Recipe: Pork Marsala

Let me start by saying that I don’t know how to make marsala… or better, I didn’t know I could make marsala. 

When I started cooking the other night I simply thought I was going to make a crispy pork served with sautéed mushrooms.  Endira was going to make her salad and I was going to make a simple (mayoless) potato salad. 

Somehow or other I made a Pork marsala, or at the very least something that tasted very similar.  Endira loved it and said that it was “restaurant quality”. I don’t know if I would go that far, but the sauce was creamy without being heavy with a nice, crisp, refreshing bite from the wine.

And it was also surprisingly simple to make.

Pork Marsala

Ingredients:

4 thinly cut slices of fresh pork (you can use a thicker cut, just sauté on each side for a few minutes longer)*

½ cup flour

Red pepper flakes

Basil

Salt and black pepper

Olive oil

500- 1000 grams of sliced mushrooms

1-2 cups  white wine (marsala if you want authenticity)

Coat your pork with a light drizzling of olive oil. This will help the breading stay on the pork but won’t be as heavy as an egg wash. Then pour your flour into a small bowl and mix in salt, pepper, basil and red pepper flakes to taste. I tend to be a little heavy handed with this because I like a lot of flavor but you can use less and still wind up with delicious pork.  My general rule of thumb is

Just a hint of golden brown

that you should be able to see bits of spices evenly dispersed in your flour when it’s mixed. 

Dredge the pork in the flour mixture. Make sure each piece is completely and evenly covered. 

Coat your pan** with a layer of oil and heat over a medium flame. When the oil is hot, place your pork carefully in the pan. If the oil is hot enough there will be some sizzle. Depending on how thick your pork is, you should cook for a minute or 2 on each side. I was cooking thin pieces so they didn’t need much time at all. The edges should be golden by the time cooking is done (a thicker piece will be golden brown all over). The flour should really help hold in the moisture. 

When cooked through, place on a paper towel to cool and collect any excel oil.

At this point, you’ll notice that the oil is cloudy from excess flour. It’s supposed to be, so add in your mushrooms. Sauté for a minute or so. If you see that the oil is almost gone, add in another drizzle of olive oil.  In another minute, pour in the wine, a half cup at a time. I only used about a cup of wine and 500 grams of mushrooms because I was using a small pan. It was the perfect

Just starting to cook down the sauce

amount for 2 people.  If you’re cooking for more people use another cup of wine and at least 500 more grams of mushrooms. 

Stir continuously and add in about a ½ tsp of the remaining flour mixture if the sauce is looking thin.

When the mushrooms have rooked down some and the sauce has thickened (it should easily coat the back of a spoon) remove from the heat.

Serve on top of your pork with a generous heaping of mushrooms. We also served ours with a light potato side and a scrumptious salad with chick peas, tomatoes and cheese. 

This was so delicious. The pork practically melted in your mouth with the creaminess of the sauce. I was very pleased with how this little experiment turned out. 

It was a great meal to end a particularly long day of work.

*Note: This could easily be made with chicken or veal instead.

**Note: I would recommend making this in a deeper pan or a pot. It will stop the oil from splattering onto the stovetop. I used a small regular pan and made a bit of a mess. Also if you’re using a larger pan you can make all of your pork at once instead of in rounds like I had to.