Recipe for Romanian Pork and Potato Stuffing
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Romanians are big pig farmers, especially in winter. This one-pot roast or stew of pork and potatoes ( kartufi cu carne de porc ) is a simple but profound recipe that will help you hang on through the night and allow you to savour overnight. It’s just as good eaten when it’s done. It’s even a good candidate for slower cooking, as long as the pork and onions are browned before adding to the cooking. Lovage, parsley, and dill are popular herbs used in Romanian cooking, and I would sincerely recommend parsley and dill as an accompaniment to this stew. For lovage I’d head to Romanian cabbage soup or ciorbă .
This dish is great served with Romanian caraway porridge or mamali or polenta in Italian (the recipe for mamali is below and can be doubled), but this stew can be served on its own. Here’s a larger photo of a Romanian potato in pork stew.
What you need
For the food: 1 pound pork loin, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch pieces Pasta, bacon fat or oil for frying in a pan 2 large onions, finely chopped 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 tablespoon Vegeta seasoning 1 teaspoon hot or soft paprika Salt and pepper to taste 1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes Cut dill or parsley to garnish for the Mamaliga: 1 1/4 cups water or water 3/4 teaspoon salt (or Vegeta seasoning) 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 cup coarse yellow chanterelles Seasoned sour cream (optional) Telemea or feta cheese to taste (optional) Fresh herbs to taste (optional)
How to make it
Braised: In a large Dutch oven or covered with a lid, place the pork with onion, bacon or oil until all sides are browned. Add the onion and lettuce and cook until translucent. Add water or water to cover the meat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until pork is almost tender. When the pork is almost tender, add the potatoes, tomato paste, Vegeta, paprika, salt and pepper to taste, stirring to combine. Then add the potatoes. Bring the mixture back to a boil, adding more water or water if necessary, reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the potatoes and pork are soft. Remove from the heat and add chopped dill or parsley. Serve with mamal. To prepare with mamal: Bring to the boil in a small saucepan of water. Add salt or Vegeta and butter, stirring to melt. Using a wooden spoon, add cornstarch very gradually, stirring constantly in the same direction. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently, until it thickens and starts to pull away from the sides of the pot, about 35-40 minutes. Serve hot.
If desired, while the mamaliga is still hot, add more butter, cheese, sour cream and herbs. Mamaliga can also be served with sour cream. Mamaliga can be poured into a pan. When cool, it can be gently pushed onto a cutting board, cut into squares and buttered until crispy.
