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Roast with noodle

Pork and Potato Braise with Steamed Dough Rolls (Nudli)

A simple, hearty, Ukrainian-style dish! I use raw potatoes for this braise, though some cooks pan-fry them halfway first before adding them to the meat and vegetables. You can also use soured milk in place of kefir for the dough. In short, there's plenty of room to experiment.

Nika

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Pork

650

Potatoes

800

Onion

Carrot

Bay leaf

Water (boiling)

2.5

Vegetable oil

1.5

Pepper

Salt

0.25

Kefir

0.5

Flour

1.5

Garlic

Dill

Butter

Baking soda

0.25

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 23 % 6 g

Fats 31 % 8 g

Carbohydrates 46 % 12 g

142 kcal

GI: 58 / 0 / 42

Cooking method

Step 1:

Gather all the ingredients for the braise.
Step 2:

Rinse the pork loin under running water, pat it dry with paper towels, and cut it into large pieces. Sear the pork in a skillet with a little vegetable oil over high heat until golden. Season with salt and pepper at the end. Transfer the seared pork to a clean bowl and cover it with foil.
Step 3:

Peel, wash, and slice the onion into half-rings. In the same skillet, lightly sauté the onion.
Step 4:

Wash, peel, and slice the carrot into rounds. Once the onion has softened a bit, add the carrot and keep cooking until the carrot is tender.
Step 5:

When the vegetables are soft, return the pork to the skillet, add a bay leaf, and pour in enough boiling water to cover. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Step 6:

While the meat and vegetables simmer, make the dough for the nudli.
Step 7:

Pour room-temperature kefir into a bowl, add the baking soda and salt, and stir. Work in the sifted flour a little at a time, first with a wooden spoon and then by hand. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
Step 8:

Meanwhile, wash the potatoes, peel them, and cut them into large slices. Uncover the skillet and lay the potato slices over the meat and vegetables, adding a little water if needed — it should just barely cover the potatoes, so don't fill the pan to the top. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Step 9:

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Once melted, stir in the finely chopped dill and the pressed garlic.
Step 10:

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into a rectangle. Brush the surface with the herb-garlic butter, roll it up tightly, and cut it into 3/4-inch (2 cm) pieces. Uncover the skillet and set the nudli on top of the potatoes, spaced apart so they don't stick together. They shouldn't touch the broth, since they cook by steam.
Step 11:

Cover again and cook about 30 minutes more, until the nudli are cooked through. Don't lift the lid while they cook, or they'll deflate and steam unevenly.

This braise with nudli is a well-loved dish in Odessa — a real example of classic home-style Odessa cooking. It's hearty and filling: meat, potatoes, and those signature nudli, steamed dumpling rolls made from a simple kefir dough that stand in for bread.