The forecast calls for Pork Stew with Caraway Seeds

Chunks of pork cooked with onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, caraway seeds, bay leaves and peas create a homey, peasant-y, comforting stew perfect for winter. Recipe below.

OH, THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL. Snow is the lead story across great swaths of the country. And around the world. Two storms collided on the east coast, dumping as much as two feet of snow on New York City. Madrid had the worst snowstorm in 50 years, a foot and a half in a city that rarely sees snow at all. And the UK issued a “risk of life” warning. So here in Chicago, Marion and I were thinking about food.

Saturday morning, we prepared to hunker down for the approaching storm by doing an inventory of our small chest freezer (bought just before the pandemic shut everything down, one of the smartest purchases we’ve ever made). We saw that we could survive on pizza alone for longer than we care to admit. And we found the pork stew meat that is the basis for this dish.

Living in our predominantly Mexican neighborhood, we closely associate pork stew meat with Puerco en Salsa Verde (and are now craving a wonderful version done by a nearby restaurant). But there are many pork stews from pretty much everywhere. And even when we narrowed our research, deciding to include caraway seeds, we saw dishes from Germany, Ireland, Poland, Transylvania—and, intriguingly, one from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, actually called Milwaukee Pork Stew.

As we usually do, we borrowed ideas from various recipes and then went our own way to create a simple, hearty stew. Onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, caraway seeds, bay leaves and peas. The result is not a big-flavored, dramatic dish. It’s a homey, peasant-y, comforting stew. The peas and carrots add a sweetness that plays well with the pork, and the caraway seeds put you somewhere in middle Europe, in the middle of winter, sitting in a warm kitchen as the snow falls outside.

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Pork Stew with Caraway Seeds

Chunks of pork, onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, caraway seeds, bay leaves and peas create a homey, comforting stew perfect for winter.

Course Main Course, Stew

Cuisine American

Servings 4 to 6

Equipment

• Dutch oven or heavy, lidded pot

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds pork stew meat cut into large, bite-sized chunks (see Kitchen Notes for other cuts)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• flour for dredging
• olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 to 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 cup dry white wine or apple juice (see Kitchen Notes)
• 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1-1/2 pounds Yukon or red potatoes, not peeled, cut into large, bite-sized pieces
• 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
• 1 cup frozen peas
• corn starch for thickening (optional)

Instructions

• Season the pork generously with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour (we put some flour in a plastic bag, add the pork, seal the bag and shake it—done).
• Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high flame with enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Working in batches, brown pork on all sides. Add oil as needed between batches. When you start browning the last batch, reduce heat to medium. Transfer each batch to a bowl when done.
• Add more oil to Dutch oven, if needed. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and caraway seeds and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 45 seconds.
• Add wine to pot and scrape up browned bits. Return pork to pot and add broth and bay leaves. Pork should be just submerged. Stir to combine everything and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in potatoes and carrots along with 1 cup of water (or a little more, if needed) so everything is just submerged. Season with more salt and pepper. Cook covered for 30 to 40 minutes, until potatoes and carrots are tender.
• Stir in frozen peas and cook for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt.
• If the sauce is too liquidy and you want to thicken it, dissolve 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. Spoon a little of the stew sauce into the bowl and stir. Add a little more and repeat (you want to slightly warm the cornstarch liquid so it doesn’t clot up when you add it to the stew). Stir the cornstarch liquid into the stew and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens.
• Discard the bay leaves and ladle the stew into shallow bowls. Serve.

Kitchen Notes

Pork cuts. If you find pork stew meat, great. If not, you can use pork shoulder, pork tenderloin or boneless pork chops.

Wine? Apple juice? Either will add a welcome subtle bright note to the stew. Some recipes call for beer, but we wouldn’t do that with the peas.