Pan-fried Pork With Leeks (Prasotigania) is a speedy Greek Meze-style dish. With a delicious sweet and (slightly) sour flavor from the leeks and lemon.
This is a favorite dish in Greece for many reasons. For instance, it's easy to make and quick. It's made with very few ingredients and on a budget.
Table Of Contents
Pork and leeks is a great dish for when you want a homemade cooked dinner in no time. Though in Greece it is also enjoyed as a Meze. This means a dish served between meals (more like an appetizer) served together with alcohol (usually wine, beer, Tsipouro).
Basic Ingredients
To make this pork leek recipe you need boneless pork neck or shoulder, cut into bite-sized chunks (about 3 cm). Plenty of leeks, for this recipe use mostly the white part. Chop them into slices unless they're too big, then cut them in half.
Also, you need a small amount of olive oil to pan fry the pork, and some lemon juice and white wine to soften the meat and deglaze the pan.
Plus a few seasonings like lemon zest, thyme, bay leaf, dried oregano, and coriander.
Additional Ingredients
In some areas in Greece, they like to add cheese as well to this leek pork. Like in Bekri Meze recipe. The type of cheese used is Kefalotyri cheese. Which is a real savory pretty salty + hard sheep's milk cheese. Or even Graviera (Gruyere) cheese is used sometimes.
If you want to add cheese use about 80 grams (2.8 ounces) of the above-mentioned cheeses cut into (2 cm pieces). And mix it in 2-3 minutes before taking the pork with leeks off the heat.
For additional flavor, you can also add a few slices of green olives (which are not in the original recipe) again 2-3 minutes before removing from the heat.
Recipe Tip
Cooking time may vary slightly depending on the type of meat you are using. So it's better to prick the meat with a knife to check if it's tender enough before taking it off the heat. You can always add an extra splash of hot water and allow the meat to cook a few minutes longer until it's soft enough to your liking.
Serve With
Another great thing about this pork with leeks dish is that you can serve it with almost any side dish. Like potato fries (or you can bake them in the oven and serve with Feta like I do), mashed potatoes, or baked potatoes with lemon and oregano suit it nicely.
Even plain steamed rice is really great with this dish. And for an even healthier option steamed vegetables like zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots all go great with this pork.
You can even serve it with a piece of feta cheese which is something Greeks do with many many dishes!
Recipe
Pan-Fried Pork With Leeks
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 500 grams (17.6 ounce) boneless pork neck or shoulder cut into 3 cm chunks
- ⅔ teaspoon ground coriander
- 350 grams (12.3 ounce) leeks (mostly the white part) chopped
- 60 ml white wine
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ⅔ teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅓ lemon zest
- 1 bay leaf
- dried oregano and extra lemon to serve with
Instructions
- Season pork with salt, pepper and coriander.
- Heat olive oil over high heat in a non-stick pan.
- Add the pork and sear until brown on both sides (about 6-8 minutes).
- Turn the heat to medium and add the leeks. Season leeks with a bit of salt. Cook stirring occasionally until leeks get completely soft.
- Add the lemon juice and wine. Cook until drained.
- Pour in ¼ cup (60 ml) of hot water. Turn the heat to low.
- Add the lemon zest and bay leaf and simmer covered until all water drains.
- Prick the pork with a knife to check if it's tender enough if not add a splash more of water and simmer a bit more.
- When done, serve with dried oregano on top, and extra lemon if you prefer.
Quick, easy, and delicious. Thanks for sharing