This did not feel like a casserole to me, it was more of a roast, but maybe casserole is Finnish for roast? I dunno, just not very casserole-y (that's a word!) to me.
I just Googled "casserole" and the definition is "a kind of stew or side dish that is cooked slowly in an oven" And a "roast" is "a cut of meat that has been roasted or is intended for roasting" but "roast" as a verb is "to cook by prolonged exposure to heat in an oven or over a fire." Well, there you go. It is both a roast and a casserole. Boom! English lesson!
The ingredients, of which I forgot to take a picture:
1 4-5 lbs fresh pork shoulder. I bought a pork shoulder that was just under 3 lbs because I knew there was NO WAY we'd eat that much meat. Also, the only pork shoulder I could find was some that was meant for carnitas so it was broken up into a few pieces. Don't know if that's the norm for pork shoulder but just wanted to mention that.
2 tsps salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsps prepared mustard
3 cups drained sauerkraut
3 medium apples, pared, cored, and sliced. I used two.
1 tbsp sugar
4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced. I used five small red potatoes.
Trim the meat of excess fat. Rub all sides with salt, pepper, and mustard. Place meat on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for an hour; drain fat. Remove meat and rack from the pan. In the pan, make a layer or sauerkraut. Sprinkle apples with sugar and layer on top of sauerkraut. Top with potatoes. Replace the meat in pan on top of potatoes. I just realized I didn't do this, I put the rack back. Woops. Cover pan with lid or foil, return to oven, and bake for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Since I didn't have as much meat, I roasted for a little over an hour.
I also made some Mushrooms with Sour Cream.
1/4 cup butter
2 tbsps grated onion or 1 medium shallot, sliced thinly
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
1/4 tsp white pepper. I used black because I forgot to buy white pepper.
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup sour cream
Melt butter and cook onion for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, s&p, and nutmeg. Cook over medium heat until mushrooms are brown and liquid almost evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in cream. Reheat but do not boil.
The pork was kinda dry. Maybe it would have turned out a little juicier had I put the meat directly on the veggies...The flavor was great though. A little on the spicy side but still tasty. Both my husband and I enjoyed how the apples made the sauerkraut less bitter. I'm not a huge fan of sauerkraut so this was an appreciated take on it. The mushrooms were amazing! I also love sour cream so that might have had something to do with it. As good as they were, they were very heavy. I hadn't eaten lunch that day so I was starving and had two large servings. I was pretty miserable afterwards.
The baby also really enjoyed the mushrooms; the three year old not so much. And I know I mention how she doesn't eat most, if not all, of my dinners but I promise you, the kid is healthy! She does eat breakfast and lunch so that makes up for not eating a big dinner. She did eat some pork though so that was good.
If I make this again, I won't add the potatoes because I don't feel they really contributed all that much and I will put the meat directly on the veggies. Definitely making the mushrooms again, I just won't eat so much next time.
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