The Perpetual Feast

I’m working my way through the wild mushrooms.  I used the Trumpet Royales (the ones with the fat stems) and Brown Clamshells in this, but you could use a mix of Shitake, Cremini, or other wild mushrooms.  A dish that is “Hunter’s Style” is a stew, supposedly made in the style that any game brought back from the hunt was cooked. Typically, it includes peppers, onions, tomatoes, herbs and sometimes carrots and peas.  Most commonly, recipes for  Hunter’s stew feature chicken, but I thought that pork tenderloin would be a nice complement to the mushrooms.  The sturdy trumpet mushrooms added another meaty texture to the stew, as well as a nice flavor.  I served this with a baguette to sop up the juices.  I’m thinking the leftovers will freeze quite well.

Pork and Wild Mushrooms, Hunter’s Style

1 pound of pork tenderloin, trimmed of all fat and cut into 1 inch cubes
¼ cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 large or two medium onions chopped fine
2 cups wild mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 cup green pepper, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 can (14 ½ ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 ½ cups fat free chicken broth
1 Tablespoon fresh (or ¾ teaspoon dried) thyme leaves
1 Tablespoon fresh (or ¾ teaspoon dried) marjoram leaves
¼ cup tomato paste
¼ cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Coat pork with flour,  shake off excess. Heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium high heat in a Dutch oven or heavy pan. Cook pork on in oil until browned on both sides. Remove pork from pan and set aside. Add one teaspoon oil to pan. Saute onion, mushrooms, peppers and garlic until soft and beginning to brown. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, thyme, and marjoram, scraping the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits. Return park to pan. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes or until pork is tender. Stir in tomato paste and water.  Cook for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Makes 4 servings with 6 grams of fat/serving.