Fall is slowly creeping its way into Ontario. The cool breezes seem to be settling in and the days are getting shorter. And for me, this most lovely time of year means earthy, hearty and rich fall comfort food dishes. This pork stew, also known as Maiale al Latte, is a classic Italian dish, which means “pork cooked in milk”. It is perfect for those days when you need a little comfort food.
The usual preparation involves braising and slicing pork tenderloin, but shoulder will result in a much more tender end product. One taste and I think you’ll agree it translates beautifully to a stew and also cooks much faster cut into chunks instead of braising the whole piece.
Instead of milk I decided to make my own sauce by combining heavy cream and chicken broth which resulted in wonderfully rich, tender and flavorful meat. An hour later, the meat was so perfect and my kitchen smelled so good I wanted to lick the walls!
Usually I’ll say you can use any of your favorite herbs in the recipe, but I’m gonna be bossy this time. For this Creamy Pork Stew you have to use sage. Sage goes amazing with this dish. Either fresh or dried will work. Your taste buds will thank you and you will feel awesome thinking that can cook Maiale al Latte like a pro.
Ingredients:
3 lb pork shoulder, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 leek, sliced (white and light green part only)
4 cloves garlic
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp chopped parsley, to garnish
Season pork chunks with salt and pepper. In a heavy bottomed skillet heat the oil over medium high heat and brown the pork on all sides. Remove to a plate and set aside.
To the same pan, add sliced leek and fry on medium high heat, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper.
Pour the chicken stock and heavy cream into the pan. Then return the meat and bring everything to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, feel free to simmer uncovered on medium heat until the sauce thickens. The meat should be fork tender by then.
If the sauce is too thick adjust with more chicken broth. Garnish the stew with freshly chopped parsley.
I served it with creamy mashed potatoes, but buttered noodles would be nice too. I’m tempted to try it with polenta next time.
- 3 lb pork shoulder, cut into 2 inch cubes
- 1 leek, sliced (white and light green part only)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp chopped parsley, to garnish
- Season pork chunks with salt and pepper.
- In a heavy bottomed skillet heat the oil over medium high heat and brown the pork on all sides. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- To the same pan, add sliced leek and fry on medium high heat, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, red pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the chicken stock and heavy cream into the pan.
- Then return the meat and bring everything to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, feel free to simmer uncovered on medium heat until the sauce thickens. The meat should be fork tender by then.
- If the sauce is too thick adjust with more chicken broth.
- Garnish the stew with freshly chopped parsley.
I’m so confused. You say how important the sage is but I don’t see when it’s added. With the Chili flakes?
I was disappointed with this recipe. The ingredients list was not in any logical order. The recipe did not instruct when to add the sage. I added the sage with the red pepper flakes but could not taste it at all in the finished dish. The dish was much more bland than I was expecting. The preparation time was greatly underestimated – you only give 5 minutes to brown 3 lbs of meat! The meat was very tender and wasn’t bad, it just didn’t have a lot of flavor. Admittedly, I did not use the leek, but I wouldn’t think this would make a significant difference.
This recipe turned out somewhat disappointing for me. The ingredients list was not in any logical order. The recipe did not instruct when to add the sage. I added the sage with the red pepper flakes but could not taste it at all in the finished dish. The dish was much more bland than I was expecting. The preparation time was greatly underestimated – If I cook the leek for 5 minutes and simmer the stew for 1 hour, I’m left with only 5 minutes to brown 3 lbs of meat on medium-high! The meat was very tender and wasn’t bad, it just didn’t have a lot of flavor. Admittedly, I did not use the leek, but I wouldn’t expect this to make a significant difference.