Ovo Estrelado

Alheira Frita com Ovo Estrelado is a beloved staple of Trás-os-Montes, where rustic cooking meets the warmth of home. Crafted with the region's famed alheiras de Mirandela, this dish is a tribute to the straightforward, no-nonsense approach of Portuguese family kitchens. It's a dish for any day of the week, where olive oil flows generously, and salt is sprinkled with intuition. Here, nothing is measured too precisely—just ample servings made with care.

Alheira sausage pairs beautifully with a fried egg, while potatoes and turnip tops absorb olive oil and garlic, creating a hearty, earthy dish that captures the comforting essence of Trás-os-Montes cuisine.

Ingredients

  • 4alheiras de Mirandela — pricked all over
  • 4eggs — for frying
  • 600 gpotatoes — cut into chips
  • 300 gturnip tops — blanched
  • 4 clovesgarlic — sliced
  • 5 tbspolive oil
  • to tastefine sea salt

Method

  1. Peel the 600 g of potatoes and cut them into thin slices, about 1/4 inch thick. Rinse them under cold water to remove excess starch, then pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel. This ensures they fry evenly and become crispy.
  2. In a large frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the potato slices in a single layer. Fry them until they are golden brown and crispy on the outside, turning occasionally with a spatula. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Season with fine sea salt to taste, then remove them from the pan and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.
  3. While the potatoes are frying, prepare the turnip tops. Rinse 300 g of turnip tops under cold water to remove any dirt. Roughly chop them into bite-sized pieces. In a separate pot, bring water to a boil, add a pinch of fine sea salt, and blanch the turnip tops for 2-3 minutes until they are bright green and tender. Drain and set aside.
  4. Peel and thinly slice 4 cloves of garlic. In the same frying pan used for the potatoes, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium-low heat. Add the garlic slices and sauté until they are golden and fragrant, being careful not to burn them.
  5. Add the blanched turnip tops to the pan with the garlic. Sauté them together for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the turnip tops are well-coated with the garlic-infused oil and have absorbed the flavors. Season with fine sea salt to taste, then remove from the pan and keep warm.
  6. In the same pan, increase the heat to medium and place the 4 alheiras de Mirandela. Fry them for about 5-7 minutes on each side until the skins are crispy and golden brown, and the sausage is heated through. Be careful not to pierce the skins, as this will cause the filling to spill out.
  7. Once the alheiras are done, remove them from the pan and keep warm. Crack 4 eggs into the same pan, one at a time, and fry them sunny side up until the whites are set but the yolks remain runny. This should take about 3-4 minutes. Season the eggs with a pinch of fine sea salt.
  8. To serve, place a portion of the crispy potatoes on each plate, followed by a serving of sautéed turnip tops. Place one fried alheira and one fried egg on top of each serving. Serve immediately while everything is hot and the egg yolks are still runny, allowing them to mingle with the flavors of the dish.
Cover of Authentic Portuguese Cuisine
From the cookbook

Authentic Portuguese Cuisine

This recipe is from Authentic Portuguese Cuisine by Yassine Sbiti — the Portuguese volume in the ComidaTime International Cuisines series.

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