Pork Scallopini with Mushrooms and Marsala Sauce

Ever since little Mr. Andrew came into my life, I'm all about meals that are fast without being fast food and delicious without being incredibly unhealthy. The less time I spend in the kitchen, the more time I get to spend cuddling my little boy. At the same time, I love to cook, and I want to do it because I want our family to eat healthy meals, not ones out of a paper sack.

Last night's dinner of pork scallopini fit my meal philosophy perfectly. It was so easy and quick to make and required very little clean-up, and it was relatively healthy and very, very tasty. The recipe calls for Williams-Sonoma's pre-made marsala finishing sauce, but there's no way I was going to buy that; if it's like everything else in that store, it's probably pretty expensive. I just bought a $5 bottle of Marsala wine at the grocery store and reduced it, and it was perfectly delicious. The pork was nice and tender, and the mushrooms and sauce made this a very flavorful dinner.


Pork Scallopini with Mushrooms and Marsala Sauce
Source: Williams-Sonoma

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more as needed
1/2 pound white button or cremini mushrooms, cut into slices 1/4 inch thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 pound boneless pork loin roast, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 8 slices
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup marsala finishing sauce* (I used marsala wine)
Finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish (omitted)

1. In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

2. One at a time, place the pork slices between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat pounder to 1/4-inch thickness. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Put the flour in a shallow bowl. Dredge the pork slices in the flour, shaking off the excess, then place the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet.

3. In the same fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 3 tablespoons oil until almost smoking. Working in batches (do not overcrowd), cook the pork slices, turning once, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side, adding more oil to the pan as needed. Transfer the pork to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and cover loosely with aluminum foil.

4. Wipe out the pan with paper towels. Set the pan over medium-low heat, pour in the marsala finishing sauce and add the mushrooms. Stir until the sauce is warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes; do not allow it to reduce. (Like I said, I used marsala wine, so I did allow it to reduce so the alcohol would cook out. I used 1-2 cups, which provided the perfect amount of sauce after it had reduced.)

5. Transfer the pork to a warmed platter and spoon the sauce over the meat, coating the slices evenly. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.