Pork and Apple 'Stroganoff' with Hot Dog Onions

Pork and Apple 'Stroganoff' with Hot Dog Onions
















Why this one?
I'm a mushroom hater - there it is, it's out there. I've not be able to stomach them since I was a child and the few occasions I've attempted another taste they have made me feel ill so 'stroganoff' might seem a strange choice as mushrooms feature quite heavily in all strognaoff's I've ever seen.

Yet, still, something drew me to this dish, I think it's to do with my adult life long wish to eat strognanoff, after I served it in the pub I worked at during my teenage years. The dish always looked so comforting, something about the kind of greyish sauce coating a heaped bowl of steaming white rice. I know the description of a grey sauce doesn't sound that enticing but this was the one dish which made me envious of all those mushroom lovers out there. So I decided to give it ago - as I've always done I'd just pick out the mushrooms.

Find the recipe here...https://www.cuisine.co.nz/recipe/pork-apple-stroganoff-with-hot-dog-onions/

Any substitutes?
I didn't use parsley - I have always found it a strong flavour which overpowers dishes, in my humble opinion.

I used Dijon mustard instead of English mustard. I am going to put a disclaimer in here. Although the recipe stated English mustard, in the introduction it said it was traditionally made with Dijon so I used that instead as I prefer it. 

The actual cooking of the dish

Cooked in batches again, although not complicated it was a bit of a faff. Each element needed to be cooked separately, so the meat needed to be browned, then the mushrooms needed to be browned and then the apples needed to be browned. I followed Gizzi's instructions and had a very hot pan and didn't overcrowd the pan and what do you know the meat browned beautifully - something I've never quite mastered.

Another great tip coming up, how to cook hot dog onions, brilliant for hotdogs, obviously, but would be lush on a salad or any other number of things. All you need to do is thinly slice onions, put them in a pan with a lid with loads of oil on the lowest heat you've got and cook for 25 minutes. They were glorious, sticky and soft and sweet. All things hot dog onions should be.

I did all the browning in the morning, whilst my baby was around. By the last batch of apples she was getting pretty bored which just added an extra little challenge. I was worried that the meat may become too tough as it had been left partly cooked pretty much all day.

Then it was a case of combining everything and slowly cooking it for an hour and then finishing off with creme fraiche and mustard.





Where I ate it
Where do you think?

What I thought
Bloody delicious! Now let me know unpeel this, firstly the pork. The texture was perfect, it was so tender, think a long slow cooked casserole but without it becoming stringy. Just FYI, cooking the meat earlier in the day doesn't affect the texture. Good top tip. 

Keeping along the texture lines, the crunch of the apples was an unexpected treat, I mean everyone knows pork and apple is a winning combination but the sharpness of the apples cut through the creamy sauce perfectly.

Now, imagine that 'ahhhh' feeling you experience when getting into a freshly made bed  that's what the combination of rice and the stroganoff cream sauce was like. It was just perfection. I could have just eaten that.

Now handing over to my husband for his description of the mushrooms, obviously I didn't eat mine. He said they were "juicy because they had soaked up the sauce and the flavour of the dish". Sorry no metaphor from him.

Final celebration goes to the hot dog onions, oozey, sweet and caramelised - whats not to love?

Difficulty: Easy but is time consuming. I mean its from a book called SLOW so not unexpected. 

Tastiness rating: 9/10

Next time I'd.... maybe add slightly less lemon juice at the end, this was my error as a miss read of the recipe.  I think the lemon juice might have made it a tiny bit tangy. But I am already thinking of post lockdown when I can make this dish for others.