Moelas à Portuguesa (Chicken Gizzards in Tomato and Wine)

• 500 g chicken gizzards (moelas), trimmed and cut in pieces
• olive oil (about 3 tbsp)
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• a small bunch of parsley (a few sprigs in the pot, the rest chopped to finish)
• ½ red capsicum (bell pepper), diced
• 1 malagueta chilli (small red chilli), or a pinch of dried piri-piri
• 2 tsp (1 dessertspoon) sweet paprika (pimentão doce)
• 3 tbsp polpa de tomate (thick tomato pulp)
• 100 ml dry white wine
• a little water, just to cover (about 250 ml), plus more if the sauce gets too thick
• salt to taste

Method

The cook speaks Portuguese; every step is written here in English. Tap a time to watch that step in the video. For subtitles, tap CC in the video, then Settings › Subtitles › Auto-translate › English.

1. Wash the gizzards well, trim off any fat and membrane, and cut them into small pieces (halves or quarters depending on size). 0:45
2. Heat the olive oil in a pot and fry the diced onion until soft. Add the chopped garlic and fry a little more without letting it burn. 1:01
3. Add the bay leaf (broken in half), a few sprigs of parsley and the diced red pepper. 1:56
4. Add the gizzards and let them fry for a few minutes, stirring, until they take on colour. 2:43
5. Add the chilli, the sweet paprika, the tomato pulp and the white wine, season with salt, then pour in just enough water to cover. 3:03
6. Cover and simmer gently for about 1 hour, stirring now and then and adding a splash of water if the sauce gets too thick, until the gizzards are tender. 3:53
7. Remove the bay leaf, adjust the salt, and serve in a clay dish scattered with chopped parsley. 4:25

Tip. Makes 6 petisco (tapas-style) portions, as the cook says; or serves 3 as a main. In Portugal it is eaten with bread or rice — a salad keeps it lower in carbs. Tomatoes (2–3, chopped) can replace the tomato pulp.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.