Wonderful memories of the old cottage houses in the woods throughout our beautiful country – Slovakia. Based on the source and animal production, they offer various homemade goods e.g. sheep cheese, pâtés and cow cheese, etc. Slovak cuisine is a mixture of several influences mostly Hungarian, Ukrainian, Czech and Austrian. This very dish is a real winter treat, commonly served with some local lagers – Slovak Pork Stew wrapped in Fritters.
The base is to make a good potato fritter dough and start creating these beauties in a lard.
Secondly, pork stew simmering while the fritters are done. Finish with homemade pickles and sour cabbage. Stunning!
Total Time: 1 hour + an overnight marinade chill
SHOPPING LIST
The Stew
- The Stew: 600g of good quality pork loin, cleaned and diced
- A splash of sunflower oil, ketchup, Dijon mustard and Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon of smoked sweet paprika, satureja and Provencal herbs
- 2 medium shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 large sweet paprika, washed, cleaned and chopped
- 200g of mushrooms, peeled and sliced
- 50g of sweet corn
- ½ cup of dry white wine
- Sea salt, black pepper
- A splash of double cream
The Fritters
- 1 kg of cleaned potatoes, most of it grated on a fine grater, few on a wider grater
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt and marjoram
- 1 cup of flour, I used 1:1 plain and semi-coarse flour, sifted
- A pinch of cumin
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled, crushed and finely chopped
- Lard
Pickles, sour cabbage to serve with
INSTRUCTIONS
An evening ahead
The Meat
First, marinate the pork. In a medium metal bowl place all the herbs and spices: oil, ketchup, mustard, Soy Sauce, paprika, satureja, Provencal herbs and stir with a balloon whisk.
Chop the meat and throw it in. Mix with a tablespoon, cover with a lid and refrigerate until the next day.
Day 2
The Stew
Heat up a medium frying pan and put in all the meat and the marinade. Stir occasionally.
Then, add shallot and sauté. Add garlic and let it smell out.
Next, stir in the paprika and continue baking until crunchy and darkened.
Afterwards, put mushrooms and sweet corn in. Baste with white wine and reduce. Season with salt & pepper.
Reduce the heat to low and put a lid on. Let it simmer until you finish the fritters. Just before serving, add a splash of double cream. Mix and set aside.
The Fritters
In a large mixing bowl grate all the potatoes and add all the ingredients: eggs, salt, marjoram, flour, cumin and garlic. Stir with spatula until juicy homogenous texture.
Melt around 2 tablespoons of lard in a medium frying pan. Add 2 spatulas of the mixture and smoothen it gently in the pan. Fry around 2-3 minutes from each side, depending on its thickness. Flip and continue. When nicely golden, transfer it onto kitchen towel sheet to absorb the extra fat.
Continue until there is no dough left.
PRESENTATION
Place 1 fritter on a plate. Gently put 1 large spatula of the stew on it. Close the fritter and grate generously with the cheese. Enjoy with a good lager or a glass of dry white wine.
Makes 6 serves (around 8 medium fritters).
