Fall Preview

By mid-September my farmers market is awash with new colors. Instead of summer’s greens, I see autumn’s gold and wine hues. Instead of delicate lettuces, sturdy cabbage and apples beckon. It’s time for a change of menu.

And as much as I regret no longer finding raspberries, I am pleased to see dried cranberries, red cabbage, my favorite tart-sweet mutsu apples and jugs of maple syrup (even though trees are tapped in the spring, autumn seems to be the season for this mellow-tasting sweetener).

Combining fall’s flavors into a dish requires one ingredient as a base to complement all the others. Pork is the perfect start. It is excellent with cabbage and apples.

In this recipe for autumn pork stew with spaetzle, I recommend using a tender, quick-cooking pork cut so that the fruit and vegetables aren’t cooked to a mush before the pork is ready. Pork tenderloin or pork for stir-fry is suitable.

Spaetzle, a cross between a dumpling and a noodle, makes a great starch for this stew. The recipe is fast and easy, but, if desired, packaged spaetzle is available in many supermarkets.

AUTUMN PORK STEW WITH SPAETZLE

SPAETZLE

Water

1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon oil

3/4 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg, lightly beaten

6 to 8 tablespoons milk

Fill 5-quart pot with water, add 1 tablespoon salt and oil and bring to boil.

Combine flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and baking powder in bowl. Stir well. Add egg and enough milk to make sticky batter.

When water comes to boil, prepare spaetzle. There are two easy ways. Spoon batter into colander (holes should be about 1/4-inch in diameter) and hold colander over the boiling water. Press with back of spoon to force batter into water. Or, spoon batter onto cutting board. Using wet knife, slice dough sliver thin and push into water. Dough will sink to bottom of pan. Stir once to loosen.

When dough floats to top, reduce heat to very gentle boil and cook 10 minutes. Drain well. If spaetzle won’t be used immediately, toss with a little oil or butter to keep pieces from sticking together.

PORK STEW

2 strips bacon

1 small clove garlic, mashed

1 small onion, sliced

2 cups slivered red cabbage

1/2 pound boneless pork, cut into 1x1/4-inch strips

3/4 cup apple juice

3/4 cup beef broth

1 small unpeeled apple, cored and sliced

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/4 cup dried cranberries, optional

1 tablespoon flour

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Fry bacon in large skillet until crisp. Remove and set aside. Add garlic, onion and cabbage to skillet and saute in bacon fat until limp, about 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Push vegetables to side. Add pork strips and cook over high heat 1 minute per side or until well browned.

Pour in apple juice and scrape up any browned bits in skillet over high heat. Add beef broth and stir. Add apple slices and simmer 5 minutes. Add maple syrup and cranberries.

Place flour in cup. Spoon about 1/4 cup skillet liquid into flour and stir until smooth. Return this mixture to skillet and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Crumble bacon and stir into stew. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, spoon half the Spaetzle onto each of 2 serving plates. Top each with half the stew.

Makes 2 generous servings.

Each serving contains about:

750 calories; 1,240 mg sodium; 208 mg cholesterol; 33 grams fat; 73 grams carbohydrates; 40 grams protein; 1.64 grams fiber.