Pork in tomato sauce is a budget-friendly, one-pot meal that's really easy to make. You'll only need a handful of ingredients. Most of which are probably already in your pantry.
This delicious comfort food is what my mother (as well as many other moms in Greece) will put together when busy yet still wanting a homemade dinner to serve the family. In other words, it's one of those savior dishes that have all the flavor of a laboring meal, but with minimal effort!
Table Of Contents
When we were little, we used to call this dish pork with potatoes bloom. Because of them being dipped and cooked in the sauce (bloom being the sound of dipping).
Traditionally, this dish is made simply with pork, onion, garlic, potatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves, and allspice. Personally though, I always like to add some peppers to brighten things up a bit. I love the flavor they give to this quick stew.
And that's one of the best things about this dish. You can add any vegetable you like to it! Want to add some carrots or zucchini? Or even broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, cabbage? Go ahead! Just cut it the same size as the potatoes, only a little bit smaller, and add it to the pot at the same time you add the potatoes.
How To Make Pork In Tomato Sauce
First, sear and brown the meat all over. The better you do this, the more flavorful your stew will be. The browning of the meat is a crucial flavor factor in this recipe. And to achieve this, make sure you let the meat sear well on one side before flipping it to its other side.
-Check out this guide on how to sear meat properly
Then add the onion and garlic and cook for a bit until they soften. Pour in the wine and spices, and once the wine evaporates completely, add the tomato paste. Cook along with the paste for 2-3 minutes more, while you stir and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. When you cook the tomato paste this way, you reduce its acidity, and you also enhance its color, giving it a richer, deep red. That's also why we always use double-concentrated tomato paste in Greece. To give sauces and stews a rich color + flavor.
And then you cover the meat with water and simmer until it feels tender enough when you prick it with a knife. You may then add the potatoes and peppers cut in the same fashion as the meat and cook until they get really soft and tender as well.
Best Meat Part To Use For This Pork Stew
You can use either neck, picnic, or shoulder. It just has to be boneless and cut into cubes for stewing at a size of 5-6 cm, about 2 inches. My preferred meat part for making this stew is neck, as it's usually more tender than the other two. But if you like lean meat then go for the other two.
Serve With
Serve this traditional Greek pork stew with a big piece of feta cheese on the side. Like most Greeks do! Or try a cheesy side dish such as Fried Feta Cheese Saganaki, Crustless cheese pie with feta, Tirokafteri (spicy feta cheese dip). Melitzanosalata (Greek eggplant dip) and a Marinated Cabbage Salad are also great pairings to this dish.
Recipe
Pork In Tomato Sauce With Potatoes And Peppers
Ingredients
- 850 grams (1.8 pounds) boneless pork neck or picnic or shoulder cut cut into cubes (about 5-6 cm)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 650 grams (3 medium-large) potatoes peeled
- 3 small green bell peppers
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 60 ml red wine
- 3 loaded tablespoons double concentrated tomato paste
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon allspice (whole not ground)
- olive oil
- 1 liter hot water or stock
Instructions
- Marinate the meat with salt, pepper, dried oregano, and a drizzle of olive oil. You can marinate for just 20 minutes at room temperature or leave it in the fridge overnight.
- Heat a good splash of olive oil in a medium-sized cooking pot over high heat.
- Sear and brown the meat on all sides. Toss in the allspice to toast a bit as well. Remove the meat from the pot and set aside, covered, to keep warm.
- Saute the onion and garlic in the same pot over medium-low heat.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a minute to caramelize.
- Return the meat to the pot and pour in the wine. Deglaze the pot with a wooden spoon. Simmer for a few minutes until it stops smelling of alcohol.
- Add the bay leaves, 1 liter (4 cups) hot water or stock (or enough to cover the meat), and season with salt and pepper.
- Simmer over low heat, covered, for about an hour. At this point, the meat should feel tender enough when you prick it with a knife.
- Cut the potatoes into cubes about the same size as the meat. Cut the peppers into small squares, a bit smaller in size than the meat and the potatoes.
- Add the potatoes and peppers to the pot.
- Simmer until the potatoes are tender and the sauce thickened. If necessary, raise the heat towards the end and open the lid on the side to help the sauce thicken.
- Rest the food in the pot ideally for 15-20 minutes or even better up to 30 minutes. This gives time for the potatoes to fully absorb the sauce as they sit.
Love this recipe. One of my faves.
Hey Fotoni! I love love love your blog! Everything has been delicious! My trip to Greece changed my life and you are helping me keep it alive every night in my kitchen! I wanted to ask you what brand of tomato paste do you use? I’m going to order some and see if it’s like what I have available in my stores. Thanks again- happy eating!
That's really wonderful to hear. Thank you so much. As for the tomato paste, KYKNOS is the 1 one brand in Greece. I haven't found a label that gives such good results so far.