Pork "Ragout fin" with Lemon Parsley Pesto

It is not a real Ragout fin since this is made with pork and not veal. The real name of the basic dish is Würzfleisch.

I only saw it in TV and heard about it as an classic dish from the former German Democratic Republic GDR. This soup is an advanced and modernized version of a pork dish in a roux with lots of gratinated cheese on top.

My BFF was on the peninsula Zingst in the Baltic Sea. The local Tourist Information sold small cookbooklets. Restaurants from Zingst participated and offered one recipe of their Menu.

This one caught my eye. Würzfleisch - heard of, but never done it. But I love Ragout fin since I was a child. My Mom made it at special holidays.

The tiny recipe takes a lot of time to prepare. There are many steps to follow. If you have a slow morning and like to spent time in the kitchen - go for it! It is worth the effort.

Recipe for 4:

450 g pork loin, 1 carrot, 50 g leek, 2 garlic cloves, 2 spring onions, 1 tsp veggie stock paste, 2 bay leaves, 5 allspice, 10 peppercorns

100 g butter, 3 tbsp flour, 3 tbsp white wine, 1 tbsp Worchester sauce, 1 tbsp lemon juice, salt and pepper

3 slices of toast, butter, oil

Pesto:

Small bunch flat leave parsley, zest of 2 lemons, juice of 1 lemon, 5 tbsp veggie stock warm, 6 tbsp olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, 40 g almonds, 40 g parmesan, lemon salt, pepper

Put 6 cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Add pork, rough chopped veggies and spices. Close the lid and reduce the heat and cook for 20 to 25 min. Stick a knife in the pork and check if it is done. Take it out to cool down.

Pour the remaining soup through a sieve and save for later. Discard the veggies. Cut the pork loin in 1,5 cm cubes.

Cut the toast in 1,5 cm cubes and toast it in a pan in some butter and oil. When the croutons have taken some color, sprinkle the cheese on top, stir and set aside to cool down. Rip it apart for later.

Use a minichopper to prepare the pesto.

Clean the cooking pot and melt the butter. Add flour and stir for 3 min. Gradually add the pork stock until you have a thicker sauce, but thinner than a Bechamel.

Season with white wine, lemon juice and Worchester sauce, salt and pepper. Chuck the pork cubes in and reheat the sauce without boiling it.

Fill in soup bowls, top with cheese bread and a dollop of pesto.