Zk | Tocană și mămăligă

Ingredients

Tocană

• 1-2lb stew meat (pork, lamb, beef, or chicken thighs), cubed
• 2 large onions, finely diced
• Some mushrooms (I used a double handful of king oyster), coarsely chopped or sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• ¼ cup sweet Hungarian paprika
• Thyme, sage, or savory to taste
• Salt to taste

Mămăligă

• ½ cup cornmeal
• 2 cups water
• Dash salt

Process

1. Lightly salt and then sear stew meat in olive oil. Set aside.
2. Sauté onions until just starting to caramelize. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until the mushrooms start to get tender. Add the tomato paste, paprika, and seasonings and stir.
3. Once the tomato paste heads to a rust color, add the can of crushed tomatoes and half a can of water.
4. Bring to a boil, stir in the meat, and reduce to a simmer. Cook, covered, until the meat is tender.
5. Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste, and let sit covered while you make the mămăligă.
6. Mix ½ cup of the water with the corn meal and salt. Bring the other 1½ cups to a boil, then stir in the corn meal mixture and reduce heat to low.
7. Cook over low, stirring frequently, until it reaches a medium thick porridge consistency. Cover and cook on low for five minutes, stirring once a minute to keep from scorching.
8. Transfer the cooked polenta to a bowl and stir for 5-10 minutes as it cools. It will thicken considerably.

Serve the tocană over the mămăligă in a bowl and top with sour cream and parsley if you’d like.