I picked up a rather largish piece of pork loin roast the other day for about $7. It was rather large just for myself, but I knew that I would be cooking a meal for a friend's family later in the week, and I thought I could cut the remainder into chop sized pieces to use for making schnitzel or whatever another time.
I got 8 (1-inch thick) chops and enough pork from it to make this tasty pork and potato pie! I consider that to be a win! I did also make a small casserole of this dish for myself to have for my own supper as well.
I think when you are asked to send a meal to a family, the best thing you can make is a stew, soup or a casserole. Its usually for a time when they may be going through something rough and they may not have time to tinker about with a lot of fussing.
Something which can be simply reheated, or frozen for a later date is the best option. I had this pork and I found the perfect recipe for a simple pork and potato casserole with a biscuit topping in one of my favorite cookbooks.
Marcia Adams, New Recipes from Quilt Country. I have had both of her Amish books for years and years. I can remember watching her cooking show on PBS many years ago.
Actually PBS was ahead of its time, well before the food network came along. I can remember watching cooking shows on PBS back in the 80's and 90's and some very good ones at that.
That is how I first became acquainted with the Irish Chef, Paul Rankin and his ex wife Jeanne. Watching their Gourmet Ireland show on PBS. It used to be on in the 1990's.
Little did I know that I would one day get to meet Paul Rankin in person some years later. We were on a cooking show together in the UK, and he declared my soup to be delicious. It was my Parsnip and Apple Soup.
Life is a funny thing is it not? With all of its twists and turns. He was much shorter in real life than I had imagined him to be.
Back to this casserole dish. It is an Amish dish and we all know that the Amish are great cooks, much like the Mennonites.
I used to go to a Mennonite restaurant near Saint Jacob's in Ontario's horse and buggy country. They had the best food. It was called Anna Mae's.
Great home cooked meals, with ample portions, lovely bread and pies. All from scratch. Maybe I will get a chance to go there again one day.
This is not a pie in the real sense of pies. There is no top or bottom crust. Just a type of a biscuit cobbler topping.
The base is composed of a juicy tender pork and potato filling, in a lush flavor filled gravy. Cubes of pork are browned in a skillet until golden brown. Make sure you don't crowd the skillet or your pork will stew rather than brown.
Once it has browned you add some water and a bay leaf. The pork then gets simmered for about 40 minutes until it is starting to become fork tender.
Pork loin can be a very dry meat as it is so lean. This slow simmer prevents that from happening.
At the end of that time you add some celery, onion, potato and seasonings. A further simmer ensures perfectly tender and juicy pieces of pork, perfectly cooked potato, and a flavor filled broth, ready to be thickened in preparation for the oven bake.
It so simple to thicken the broth. Flour and milk, shaken or whisked together. Make sure you don't have your mixture bubbling when you whisk it in, or you will end up with lumps.
In fact, I would take the pan off the heat just to do this part. Slowly whisk it in until its amalgamated and then put the pan back on the heat. Slow and steady, constant whisking. That is key.
Return it back to the heat until the whole bit is bubbling and thickened. Ready to pour into your casserole dish.
That topping is just like a drop biscuit dough, made with butter and seasoned with celery seed and black pepper. You just drop it on top of the warm meat and potato filling in tablespoon sized amounts.
Into the oven it goes until the biscuit topping it golden brown and that is it! Casserole done!
Tender pieces of pork and potato . . . crisp buttery topping . . . deliciously simple.
Not a dry piece of meat in the mix and incredibly moreish. I do so hope the people this is intended for enjoy this.
In the meantime, if you are looking for a delicious sharing dish, or something tasty to take to a gathering, look no further. This tasty pork and potato pie fits the bill on all counts!
Amish Savory Pork Pie
Yield: Serves 6
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 1 H & 10 MTotal time: 1 H & 20 M
The meat and potato filling for this delicious cobbler type of pie can be made ahead several days in advance. Simply reheat, drop the biscuit topping on top and then bake when you are wanting to serve it. It makes the perfect dish for a take-along, or buffet.
Ingredients
- 1 TBS vegetable oil
- 1 pound lean fresh pork loin, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup (240ml) water
- 1 bay leaf, broken in half
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 bite-sized pieces
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 stick celery, peeled and copped
- 2 cups (480ml) chicken stock
- 1/8 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1 TBS dried parsley
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk
- 2 1/2 TBS flour
For the cobbler topping:
- 1 cup (140 grams) plain all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp celery seed
- 1/8 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 3 TBS cold butter
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large heavy based skillet. Add the cubes of pork. Sauté until the pork is evenly browned, about 10 minutes or so. (Don't crowd the pan, doing it in batches if you need to.) Add the water and bay leaf. Bring to the boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until the pork is tender.
- Add the potatoes, celery, onion and the chicken stock. Continue to simmer for a further 20 minutes, covered. Stir in all of the seasonings.
- Whisk the flour and milk together until smooth. Whisk into the meat mixture, stirring constantly, cooking until the mixture bubbles up and thickens. Transfer everything to a baking dish (12 by 7 inches) (You can do it two days in advance up to this point if you wish.)
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C.
- To make the cobbler topping, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together. Stir in the celery seed and black pepper. Drop in the butter. Cut in using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.
- Add the milk all at once, blending together until just mixed. Using a tablespoon, drop the dough in dollops on top of the warm meat mixture.
- Bake for 10 minutes until the biscuit topping is golden brown. Serve hot.
I remember watching Delia Smith's cooking show on PBS back in the day. I ended up with two of her cookery books. This casserole just looks so homey and tasty. Yum! And I love pork tenderloin. Will make it for sure. Love and hugs, Elaine
ReplyDeleteI love Delia. I had quite a few of her books. I chose her complete illustrated cookbook to ship over to myself, but had to leave the rest behind. Heartbreaking but there you go. I hope you will enjoy this when you make it! Love and hugs, xoxo
DeleteThis does sound delicious and something for when the weather eventually cools down. I do like casseroles like this in autumn - something fragrant and filling.
ReplyDeletePork was something we rarely ate when I was growing up. In those days, Australia was dominated by beef and lamb as they are more suited to the climate. There was the Christmas ham and sometimes bacon, but not really much else that we ate.
Yes it would make a great autumnal dish Marie, especially if you added some apples! We never had hot pork when I was growing up, only cold because that is the way my father liked it. I do love ham and bacon too! xoxo
DeleteIt's in the oven right now. But I forgot to add the parsley. Hope it turns out as good as it looks and smells.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it! Xoxo
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