Pork is a very common ingredient in Croatia, especially in the region of Slavonia. As the land of farmers and hard work, its gastronomy is made of heavy meals, full of flavour and care.

Even today, the tradition of breading pigs for meat is very strong. Many households still prepare all kinds of pork delicacies by the recipes of their ancestors: fresh and smoked sausages (famous kulen), pancetta, hams, čvarci (pork rind), švargl (Croatian scrapple) and many more.

In Slavonia, pork cutlets are usually prepared in mushroom or cream sauce, but this recipe will knock you off your feet 😀

Photograph by Zvonimir Fras

The fragrance of fresh dill and parsley with the freshness of pickled gherkins goes perfectly with this creamy sauce and tender meat.

Give yourself an indulgent experience and enjoy 🙂

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

• 4 pieces of pork cutlets
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable/sunflower oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 30 g pancetta/bacon
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 1 medium onion
• 1 teaspoon sweet ground paprika
• 200 ml beef stock or water
• 10 small pickled gherkins
• fresh finely chopped dill to taste
• fresh finely chopped parsley to taste
• 150 ml sour cream
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Photograph by Zvonimir Fras

Preparation

1. Beat each cutlet on both sides without breaking the bone to make them tender.
2. Finely chop garlic.
3. Season them with salt and rub with chopped garlic.
4. Cut the pancetta into small cubes and fry in a pan until golden brown.
5. Take the fried pancetta out of the pan and put it aside.
6. Roll one side of the cutlets in the flour. Fry them lightly in the same pan on floured side.
7. Take the fried cutlets out of the pan and arrange them alongside around the edge of a deep frying pan leaving space in the middle.
8. Using the same pan, fry the finely chopped onion gently until golden yellow, then add the ground paprika and pour in stock.
9. Cook for a few minutes.
10. In the meanwhile, finely chop pickled gherkins, dill, and most of the parsley
11. Add finely chopped ingredients to the pan with the onion & stock mix.
12. Let it simmer for a few minutes,
13. In a separate bowl mix well sour cream, fried pancetta and a remainder of the flour. Add them to the onion & stock mix.
14. Cook the mixture for a few minutes and then pour into the middle of the pan with the arranged cutlets.
15. Season with salt and pepper and then cover with a lid. Cook on medium heat gently until the cutlets become tender.
16. Serve by arranging the cutlets on the plate and pouring the sauce over. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped parsley (in our case we had some leftover dill for sprinkling :D)

In Croatia, these cutlets would be served with home-made pasta of your choice, but we prefer bread for soaking the sauce 😉

Of course, don’t forget lettuce salad seasoned with vinaigrette 🙂

Photograph by Zvonimir Fras

Jasmina and Zvonimir are a Croatian couple, currently living in Canada, who promote Croatian gastronomy and culture through food and photos.
Read more (plus a few surprises) on their website and connect with them on social media.

https://www.instagram.com/jasminabrozovic/

https://www.instagram.com/zvonimirfras/