Rancho à Moda de Viseu

Description: Rancho à Moda de Viseu is a traditional dish, made from various meats, cabbage, pasta, potatoes and chickpeas. It has varied textures, highlighting the aroma of chickpeas and cooked meats.

 Special features: The uniqueness of this dish results mainly from the unusual mixture of the main ingredients, such as chickpeas, various meats, cabbage, potatoes and pasta, as well as the fact that all of them are cooked in the same water where the chickpeas and meats are cooked, which serves as a "broth" for the dish itself, resulting in a particular flavor and aroma.

 

Region: Viseu.

 

Ingredients Used: Pork (chispe, orelheira, spare ribs and belly), veal flap, chicken, meat chorizo, cabbage (such as troncha, Galician or Lombarda), potatoes, carrots, chickpeas, pasta (thick pasta), olive oil, salt, paprika, bay leaf, garlic, piri-piri and cumin (optional).

 

Preparation: The preparation begins the day before cooking, salt the meats and soak the chickpeas in water with a little salt.

The next day, in a pan of water, cook the pork (belly, spare ribs, orel-heira and chispe), the veal flap and the chickpeas, when it is almost cooked, put the meat chorizo and the chicken that cook in a short time.
Once cooked, remove all the ingredients from the water, break the meats and chorizo into small pieces and set aside.
In the same water to cook the meats and chickpeas, place the potatoes, carrots, cabbage, pasta and condiments, as soon as everything is cooked, add the chickpeas and the broken meats, rectify the seasoning with salt and olive oil.
Note: In the barracks of the 14th Infantry Regiment, where, according to legend, the recipe for the Rancho à Moda de Viseu was created, it was improved, with a stew being introduced for chicken and spare ribs, cumin was also added, otherwise all the traditional production method was preserved.
It is served in the pot itself, iron pan or in a glazed clay dish.

Know-how: The meats are salted the day before the dish is made, which will give them a particular flavor.
The chickpeas are also soaked in water with a little salt, in this way, they are softer and easier to cook.
The meats and chickpeas are cooked together, after removing these already cooked, the same water is used to cook all the other ingredients, thus obtaining a dish with a unique flavor and aroma.

Forms of Commercialization: Restaurants.

Product availability throughout the year: Throughout the year, being made more frequently in the winter months.

Product history: Legend has it that during the French invasions, the captain of the Viseu regiment ordered that all available ingredients be used to prepare a strong/motivating meal for the troops. The cook filled the huge cauldron with all the ingredients he had available, which resulted in the famous dish "Rancho à moda de Viseu". Still, nowadays, it is the dish of excellence, served on special occasions of the 14th Infantry Regiment.
From RI 14, the recipe passed to the sphere and knowledge of the general community. The restaurant serves it as a traditional delicacy of Viseu's gastronomy. A specialty that the people of Visi knew how to preserve and value to this day. For more than a decade, the "Rota do Rancho" has been held annually for three days, in the past year 2021 about 50 restaurants in the municipality joined the initiative.

Representativeness in local food: Rancho à Moda de Viseu is a very popular dish among the local community, often the option to serve a large number of people. Being a regular presence at family gatherings, at community festivals, as well as in agricultural activities, such as harvesting and olive picking. It is the dish of choice, always served on special occasions of the 14-Viseu Infantry Regiment. In the last decade the dish has gained a relevant notoriety, annually for three days, usually in November, the "Rota do Rancho" is promoted where currently about fifty restaurants in the municipality participate. In the renowned secular event "Feira de São Mateus-Viseu", the Rancho à Moda de Viseu is a tradition, a dish much requested and appreciated, both by residents and outsiders.

Source: Photography-Rancho à Moda de Viseu-Credits: Município de Viseu | José Alfredo.

Photo Source: Correia, Alberto, (2020). Rancho à Moda de Viseu – Uma singular criação, Pelouro da Cultura, Património, Turismo e Marketing Territorial de Viseu, Viseu.