It’s again one of my old recipes, which actually is pretty #keto. It’s also #nodairy friendly and #slowcooker friendly. It’s in fact everyones friendly 😉

If you’re still not convinced to sauerkraut, maybe this dish will prove you, that sauerkraut it’s not only healthy, but also tasty.

Find good quality pork and good sauerkraut (don’t buy these ones in a plastic bags – acid from the cabbage goes in reaction with plastic, choose glass jars instead). We have three options of this stew – with flour and sour cream for those of you who doesn’t have any restrictions, with coconut flour and sour cream for the keto lovers, and no dairy version (coconut milk instead) for the rest 🙂 It’s also a great meal to prepare in slow cooker. I cooked both options, both went great. It’s a great one pot dinner to make in a slow cooker if you don’t have time to spend in the kitchen. Directions for the slow cooker version are below as well.

Oh, and why it’s Transylvanian? I have this recipe for many years now, and it’s actually coming from Székely Land in Romania. Székelys were Hungarians living in Romania (and Transylvania) from the 15th century, and this kind of stew was their traditional meal.

So, what do you think, are you going to try some Transylvania?

 

 

transylvanian stew

INGREDIENTS (for 2 portions and quite a lot of leftovers)

· 500 g pork shoulder
· 500 g sauerkraut
· 2-3 onions
· 1 tbsp fat (goose fat, pork fat or olive oil)
· 150-200 ml sour cream (or coconut milk for #nodairy – 1 used 1 can of coconut milk)
· 2 garlic cloves
· ½ tsp caraway seeds (only if you like it, I don’t so don’t add)
· ½ tbsp flour (coconut flour for #keto version)
· ½ tsp sweet pepper
· natural rock salt and coarse pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Wash the meat, cut off all the unwanted pieces (fat or vains), then cut in cubes. Chop onions, squeeze sauerkraut from the juice. If it’s very sour rinse it thoroughly under running water and then squeeze. Chop it slightly, so it will be easier to eat.

Heat 1 tbsp of fat in a non-stick (would be the best) deep pan or pot. Fry meat on a high heat, add onions and fry until gets golden. Next pour some water – just to cover the meat, add some salt, pepper, sweet pepper, cover with lid and boil slowly until meat will be tender (about an hour). Next add caraway seeds (I skip this step) and chopped garlic.

Next step is to add sauerkraut. Add some water if needed (it shouldn’t be watery though, we will add some other liquid soon) cover with lid and simmer for another 30-40 minutes, until sauerkraut will be ready. Stir from time to time so the flavours will combine.

At the end add sour cream (or coconut milk), thicken with bit of flour (or coconut flour) if it’s too liquid.

Serve hot by itself or with addition of your choice depending of your likes (bread, potatoes etc.). It taste great on the next day when all the flavours go through.

DIRECTIONS FOR SLOW COOKER

Prepare all the ingredients as above. After frying meat with onions, transfer to slow cooker, add the rest of spices and squeezed and chopped sauerkraut. You can also skip the step of frying the meat, but frying gives more flavour.

Add 1/2 glass of water if you use sour cream, no water if you use coconut milk (if you add full can, should be enough liquid). Stir everything thoroughly, cover with lid and cook 7-8 hours on “low” or 5-6 hours on “high”.

After two hours of cooking, stir thoroughly again, if possible. Check also if it needs some water, it might or might not, depending of how much liquid you’ve squeezed from sauerkraut, and how much water will give the meat. if you need to add some flour to thicken the sauce do it at the end. I don’t add any when slower cooking with coconut milk.

Enjoy!