Cozy Dinners for Autumn/Winter
As the weather cools down, I find myself reaching for cookbooks for inspiration to cook a cozy meal. What exactly is a cozy meal? I’m sure it differs for everyone, but to me, it’s often a stew, soup, or one-pot meal that brings you comfort. Bonus points if it pairs well with freshly baked bread! As the days get darker earlier, it’s also nice to have recipes up your sleeve that can simmer away for a little while on the stove. That way, while you may start lacking a bit of energy and motivation, it still feels manageable to put a pot of “stuff” on the stove and reap the hearty, healthy rewards a little while later. Today’s recipe certainly fits into all these categories, and that’s why we are so excited to share it with you!
Today’s Recipe
This is a mørbradgryde (quite a mouthful!), which is actually a quite generic name. Split in two it means “pork tenderloin” and “stew,” which is both exactly what the dish is but also very broad. You could really call any stew that contains pork tenderloin a mørbradgryde. However, in Denmark, it does refer to a pretty standard dish, which is the creamy and delicious stew you see in this post. Many Danes grow up eating this, and although some might hate our omission of cocktail sausages (sorry!), we think this is a pretty traditional version. We like to eat it with rice, but you can obviously pair it with a starch of choice – mashed potatoes would be delicious too!
Easy to Make and Delicious!
The reason why this is a classic dish in many Danish families is probably because it’s easy to make. You can really just chop the ingredients and add them all, then let the pot simmer until you’re ready to eat! This could be as soon as 20 minutes to 30 minutes! It makes a huge portion, which makes it ideal for satisfying a big group of people or for meal prep. Or for filling up your freezer 😊
Customizable and Full of Veggies
Another great aspect of this recipe is that it is really easy to adapt to whatever you have on hand. We used carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms, and a bit of spinach in addition to the bacon and pork tenderloin. You can change this up and add bell peppers, sweet potatoes, leeks, squash, cauliflower, kale, etc. And of course, you can adjust seasonings and other additions based on your preferences. Whether you’re cooking for picky eaters or have dietary requirements/preferences to stick to, this is a great recipe to use, at least as a starting point!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are the ingredients we use to make our recipe for mørbradgryde: bacon, pork tenderloin, flour, mushrooms, water, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, tomato paste, paprika, dried thyme, canned diced tomatoes, salt and pepper, spinach, parsley, and heavy cream. Again, make adjustments where needed. And – we have to mention it again – if you like cocktail sausages, they are a standard part of the recipe for most Danes, so definitely add them! We just don’t love them in stews like this (we prefer them in pølsehorn), so we have chosen to omit them.
How to Make Mørbradgryde
The process of making this is really like any other stew, so very straightforward and simple! First, chop up all your veggies and meat – this is the most labor-intensive part, I promise. Mix the pork pieces with flour and salt and pepper. Then, start frying your bacon pieces in a large pot until most of the fat is rendered, remove to drain on a paper towel and also remove some of the fat. In the fat that remains, fry a few pieces of pork at a time for a couple of minutes on each side and remove once browned.
Then, add the mushrooms, scraping up all the delicious flavor on the bottom of the pot from the meat. Add onion, celery, and carrot and cook until soft. Next, add the garlic, then re-add the pork and bacon, followed by tomato paste, paprika, thyme, and some salt and pepper. Stir well before adding the canned diced tomatoes and some water. This is the stage where the stew simmers for at least 20 minutes. Add the spinach, chopped parsley, and heavy cream before serving and voila! A deliciously filling dinner that you can serve with whatever side you like. Enjoy!
Mørbradgryde (Creamy Pork Tenderloin Stew)
Ingredients
- 454 grams bacon
- 1 kg pork tenderloin (this corresponds to 2 tenderloins depending on their size; you can cut this recipe in half by adjusting the serving size slider!)
- 2 tbsp flour
- 454 grams baby bella mushrooms (or whatever kind of mushroom you like to use!)
- 120 milliliters water (optional; for deglazing!)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 medium sized carrots, cut into 1/2" pieces
- 2-3 stalks celery, cut into 1/2" pieces
- 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 (6 oz/170g) can tomato paste
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried thyme (if using fresh, increase to 1 tbsp!)
- 1 (28 oz/794g) can diced tomatoes
- 475 milliliters water or stock
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 75 grams baby spinach (2-3 large handfuls; add more, or omit if you would like!)
- 1/4 bunch parsley, chopped
- 120 milliliters heavy cream
Instructions
- Prepare your vegetables by washing the carrots, celery, mushrooms and parsley, along with peeling the onion and garlic cloves.
- Dice the onion and set aside. These first several steps are all prepping and chopping the ingredients!
- Chop the celery and carrots into 1/2" size pieces. Cut the carrots in half lengthwise if needed! You can add the onion, carrots, and celery to the same container on the side as we will be adding them all at the same time later.
- Finely dice the garlic cloves and set aside.
- Slice the mushrooms and place in a large bowl.
- Dice the bacon and set aside.
- Cut the pork tenderloins into 1" pieces. Place in a medium mixing bowl.
- Mix the pork pieces with 2 tbsp of flour and add salt and pepper.
- In a large pot on the stove, add the bacon, then turn the pot on medium heat.
- Render the bacon fat until the bacon is nice and golden; turn off the heat and remove the bacon, and drain off all but a few tablespoons of the bacon fat.
- Heat the bacon fat back up around medium heat. Add a layer of pork, trying not to crowd the pan. Turn after a few minutes, and cook an additional two minutes on the other side.
- Remove pork and set on a plate aside; repeat with more pork if needed!
- Once all the pork is browned and set aside separately, add in the sliced mushrooms to the pot.
- Be sure to scrape up all the flavor on the bottom of the pot! You can add up to 1/2 cup of water at this stage to help with the deglazing. If you would like, you can use wine instead!
- Once the mushrooms have cooked down and most of the liquid in the pot has evaporated (about 10 minutes of cooking), add the onion, celery, and carrot.
- Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion starts to soften.
- Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes.
- Add the pork and bacon back into the pot.
- Add tomato paste, paprika, thyme, and some salt and pepper.
- Stir well to coat everything.
- Add in diced tomatoes and up to 2 cups of water.
- Bring to a simmer, then cover and let cook for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the stew is cooking, prepare your rice or potatoes, or whatever you would like to eat this with! Pasta would also be a good option.
- Chop about 1/4 bunch of fresh parsley.
- After 20 minutes, the pork should be cooked through and tender, and the vegetables should be softened.
- Turn off the heat and add in spinach and chopped parsley.
- Pour in 1/2 cup of heavy cream and stir to combine.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning; you may need to add more salt and pepper at this point.
- Serve and enjoy!
