Sataras

As a Teenager I was lucky to have lots of opportunities to travel. This not only opened my eyes and ears but also my interest in food. One of my trips was to Slovenia, then part of former Yugoslavia. There I encountered different tastes, different ways of doing things. I fell in love with their food. I was lucky that Cologne had a plethora of Balkan Restaurants. The political situation in Yugoslavia had encouraged people from Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia to come and seek work in Germany. To this day some family favourites have their roots in the Balkan (for example my savoury rice which is their Djuvec rice or my Yugoslavian bean soup, which is a copy of the Serbian bean soup, to name just two)
My all time favourite though is Sataras. If you look it up on the Web you will find a lot of recipes which are all slightly different depending of whether they are of Serbian, Croatian or Bosnian origin.
But they all have  three main ingredients in common
Onions, Peppers and Tomatoes

Ingredients

nice lean pork steak

1 Pork steak
3 large onions
3 peppers red and yellow
5 large tomatoes
some oil for frying
salt and pepper

How to skin the tomatoes

a panful of onions

mixture of peppers

Method:
Cut the meat into bite size pieces
Fry the meat in oil until brown, salt and pepper
put on a plate
Cut the onions and fry in some oil until glassy, same procedures as meat
Same procedures with the peppers
Skin the tomatoes
Before you put things back into pan, losen the juices with a little water.
Cut the tomatoes also into pieces and put everything back into the pan, add the chili flakes or powder
Simmer gently for approx 40 minutes, stir regularly , adjust the seasoning

The finished result

Note: Serve the Sataras with brown rice or mashed potatoes

Depending on how much liquid is left you can "thicken" the Sataras by stirring in a beaten egg.

This is also helpful if you have  been a little heavy handed with the chili!

Southern Comfort ( Pork Chops)

I had written the story of this creation a few weeks ago and was quite happy with the result and then something or somebody took my attention and I forgot to save it. So here I go again. I do not know if the second version will be as interesting as the first, but I give it a try.

I could have called the pork chops Rocky Mountain chops as well, as I first made this dish in Breckenridge, Colorado. It was my first attempt of cooking at this altitude and the reason for using the Southern Comfort was simple, I like it, but I underestimated how alcohol reacted with me at such a high altitude. So I decided it was better to use it for cooking as the alcohol would eveporate!

On top of that I was challenged to create something tasty with very few condiments. The pictures show how few incredients there are. I decided to marinate the chops in a liquid made up of Southern Comfort, chicken stock, some freshly ground pepper and chopped up garlic.      

Ingredients

1 to 2 pork chops per person

2 cloves of garlic

150 ml chicken stock/broth

some fresdhly ground pepper

2 measures of Southern Comfort

some oil for frying

Method

Marinate the meat in the mixture for preferable 24hrs (in the refrigerator)

but at least for 3hrs.

Fry the pork chops until they are golden brown, put them into an oven proof dish, then

pour the marinate over the pork chops and bake for 30 minutes at a medium hot oven.

the finished result

Note: serve with mashed potatoes (my favourite) or Pasta with a green or mixed salad

I wish to thank Janet, Dave and Martin for being willing "guinea pigs". We had wonderful days together in Breckenridge

Pork Schnitzel (à la Wiener Schitzel)

Pork Schnitzel

Schnitzel is probably the most liked meat dish amongst our family and friends. I cannot count the times we sat around the table enjoying the Schnitzel with  cheesy potatoes, or scalopped potatoes and a green salad in a cream dill sauce  and/or cucumber salad as well. It is tasty quick to make and once you take care of a few important little details, it is a meal fit or a king or your family and friends.
With other  words: if it is done well it is absolutely delicious, if it is done badly, it is simply horrible. 

This is why I have decided to accompany the method steps with photos, so that you can compare it with what you are doing.
PS The real thing is of course Wiener Schnitzel, which is made exactly like the following recipe, except  the real Wiener Schnitzel has to be made with veal.

The ingredients are simple.

Ingredients

1 or 2 (depending on size and hunger) of pork centre loin chops

1 or 2 beaten eggs ( the qantity depends on the above)

approx 250 gr fresh breadcrumbs ( gives the best result, but you can use commercial breadcrumbs if fresh ones are not at hand)

salt and pepper to taste

enough Rapeseed or Sunflower oil to cover the frying pan very well, better a little more than less.

Method

1. Trim the pork chop and cut off any fatty pieces. Then with a meat tenderizer flatten the chop as much as possible

Left side: before beating                               right side after beating

2. Prepare the eggs and breadcrumbs in a large bowl or on a large plate. Beat the eggs, season  both with salt and pepper. I just use a pinch of salt and pepper for each.

breadcrumbs   and beaten eggs

3. Dip the escalope first in the egg mixture, make sure that both sides are coated well and then dip it into the breadcrumbs. Again, making sure that all the escalope is covered. Set aside and continue until you have all escalopes done. Should you run out of either breadcrumbs or egg mixture, just replenish. If you run out of egg and don't have another one, you can use a tablespoon or two of fresh cream and mix it around in the egg bowl. That will work.

ready for the frying pan

4. Put  enough oil in the frying pan so that the escalopes are sitting on a film of oil.

NOTE: Too little oil will make the breadcrumbs stick to the pan.

NOTE 2: Do not get tempted to deep fry the escalope, it just does not do the chop any justice and the breadcrumb cover will simply detach from the meat

sizzling at medium heat

5. Fry the chops at medium heat from both sides until they are golden brown.

Careful, if the oil is too hot, the breadcrumbs will burn too quickly and the meat will not be cooked.

just about right! 

You can serve the escalopes with just about any sides you like.
I mostly serve it with some kind of potatoe dish and some salads. The family facvourite one is green salad in a cream dill sauce and or cucumber salad.

Quick sauce for the green salad

Make the normal  vinaigrette ( 3 oil to 1 vinegar, salt and pepper to taste)

To this you add a couple of table spoons of fresh cream,
1 crushed garlic
1 tsp of sugar ( preferably unrefined)
1 tsp of dried dill or 1 Tbsp of fresh dill
you can add fresh chives and or parsley

Cucumber Salad

Thinly slice the cucumber ( some take the skin off, some leave it on, it depends on what you like), then use the vinaigrette recipe plus the the cream, sugar, dill and chives.
Leave out the garlic.
Cucumber Salad always tastes better when it has had time to absorb all the flavours, so making it at least half an hour before serving is advisable.

Re Sides

Should you not be a total potato lover, the Savoury Rice  ( recipe 9 April )would be a perfect side dish accompanied by a salad made out of cabbage and peppers (recipe will follow)