Eggplant Pork & Tomato Stew
This eggplant tomato stew with pork was my grandpa’ s all times favorite recipe. Delicious fried eggplant slices cooked in tomato garlic sauce and tasteful pork coming together in a fabulous recipe.
Do you love fried eggplants? They’re so tasty and delicious, but full of calories because of the amount of oil that they are absorbing.
So, I must warn you: this recipe is not for those on a diet. It’s loaded with full deliciousness and is packed with many calories.
But every once in a while we’re allowed to indulge in such heavenly meals, are we not? 🙂
So, what do we need for this recipe? Let’s see the ingredients list.
🍆 Ingredients For Eggplant Stew
- Eggplants – the most important ingredient
- Pork meat – shoulder, neck, belly whatever you have (the more fat, the better)
- Flour – to coat the eggplant slices
- Onions – a basic ingredient in almost every recipe
- Tomatoes – juicy, ripe tomatoes (can be substituted with canned)
- Garlic cloves – important for the flavor
- Bay leaves, thyme – to flavor the sauce even more
- Salt and pepper – to season
- Neutral flavor cooking oil
🍲 How To Make Eggplant Pork & Tomato Stew
1. Prepare tomatoes
- Rinse, peel and cut tomatoes in small cubes or grate them if in a hurry. Finely chop the onions. Use a large enough pan to make this meal.
- Cut the meat in pieces and color it on medium heat in 6 tbsp of oil. Take the meat apart and saute the onion in the same oil until beautifully golden.
- Next, add the cubed tomatoes, stir and let them cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, add the thyme and bay leaves. Add the meat pieces and some hot water.
- Let the meat cook, partially covered for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until desired tenderness, depending on the meat. Stir from time to time and add more water if necessary.
2. Fry the eggplants
- Rinse, pat dry and cut the eggplants in 1/2 inch round slices. Prepare a large enough pan or skillet and pour some cooking oil in it, place it on the stove to heat.
- Coat the eggplant slices with flour and fry them in heated oil, until golden brown on both sides. About 2 -3 minutes for each side would be enough.
- Place them on a paper towel lined plate so they release some of the excess oil.
*Tip: While you’re frying them, grab a slice of fresh bread and a hot slice of fried eggplant, sprinkle with salt and slice a garlic clove – and you’re in heaven right there. They’re sooo good!!
Me and my grandfather always stole some freshly fried slices from my grandmother’s work, until we’re banned from the kitchen for the rest of the cooking time. 🙂 ) We couldn’t help it!
- Fry the eggplant slices in batches until you finish them all. Buy the time you finish, the meat must be cooked. Try a piece and if the meat is done, you can now finish the recipe.
3. Add eggplant to the stew
- Now we add the fried eggplant slices to the sauce, very gently. Slice the garlic cloves and add them too. Give it a very gentle stir and let the flavors blend together, simmering for another 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and sprinkle with 1-2 tbsp of freshly chopped parsley. Yum!
🍽️ Serving
You can serve it right away, as a standalone meal with some fresh bread slices. Use any kind of salad as a side dish. I personally like very much this recipe, even if it’s loaded with calories.
I make it at least 2-3 times over the summer. I encourage you to cook and try it. Chances are, you’ll love it too! Don’t feel guilty about the calories, just indulge!
Storage & Preserving
- Keep it covered in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days. Reheat carefully on the stove adding a little water if necessary. Or you can reheat it in the oven.
- I do not recommend freezing, as it will completely lose taste and consistency.
*Tip: Don’t lose this recipe! Pin it now and save for later.
More delicious recipes:
- Romanian Eggplant Dip / Spread (oh, that smoky flavor!)
- Romanian Stewed Cabbage And Sausage (colored and tasty cabbage recipe)
- Romanian Stuffed Peppers (must try, full deliciousness)
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Eggplant Pork & Tomato Stew
Ingredients
- 3 medium sized eggplants
- 3.3 lbs (1.kg) ripe tomatoes
- 1.7 lbs (800g) pork meat (shoulder, neck, belly)
- 1 cup (200g) flour
- 2 onions
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 5-6 bay leaves
- 5-6 large garlic cloves
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- vegetable cooking oil (as needed)
- fresh parsley
Instructions
- Rinse and peel the tomatoes. Cut them in small cubes, or grate them if you're in a hurry. Chop the onion and cut the pork meat in small pieces.
- In a large enough pan pour 6 tbsp of cooking oil and color the meat, until golden brown. Put aside. In the same oil, saute the onion until lightly golden. Add the cubed tomatoes and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Season the sauce with salt and pepper, thyme and bay leaves. Add the meat and some hot water and let it cook on medium-low heat, partially covered. Stir from time to time and add more water if necessary. Cook for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on the meat.
- Meantime, fry the eggplants. Rinse, pat dry and slice the eggplants in 1/2 inch rounds. Coat the eggplant rounds in flour and fry them in a large non-stick pan on medium high heat until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Add more oil to the pan as needed, because will be absorbed quickly. Drain the fried eggplant on a paper towel lined platter.
- When the meat is cooked, add in the eggplant slices and the sliced garlic. Give them a quick gentle stir and let the flavors blend together for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with lots of freshly chopped parsley.