AI-generated image
Katino meze
Katino meze (катино мезе): pork strips with mushrooms and onion in a wine and cream sauce
BulgarianEvery Bulgarian mehana, the wood-panelled tavern, has Katino meze on the menu, sizzling in a small clay dish next to a shopska salad, and it is quick enough for a weeknight at home. Thin strips of pork loin are seared, then tossed with mushrooms, onion and pickled gherkin, deglazed with dry white wine and finished with cream, black pepper and a pinch of hot chilli. For an alcohol-free sauce, swap the wine for the same amount of vegetable stock with a teaspoon of white wine vinegar or a splash of white grape juice. Serve with crusty bread or chips. A common mistake is crowding the pan: the pork stews grey instead of browning, so sear it in two batches. Chef's tip: cut the pork across the grain into finger-thin strips while it is half-frozen; it slices neatly and stays tender.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ lb pork loin or tenderloincut into thin strips
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- ⅔ oz butter
- 1 onionsliced
- 10 ½ oz button mushroomssliced
- 2 garlic cloveschopped
- ½ cup dry white wineor vegetable stock with 1 tsp white wine vinegar for alcohol-free
- ¾ cup double cream
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes
- 2 pickled gherkinsdiced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley (optional)chopped
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (6)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Season the 1 ⅓ lb pork loin or tenderloin with the ¾ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper.
1 minStep 2: Heat the 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a large frying pan over a high heat and sear the pork in two batches for about 3 minutes each, until browned at the edges. Lift onto a plate.
7 minStep 4: Add the 10 ½ oz button mushrooms and cook for 6 minutes, until their liquid has gone and they are golden. Stir in the 2 garlic cloves for 1 minute.
7 minStep 5: Pour in the ½ cup dry white wine and let it bubble for 2 minutes, until reduced by half.
2 minStep 6: Stir in the ¾ cup double cream, ¼ tsp chilli flakes and 2 pickled gherkins, return the pork with its juices and simmer for 3–4 minutes, until the sauce coats a spoon and the pork reaches 160°F, with no pink juices.
4 minStep 7: Scatter with 2 tbsp fresh parsley and serve straight away.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 430 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 7 g
- Fat
- 28 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does katino meze take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Tteokgalbi
Tteokgalbi is rib meat chopped finely, pressed back into neat slabs and grilled, so it's soft enough to eat without struggling with a bone. Two places in South Jeolla claim it: Damyang, the bamboo county, where all-beef patties come with rice steamed in bamboo tubes, and Gwangju's Songjeong district, whose restaurant street near the railway station mixes beef with pork. This home version uses minced beef and pork, seasoned with soy, garlic and pear, then brushed with a soy and honey glaze as it cooks. Serve with rice, lettuce and a few banchan; leftovers are good cold in a lunchbox. Chef's tip: slap the mince against the bowl for a few minutes; it turns sticky and the patties hold together on the grill without any breadcrumbs.
Korean
Char siu
Hanging in long glossy strips in the windows of Guangzhou's siu mei shops, char siu is the roast pork Cantonese families pick up on the way home to put on rice, noodles or into steamed buns. The outside is lacquered, sweet and a little charred at the edges; the inside stays juicy, savoury and faintly scented with five-spice. Shoulder (pork butt) is the cut to use, because its marbling keeps the strips moist through a hot oven. Marinate it overnight in the fridge, roast it the next day and eat it warm with steamed rice and blanched greens, or cold in fried rice and noodle soups. Chef's tip: save the honey for the last ten minutes; brushed on at the start it burns black long before the pork is cooked.
Chinese