A cooking trend can start up with a popular cookbook, a chef
or with a recipe in a magazine. You have it repeatedly for a while, at home and
at friends’ houses, and then all of a sudden it just disappears and something
else takes its place. I knew wraps were the new sandwich when McDonalds started
selling them eight years ago. Are wraps any better? Are they less calories? That’s not it. But you
can put less stuff inside the wrap and from a business point of view this has
certain advantages. Food is much like fashion. What is popular today will disqualify
tomorrow. I have known dozens off foods
that were the kale of their time. But two things I shall not miss. One was the
slimy Coq au vin [rooster/cock with wine] and the other is the jiggly jellied
salad made with Jello. Shudder shudder. I hear olive oil may be on the way out.
Tomato Steak was indeed a popular dish in the seventies and
we had it often. It was a sound recipe and I still make it occasionally. Back
then, we used an entire round steak, assembled it in a cast iron skillet and
baked it in the oven. Opting for smaller servings of meat, I made this from thin
slices of schnitzel cut pork sirloin on the stovetop. It tastes every bit as
good as a round steak but the night will be better. My Love and I, we are
getting on in years.
TOMATO PORK STEAK
6 slices of schnitzel cut pork sirloin
1/8 cup of flour
2+1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion
4 garlic cloves
1-1/2 cups of diced tomatoes
1 cup or more water
2 carrots, matchstick sliced
salt to taste
- Wash, dry and pound the meat thin.
- Roll into flour and set it aside.
- Slice the onions and dice the garlic.
- Add 2 Tbsp olive oil to a non-stick skillet.
- On medium heat, quickly cook the meat on both sides until no pink shows.
- Transfer meat to a plate.
- Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to the skillet and sprinkle with salt.
- Slow cook the onions and garlic until very soft.
- Return the meat to the skillet.
- Add the tomatoes and bring to a slow simmer.
- Slowly simmer until the meat is tender.
- Add water as needed.
- Add the carrots and slow simmer until the carrots are crunchy tender.
- Let the sauce reduce, adjust the salt and serve.
