Tolstoy Pfanne

Sigrid prepared this meal for me twice during my stay in Germany. I really enjoyed it. It is quite a comfort food. I hesitate to share the recipe because one of the main ingredients in not available in the States. However, since my recipe is written in chicken scratch in pencil on a piece of notebook paper, I want to make sure I don't lose it. This is the best way I can think of saving it.

I tried googling a recipe that contained the word "Tolstoy" in the title online. I had hoped to compare this recipe with other versions, but I was unsuccessful in finding any "Tolstoy" recipe. I do not know how common this recipe is in German.

The difficult-to-find ingredient is a mix for a creamy sauce made by the Nestle-owned Maggi. At this point, I have absolutely no idea of what a good substitute might be. Aside from this sauce mix, the recipe is pretty straightforward.

Sigrid served this with cubed, boiled buttery gold potatoes--kind of like a stew. Some family members preferred to smash their potatoes with a fork and spoon the Tolstoy Pfanne over the potatoes. The last time I made this recipe I served it with boiled potatoes, and my family wasn't that crazy about eating it with those potatoes. Tonight I served it over traditional mashed potatoes. I like it both ways, but I think my children preferred the mashed potatoes.

Tolstoy Pfanne [translation: "Tolstoy" (as in Leo) "Pan"]
Source: Brett's cousin, Sigrid

1 onion, diced
oil
pork, cubed
3 peppers (red, yellow, green), chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 medium pickles (not sweet), diced
heavy cream, 1 cup
1 small box Maggi "Rahmsosse zu Braten" (creamy sauce for roasts)

Saute onion and peppers in 2-3 tablespoons of oil. Set aside. Cook pork until lightly browned. Add tomatoes, pickles and sauteed onions and peppers. Simmer until tomatoes are cooked through. Combine sauce mix in cold cream and stir until smooth. Pour cream mixture into pan and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Serve over potatoes.