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Recipe

Shredded Roast Goat, Couscous, Wild Spinach, and Mint Oil

Serves

10

Active Time

3 hours

Origin

ALENTEJO

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Shredded Roast Goat, Couscous, Wild Spinach, and Mint Oil

During tomato season, there are no bad cooks.

— PORTUGUESE SAYING

This is the recipe I always use when cooking roast goat. In it, I reveal just how much I am still influenced by my Alentejo origins. I begin by following the traditional steps: I marinate the goat and roast it with the customary seasonings. But what I do that is special in this recipe is make use of all the pan residues, blending them together with a thread of olive oil, which results in an emulsion that enriches the flavor of the already delicious goat meat. Garnishing the goat with couscous is a nod to the Arab heritage in Alentejo cuisine. Sautéing them in olive oil—forgive my lack of modesty—is a clever move. It is in this recipe that olive oil truly shows what it is capable of!

THE RECIPE

Ingredients

Serves 10

  1. For the goat:
  2. Goat (cabrito) — 3.5 kg
  3. Sliced garlic — 50 g
  4. Diced onion — 200 g
  5. Garden pepper (pimentão da horta) — 120 g
  6. Bay leaf — 3 leaves
  7. Extra virgin olive oil — 1 dl
  8. White wine — 3 dl
  9. Rosemary — as needed (q.b.)
  10. Sea salt — as needed (q.b.)
  11. Ground white pepper — as needed (q.b.)
  12. For the garnish:
  13. Couscous — 800 g
  14. Extra virgin olive oil — 0.5 dl
  15. Chopped garlic — 20 g
  16. Chopped onion — 50 g
  17. Wild spinach (espinafres selvagens) — 400 g
  18. Sea salt — as needed (q.b.)
  19. Ground white pepper — as needed (q.b.)
  20. For the mint oil:
  21. Mint (hortelã) — 180 g
  22. Extra virgin olive oil — 2 dl
  23. Milled pepper — as needed (q.b.)
  24. Fleur de sel — as needed (q.b.)

Preparation

Put the leg of goat to marinate a few hours in advance in extra virgin olive oil, white wine, diced onion, sliced garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, sea salt, and ground pepper. Drain the garlic and onion from the marinade and place them in a baking pan to form a layer. Arrange the leg of goat on top and place it to roast in an oven preheated to 140 °C for approximately 3 hours. Once roasted, debone the leg and cut the meat into slices. Emulsify what remains in the baking pan using a blender cup, adding a thread of olive oil.

For the garnish:

Arrange the couscous over a damp cloth, drizzle them with a thread of olive oil, and mix in the chopped garlic and onion. Steam the couscous. Blanch the wild spinach in water seasoned with sea salt and cool them down immediately by plunging them into ice water. Drain them well and sauté them in a little extra virgin olive oil along with the couscous. Season with sea salt. Prepare the mint oil.

Presentation

Arrange the couscous in the center of the plate with the help of a stainless steel ring, layer the slices of goat on top, and drizzle the composition with the emulsion resulting from the roast and the mint oil.

Olive Oil Suggestion:

Here, I believe the prominence you want to give to the olive oil will turn out best if oils from Moura or Trás-os-Montes are used.