Mia Kouppa

https://miakouppa.com

Pork and celery with egg lemon sauce

Pork and celery with an egg-lemon sauce is a luxurious traditional Greek recipe

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 30

Total Time2

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Servings: people

Calories: 1053kcal

Author: miakouppa

Equipment

sauce pot

Ingredients

20 large stalks of celery, with leaves
1 medium yellow onion chopped
3/4 cup olive oil
1 ¾ cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup parsley chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint chopped
6 cups water
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 medium sized pork tenderloins See notes
1 tsp salt
vegetable oil for frying
3 large eggs
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Wash your celery well and separate the leaves from the stalks. Use a vegetable peeler to remove any fibrous ribbing. Chop the stalks into 1 inch long pieces. Chop up the leaves, also in about 1 inch long pieces
20 large stalks of celery, with leaves
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the celery stalks and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Then, add the celery leaves to the pot and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Drain and cool under cold water. Set aside to drain again.
In another large pot add the 3/4 cup olive oil and chopped onion. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the onion is softened. Add the celery to the pot (do so carefully as any water which remains on the celery can cause the hot oil to spatter). Mix well.
3/4 cup olive oil, 1 medium yellow onion
To the pot add the 1 ¾ cup tomato sauce, the chopped parsley and mint, 6 cups water, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. There should be enough liquid to come right to the surface of the vegetables. If there is not enough to get to this point, add more water. Mix well.
1 ¾ cups tomato sauce, 1/2 cup parsley, 1/2 cup fresh mint, 6 cups water, 1 tbsp salt, 1 tsp pepper
Cook the vegetables, over medium high heat, with the pot covered, for approximately 1 hour 10 minutes. Stir occasionally, and check to make sure there is still plenty of liquid in the pot
Meanwhile, slice the pork tenderloin into 1 inch thick slices. Sprinkle all sides with 1 teaspoon salt.
2 medium sized pork tenderloins, 1 tsp salt
Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, adding just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Sear the pork tenderloin until lightly browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Avoid overcooking, as it will finish cooking for another 5 minutes in the saucepot. Since this is a lean cut, it only needs a short cooking time.
vegetable oil for frying
Add the pork tenderloin pieces to the pot with the celery. Add it to the top and press down on the meat a little bit so that it is submerged in the cooking liquid. Cook for approximately 5 minutes. Check the pork for doneness by cutting into a piece.
Remove from heat, and take about 1 cup of broth out of the pot and set it aside.
Prepare the egg-lemon sauce. Separate the 3 eggs, and using an electric hand held mixer (or a stand mixer), beat the egg whites until just frothy. Add the yolks and continue to beat. Slowly pour in the 1/2 cup lemon juice, while continuing to beat the eggs. Then, take the broth you set aside (it should still be warm, just not piping hot) and slowly pour it into the egg-lemon mixture, while continuing to beat it. This slow incorporation of the hot liquid to the eggs, while they are being beaten, will prevent curdling.
3 large eggs, 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pour the egg-lemon mixture back into the pot with the celery and pork. Shake the pot so that the avgolemono gets evenly distributed throughout.
Enjoy!

Video

Notes

We like using pork tenderloin since it’s lean, but traditionally this dish is prepared with pork shoulder. If you prefer, you can substitute 2–3 pounds of pork shoulder, though the method changes slightly. Steps 1 and 2 remain the same. Cut the pork into cubes, season with salt and pepper, and sear the pieces in a splash of olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot until golden brown. Remove the pork, then continue with Steps 3 and 4 in the same pot. After that, return the pork to the pot and proceed with Step 5. The meat should be fork-tender when pierced; if it isn’t, let it simmer a bit longer. Steps 9, 10, and 11 remain unchanged.

Nutrition