Pork ragout with mushrooms

by | Jan 5, 2016 | Meat dishes

If I want to eat some pork dish, which is easy to make, not time consuming, but not pörkölt or paprikash, I often prepare this pork ragout. Contrary to the Hungarian traditions, this dish doesn’t contain paprika. The main spices are tarragon and garlic; latter is added to the dish only a few minutes before the end of the cooking time, so its flavour won’t be lost, but it will remain dominant.

Mushrooms, besides being delicious, offer surprising nutritional benefits, containing copper, potassium, B vitamins, and selenium. They taste best when eaten fresh, so it’s recommended not buying mushrooms until a day or two before use. This inconvenience might restrict you, however it can be easily resolved: frozen mushrooms are no worse than fresh ones.

Mushrooms are picked or harvested at the peak of their freshness, and snap frozen within hours. This maximises nutrient levels, keeping them at levels similar to those found in fresh food. In fact they may be even higher when compared to those mushrooms that have been picked fresh but sit for days prior to use. I always keep 1-2 packages of frozen mushrooms in my freezer, so I can make a yummy dish whenever the craving strikes.

Pork ragout with mushrooms
Pork ragout with mushrooms – photo: zserbo.com

Ingredients:

  • 500 g (~1 lb) pork (leg or shoulder), diced
  • 300 g (~2/3 lb) mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp lard
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2-1/2 tsp black and white pepper
  • 1 tsp tarragon
  • 1-2 garlic cloves
  • 2-3 heaping tbsp sour cream
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 tbsp parsley leaves, finely chopped

Sauté the finely chopped onion in lard until translucent. Add diced pork and fry until all sides turn white. Season with salt, pepper and tarragon, pour in 2 cups of water, cover the pan and cook over low heat until pork is nearly tender (add more water if needed). When the meat is almost done, add sliced mushrooms and keep cooking until mushrooms and pork are soft and tender. Whisk flour, sour cream and 1/4 cup of water together, pour into the ragout, add crushed garlic, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley. Serve with steamed rice.

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Hungarian cottage cheese

This is what Hungarian túró looks like

You often ask me what kind of cottage cheese (or curd cheese or farmer's cheese - call it what you want) I use in the recipes. In Hungary the store-bought cottage cheese is dry and crumbly as you can see in the picture. So if a recipe calls for túró, I mean this type. If you can't obtain túró, you can try to make your own from whole milk. Click on the link below.

Metric system vs cup

In Hungary metric units are in use, all the recipes on this website are based on this system, so a kitchen scale is necessary. Since I’m not familiar with cup as a measurement unit, I convert grams to cups by using an online converter. The values in brackets, therefore, are only approximate volumes, so, please, double-check them before you start cooking.

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