Traditional Romanian Pork Stew - Tochitura
Tochitura with meat, sausages, liver and other additions is very good and this would be the classic Romanian tochitura with sausage, tasty and colorful. Yet, this is a different recipe, which my grandmother used to make a little simpler. The tradition was to slowly stew the first cuts from the pig in a Dutch oven or a deep pan. When the whole process of the pig slaughter was over, we would serve our tochitura with a large wheel of Moldavian Polenta and, of course, with pickles!
Grandma's tochitura usually had small pieces of bacon with meat, pieces of liver, onion, garlic. All these, slowly cooked, tasted wonderfully. The flank is the most suitable cut for tochitura, it has both fat and meat - the meal won't be tasteless or too dry.
I will specify the moment when you can add pieces of liver or sausage to the recipe in the steps below. Anyway, I see them as 2 different recipes, each one with its own taste.
Cut the flank into larger cubes, about 2x3cm.
Place the pieces of meat in a deep Dutch oven or pan, add 1 teaspoon of salt, 0.5 teaspoon of ground pepper and 1 bay leaf crushed into very small pieces.
Cover with a lid and turn on the heat.
Cook like this with a lid on. In about 15 minutes you'll see that juice is being released and the meat changes color.
Mix everything well, cover again with a lid and simmer over medium heat.
I usually leave the lid on until the meat becomes soft and tender, the time differs depending on the quality and age of the meat.
When the meat is well cooked and soft, remove the lid and turn up the heat a little.
If the meat is not yet soft, but the juice has evaporated - add some water or white wine to the pot.
This way the excess juice evaporates and the meat browns nicely, don't forget to stir periodically.
Now would be the time to add the liver or sausage pieces, if you want. The liver should not be cooked for too long and that's why I didn't put it at the beginning.
As soon as you notice the first pieces of browned meat, add the chopped onion and garlic to the pot.
In addition, you can also season with some paprika, but it's optional, my grandmother didn't use to.
Allow it to cook together for another 15 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.
Be careful not to brown the meat too much, it will get too dry and it will be difficult to eat.
It's great served with polenta, mashed potatoes, pickles and definitely with a glass of good red wine :)
Enjoy!
