Tochitură - Transylvanian Pork Stew Recipe / Romanian / Moldovian

pork shoulder

🥗Healthier: chicken thighs

💰Cheaper: pork loin

Chicken thighs are lower in fat and pork loin is often less expensive.

smoked sausage

🥗Healthier: turkey sausage

💰Cheaper: regular sausage

Turkey sausage reduces calories while regular sausage is more affordable.

polenta

🥗Healthier: quinoa

💰Cheaper: rice

Quinoa offers more protein while rice is typically less costly.

cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: cottage cheese

Nutritional yeast is dairy-free and adds a cheesy flavor.

Dry Romanian peppers in the oven overnight to make paprika.

Chop bacon into pieces and render fat in a pan.

Add ground paprika to the bacon fat and sauté briefly.

Add pork tenderloin to the pan and season with paprika, cooking until well coated.

Add half of the chopped scallions and all cherry tomatoes, cooking until tomatoes soften.

Add one clove of roughly chopped garlic and the lightly smoked pork sausage, cooking for a few more minutes.

Add smoked pork ribs to the pan and cover with about 1 liter of water.

Partially cover the pan and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

After an hour, remove the lid and increase heat to reduce the sauce.

Prepare polenta by whisking in boiling water, then add Romano cheese to thicken.

After about 2.5 hours of cooking, add the remaining garlic and cook until the meat is tender.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary