Not From Portugal

In which I explore the next tomato-based sauce on the Argentine roster, salsa portuguesa.

You might think there was a direct connection to Portugal for Salsa Portuguesa, but it seems as best anyone knows, there’s not. Instead it appears to hark back to French chef Marie-Antoine Carême’s famed sauce categorization, as a “daughter sauce” to the tomato sauce mother - sauce portugaise. The codified recipe for the French classic is peeled tomatoes, garlic, onion, salt, sugar, white wine, and parsley. And that lines up relatively close to the Argentine sauce. There are some differences, which we’ll get to momentarily.

Now, although pretty much always offered as a sauce option for pasta, I see this sauce more commonly served with either beef or chicken - a la portuguesa, and to be honest, I think it suits those, especially chicken, more than it suits pasta. It’s tasty enough over noodles, but for me, has a flavor profile that just calls out for something more substantial. And when I think about it, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen any local friends (or anyone else) order pasta with salsa portuguesa, though many have ordered meat with it.

You can see that we have the classic French elements there - the tomatoes, onion, garlic, parsley, white wine, salt. Sugar seems to be more related to if your tomatoes are overly acidic, which is true when making the French version as well. But there’s a bit more here - some red and green bell peppers, green onion, chicken stock, and some spices and herbs - pepper, chili flakes (optional, many Argentines don’t use them), oregano, thyme, and bay leaf.

In olive oil, sauté the chopped aromatic vegetables - the peppers, onions, and garlic, until soft and starting to color.

Deglaze with the white wine, and cook until it has absorbed.

…the peeled and diced tomatoes, and the herbs and spices.

Continue to cook until the tomatoes are falling apart and the sauce has reduced to be fairly thick.

Add the pasta, chopped green onions and parsley, and a ladle or two of the pasta water. Turn up the heat and cook until the sauce reduces and clings to the pasta.

And, serve…

…with a bit of grated parmigiano, and decorate with a parsley leaf, just because.

As I said, I personally prefer this on meat, especially chicken. Maybe it’s the chicken stock in the mix, it just seems to pair better for me. But it’s a perfectly tasty pasta sauce, just one I wouldn’t choose to make versus others in the Argentine canon.

Next time, the Argentine version of a worldwide classic, salsa boloñesa.