Pork Patties in Tomato Sauce

Name: Pork Patties in Tomato Sauce: Bulgarian-Style Recipe with Mashed Potatoes
Prep time: 1 h 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Cuisine: Bulgarian cuisine
Ingredients: Pork 0.5 kg; Onion 1; Garlic 2 cloves; Egg 1; Tomato 3-4; Red bell pepper 1; Vegetable oil 50 ml; Salt, fenugreek (sharena sol), sugar, ground black pepper, breadcrumbs Spices:

Traditionally, in the Balkans patties are not fried in oil the way we do it. Most often meat in any form is grilled on a rack heated by coals or electricity. But there are exceptions. Fried patties in sauce are one example.

For instance, the traditional ground meat dish of Bulgarian cuisine, kebabche, is made from a mix of pork and beef, with savory and cumin. The mince is kneaded with water added, and the kebabche are grilled on a rack. The patties grilled in Bulgaria, kyufte, are made quite similarly, but with chopped onion in the mince and no cumin.

Sometimes restaurant menus offer pork patties that are breaded and fried, then braised in a thick tomato sauce with vegetables. These are patties in sauce, sometimes called meatballs, although they rarely look like balls.

Patties in sauce are closer to meatballs, only larger, and they are served with mashed potatoes or boiled rice.

Most often the patty mince gets a local Balkan spice blend with a strong, pleasant aroma, sharena sol, literally “colorful salt”. Its fragrance comes from fenugreek (Bulgarian “smindukh”). Meatballs in sauce made with sharena sol in the mince turn out unusually tasty and aromatic.

More with pork

Bulgarian Moussaka

Georgian Khinkali with Beef and Pork

Homemade Ground Pork Patties

Vegetable Ragout with Pork

Roasted Pork Knuckle

Ingredients

4 servings

Pork 0.5 kg
Onion 1
Garlic 2 cloves
Egg 1
Tomato 3-4
Red bell pepper 1
Vegetable oil 50 ml
Salt, fenugreek (sharena sol), sugar, ground black pepper, breadcrumbs Spices:

Step-by-step recipe

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There is no single recipe for sharena sol; at least, everyone gives completely different compositions. It usually contains roasted corn, savory, fenugreek, black pepper, thyme, sweet paprika and salt. Sometimes dried parsley, dill, mint, elecampane or dried green onion is added, but these additions are more regional than universal. The mixture is ground very finely and sifted, then used as a seasoning. For home cooking you can make your own sharena sol by mixing equal parts of savory, fenugreek, paprika and black pepper, thyme, salt and ground roasted pumpkin seeds or corn. For patty mince, though, ground fenugreek seeds on their own will do.
The pork should be of medium fattiness, shoulder or leg, boneless and free of membranes and tendons. Instead of pork you can use a mix of different meats, including lamb and beef. Braised meatballs will be juicy and tender thanks to the sauce, whatever meat they are made from.
Peel the onion and garlic. Grind the meat, onion and 1 garlic clove in a meat grinder, preferably twice, so the mince is smooth and soft.
Salt the mince, add pepper to taste and fenugreek or sharena sol, about 0.5 tsp. Add the contents of one egg and knead the mince. If it turns out a little “loose”, add 1-2 tbsp breadcrumbs (8–15 g) or a stale bread roll grated on a grater.
Mix the mince thoroughly until smooth and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Shape the mince into patties, round and flat, whichever you like.
Coat the patties in breadcrumbs and fry in vegetable oil in a hot, uncovered pan.
Fry on one side until a golden crust forms, then turn over.
Fry until golden on the other side. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and fry the patties for about 10 minutes.
Scald the ripest tomatoes with boiling water, peel them and remove the seeds. Put the tomato flesh into a chopper or blender, add 1 peeled garlic clove and the seeded red bell pepper. Add salt, pepper and 1 tsp sugar (5 g). Blend the vegetables with the spices to a puree. If the vegetable mixture is thick, you can add a little water or dry white wine.
When the patties are browned, pour off the remaining oil and pour the vegetable mixture right over them in the pan. Simmer covered over the lowest heat. The dish takes about 12-15 minutes from the moment the sauce comes to a boil.
Be sure to turn the patties over at least once while cooking. Remove the lid and let the excess moisture evaporate so the sauce reaches the thickness you want.
This meat dish is very good with potatoes. Boil the potatoes and make mashed potatoes.
Put mashed potatoes and patties on a plate and spoon the sauce over them.
Meatballs in sauce are served hot.