Tokány is the ancestor of the pörkölt, it was made without paprika and onion for centuries. In Transylvania stew is called tocană. Tokány can be prepared from pork, beef, chicken and turkey, or even game meat, and similar to stew it can also be cooked in a Hungarian kettle. The simplest version of this ragout is borsos tokány, which is seasoned with a lot of freshly ground black pepper and thickened with a sour cream-flour mixture. Other types of tokány differ from it only by adding further ingredients such as gherkins, frankfurters, sausages or marjoram to the ragout (e.g. hentes tokány or Transylvanian beef ragout )
Ingredients:
- 1 kg (~2 1/4 lbs) boneless pork
- 70 g (~2 1/2 oz) bacon, chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 wax pepper, sliced
- 1 tomato, sliced
- 1 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 100 ml (~1/2 cup) water
In a non-stick pan fry the bacon until crispy. Add finely chopped onions, then a bit later add finely chopped garlic and sauté in the bacon lard until translucent. Add the pork cubes and over medium heat brown them. Salt and pepper, and pour in water, just enough to cover three-quarters of the food. Add sliced wax pepper and tomato, cover and slowly simmer. Add more water if needed, tokány should have a nice sauce. Meanwhile whisk together flour, sour cream and 100 ml/ 1/2 cup of water. When the meat is tender, stir the sour cream thickener into the ragout. Adjust salt and pepper, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Serve with noodles or rice.
