Match 4 – Germany v’s Portugal

German Pork Schnitzel with tomato & caper sauce

Ingredients
4 escalopes of pork , about 175g/6oz each
100g fresh white breadcrumbs
50g parmesan , freshly grated
6 sage leaves, shredded, plus extra for frying
1 egg , beaten
5 ripe tomatoes
5 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp capers , chopped
lemon wedges, to serve

Method
1.    Season the pork all over. Mix the crumbs, cheese and sage on a plate. Pour the egg onto another plate and mix in some salt and pepper. Dip the escalopes first in the egg, then into the crumbs, pressing them on to coat evenly. They can be chilled for up to 24 hrs at this stage.
2.    Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, leave for 1 min, then drain and peel. Quarter, scoop out and discard the seeds, then chop the flesh. Put the tomatoes into a small pan with 1 tbsp of the oil, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 2-3 mins. Throw in the capers and keep warm.
3.    Heat 2 tbsp oil in a small pan, throw in the sage leaves and fry until they start to crisp, 1-2 mins, then scoop out and drain on kitchen paper. Heat remaining 2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan, add pork and fry until browned (lift up a corner with tongs to check). Flip over and cook for 3-4 mins until done. Scatter with sage leaves, and serve with lemon wedges and the tomato sauce on the side
Recipe Source  www.bbcgoodfood.com

Portuguese Pork Alentejana

Ingredients
•    1 1/2 cups dry white wine
•    1 teaspoon paprika
•    2 1/2 teaspoons salt
•    1/4 teaspoon black pepper
•    2 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
•    1 bay leaf
•    2 pounds pork loin, cut into 1 inch cubes
•    3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
•    2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
•    2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
•    2 tomatoes – peeled, seeded and chopped
•    1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
•    24 small clams in shell, scrubbed
•    1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Method
1.    In large bowl, combine wine, paprika, salt and pepper, blend well. Add garlic cloves, bay leaf, and cubed meat, turn meat in marinade to coat pieces. Marinate for 6 hours, turning occasionally.
2.    Drain pork; reserve marinade. Pat cubes completely dry. Discard garlic and bay leaf. Melt 1 teaspoon of oil in large skillet. Add pork cubes, stirring frequently so that the meat colors quickly and evenly. Transfer with slotted spoon to a bowl.
3.    Pour reserved marinade into skillet and bring to a boil over high heat, scraping off any brown particles clinging to the inside of pan. Boil briskly uncovered until marinade is reduced to 1 cup. Pour over pork and set aside.
4.    In 6 to 8 quart pan, heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil; add onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently until onion is soft but not brown. Add garlic, tomatoes and crushed red pepper. Simmer, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.
5.    Spread the clams, hinged side down, over the tomato sauce; cover the pan tightly and cook over medium to high heat for ten minutes or until clams open. Stir in reserved pork and juices. Simmer for 5 minutes to heat thoroughly. Sprinkle with parsley.
Recipe Source www.allrecipes.com

Match 1 – Poland v Greece

Polish Breaded Pork Cutlets Recipe – Kotlety Schabowy

Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
•    4 boneless center-cut pork chops or 1-pound pork tenderloin
•    Salt and black pepper
•    All-purpose flour
•    1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water
•    Bread crumbs or panko crumbs
•    Vegetable shortening or canola oil
Preparation:
1.    If using chops, trim off fat and gristle. If using tenderloin, trim off fat, remove silver skin and cut into 4 equal pieces. Pound pork between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/4-inch thickness. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
2.    Dredge in flour, then egg, then bread or panko crumbs. Allow cutlets to dry for 10 minutes before frying.
3.    Heat shortening or oil to a depth of 1 inch in a large skillet. Fry one at a time by placing cutlets top side down into the pan. Fry 5 to 7 minutes per side until golden. Place on a heatproof plate in a warm oven (about 200 degrees) covered with foil and repeat with remaining cutlets. Alternatively, use two skillets to speed the process.

Recipe Source www.easteuropeanfood.about.com

Greek Style Pork (Hirino spithkasimo)

Ingredients
•    1 kg shoulder of pork, cut into fist size pieces
•    1 kg Cypress potatoes, peeled and quartered
•    olive oil, for drizzling
•    2 tsp cumin
•    1 tsp cinnamon
•    3 onions, peeled and sliced lengthways
•    5 tomatoes, (more if in season) sliced lengthways

Method
1. Put the pork and potatoes in a large earthenware dish.
2. Pour a good drizzle of oil in the dish and mix around well. Add the spices and mix again.
3. Lay the onions and tomatoes over the top pour over a little more oil and season.
4. Cover with foil and cook in a hot oven (200 c) for around 1 hour, then lower the heat to 180C and remove the foil and cook for another hour till browned. Keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn’t burn.
5. Serve straight from the earthenware dish with Greek rocket.

