When we plan our meals, ingredients like fresh herbs, freshly ground spices, zippy chiles and bright citrus are all healthy and nutritious flavor enhancers for our aging and often less sensitive palates. The distinctive, earthy-sweet flavor of Marsala wine is one of these taste-saving food accents that can wake up our flavor receptors.
As for the pork replacing traditional veal or chicken in the dish, this is just me being obstinate. I had planned to use a favorite German recipes for our Aging & The Loss Of Taste episode. It's pork medallions, sauerkraut and applesauce "en casserole," but Libby nixed it because of the high sodium content in fermented kraut. I'll sneak this recipe into the lineup sometime, somewhere - with a sodium warning of course - but for now I used the pork for the Marsala dish just to be fickle. Chicken and pork are interchangeable when you've got other flavorsome ingredients like Marsala in command.
There's one other non-tradition to this recipe. Cutlets in Marsala sauce are usually dusted with flour before they are sautéed, both to add a slight crust to the meat, but also to act as a sauce thickener. For this version we've eliminated the flour. It means the finished sauce will be lighter and more liquid, but the taste is all there without the added carbohydrates from overly refined white flour.
The pork Marsala is being served with a modest portion of whole-wheat pasta. If you prefer to serve it alone, with just some sautéed spinach and no pasta, then you may dust the cutlets and enjoy a thicker sauce. Food Over 50 is all about little compromises like these that add up to big dietary improvements.