Recipe Source www.uktv.co.uk/food/recipe

Match 2 – Russia v’s Czech Republic

Deep Fried Pork Russian Style

preparation time: 15 min
cooking time: 25-30min

– 1-2lb pork chops
– 5-6 large potatoes
– 1 small onion
– 2-3 garlic cloves
– 1 red pepper
– 2 tbsp vegetable oil
– 1/3 cups dry white wine
– salt and ground black pepper

method
1. Peel and cut the potatoes into thin long strips.
2. Slice the onion.
3. Slice the red pepper into the thin long strips.
4. Wash the pork chops in cold water and beat them well with a meat tenderizer!
5. Heat 2 large frying pans on a medium-high heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil onto each pan. Add the potatoes onto the first pan and stir them with a pinch of salt
6. Add the onions onto the second pan and cook them for 3 min until golden brown.
7. Add the red pepper strips to the onion pan and cook them for 3 more min.
8. Sprinkle the pork chops with ground black pepper on both sides.
9. Add the pork chops onto the onion and peppers pan and cook them for 30 min until well done. Turn the sides up occasionally and stir the peppers and onions frequently. Add 1/3 cups dry white wine.
10. Crush the garlic cloves onto each pork chop.
11. Transfer the pork chops with the onion and the red peppers onto the potatoes pan and serve hot!

Recipe Source www.whatttsfordinner.blogspot.co.uk

Czech Republic – Roast Pork with dumplings & sauerkraut

Ingredients
Roast Pork
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
5 pounds pork shoulder roast
pork shoulder blade is best, especially with the bone-in)
3 medium onions, chopped
1/2 beer (add more if liquids dry out too much)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter

DUMPLINGS
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk, or as needed
4 cups dried white bread cubes (babi always used white bread crusts removed). I use whatever is on hand

SAUERKRAUT
4 slices bacon, sliced into small strips
1 (16 ounce) jar white wine sauerkraut – rinsed and drained
1 onion diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 teaspoons cold water
1 teaspoon cornstarch, or more as req. to thicken

ROAST PORK
Form paste with veg. oil, mustard, caraway seeds, garlic powder, s/p.
Rub on pork roast, sit 30mins.
Preheat oven to 350F
Place onions in roasting pan. Add beer.
Place roast, fat side down, on top of onions.
Cover pan with foil.
Roast 1 hr in the preheated oven. Remove foil, turn roast, score the fat. Continue roasting, fat side up 2 1/2 hours uncovered , or to a minimum internal temp of 160F. (add more beer if pan is drying out) Remove from heat, reserve pan juices. Let sit about 20 mins.
In saucepan, bring pan juices to boil. Mix butter and cornstarch to thicken, reduce heat, simmer 5 to 10 mins.

METHOD
DUMPLINGS
Stir flour, baking soda and bak. powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in center, and pour in the eggs and 1 cup of milk. Stir to blend, add enough additional milk to make a moist battery dough, not like pancake batter. Use wooden spoon to beat the dough 200 strokes, rolling it over and over in the bowl until smooth and an occasional bubble appears on the surface. Add white bread cubes, stir into the dough until they disappear.
Bring large pot of water to a boil. Place dough onto a cheesecloth or white cotton cloth, and form into a loaf shape. Wrap cloth around the loaf, and tie the ends.
Place the loaf into the boiling water, and cook for 45 minutes, turning the loaf over about half way through. Remove from water, unwrap, and cover with a tea towel. Let stand for 10 minutes.

SAUERKRAUT
Fry bacon/onion over med-high heat until bacon cooked and onions golden. Set aside. Place rinsed/drained sauerkraut in saucepan, and add enough water to cover the surface. Bring to simmer over med heat. Add bacon, season with s/p and caraway seeds. Stir together the cornstarch and water; mix into the sauerkraut, and simmer for a few minutes before removing from the heat.
Slice the dumpling loaf. Drizzle dumpling slices with some of the roast drippings from the pan. Serve with sauerkraut.

Recipe source www.epicurious.com/recipes

To get you in the mood for the European Football Championships we thought we’d take you on a pork themed journey around Europe. We’ve trotted to all 16 countries taking part in this European feast of football to bring you some fabulous pork recipes – from Chorizo & pork belly with haricot beans from Spain to the Czech Republic’s roast pork with dumplings & sauerkraut and the home nations very own Ukrainian Baba’s Pork Roast.

We will publish here, on our blog, our selection of 16 recipes over the course of the opening round.

So while you enjoy a month of football why not really enter into the spirit of the tournament and try some of these delicious pork inspired recipes at the same time.

We’d love to hear what you think of them and which of the recipes are the winners and losers in your cook book !

Enjoy

Can a pigs get it right and make Euro Cup predictions?

As written about in The Moscow Times – A psychic pig is set to take over where Paul the Octopus left off at the 2010 World Cup by predicting the results of matches at the European championships in Ukraine and Poland.