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Whole-Grain Mustard with Roasted Garlic and Maple

21 Dec

I really do love the holiday season. I think it is easier to love in the last five or so years since Dave and I decided to get out of the STUFF cycle– no more stress of finding the exact perfect thing for someone who already has everything s/he wants or needs; no more shocking credit bills in January; no more frantic trips to overcrowded shops, no more pretending to love something you know will get thrown straight into the trash bin.  But I do love the spirit of giving, and so I have managed to find a happy balance for myself by focusing on homemade gifts. Nothing is more fun (to me) than starting lemons and vodka in July in anticipation of bottling limoncello in December for my friends. Last year I made this, to rave reviews, and the mustard I am sharing with you now was also such a big hit last year I had to make it again.

Sadly, I don’t have any pictures to share of the mustard (computer issue, I won’t bore you with the details). So instead I will share a photo of Robyn and I and the fun we have been having this season, and you will just have to trust me that this mustard  is really, really good. Slather it on pork or chicken and roast away. Or add it to a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, or serve with crackers and an kind of cheese.  Once you see how easy it is to make your own fresh mustard, you might never want to buy the supermarket stuff again.

Whole-Grain Mustard with Roasted Garlic and Maple
From Cooking.com
Yields about 8 cups

2 1/4 cups  whole yellow mustard seeds (see Tip)
3/4 cup  whole brown mustard seeds (see Tip)
2 1/2 cups  cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups  water, plus more as needed
1 head  garlic
1 teaspoon  extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup  pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons  salt

Combine yellow and brown mustard seeds, vinegar and 1 1/2 cups water in a large bowl; cover and let stand at room temperature until the liquid is mostly absorbed, at least 6 hours (or up to 24 hours).

About an hour before you’re ready to make mustard, preheat oven to 400°F. Rub off the excess papery skin from garlic without separating the cloves. Slice the tip off the head, exposing the cloves. Place the garlic on a piece of foil, drizzle with oil and wrap into a package. Place the package directly on the oven rack and roast until the garlic is very soft, 40 minutes to 1 hour.

When the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze half of the cloves out of their skins into a blender. Add half of the mustard seed mixture and pulse, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary and adding water by the tablespoon as needed to facilitate the blending, until some of the seeds are coarsely chopped and the mixture looks like grainy mustard. Transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining roasted garlic and mustard mixture and add to the bowl. Stir in maple syrup and salt.

Spoon the mustard into airtight containers and refrigerate.

Slow-roasted Pork with Apple Cider and Quince

7 Dec

It has been a while since I have posted a recipe, and I have to tell you it is because I have been busy having a lot of fun. This past month I returned from France, spent a week in San Diego with my family, and in any and all of my spare time have been cooking up a storm. The only problem? I haven’t been stopping to take photos, which means no blog post. I made a batter-fried chicken recipe from America’s Test Kitchen that was pretty great (so great that it was inhaled before pictures could be snapped), and a lot of other things that were just too good to wait and eat and so didn’t get photographed. (sigh)

This recipe suffered the same fate (there is no picture of the final product after it cooks), but at least I captured some of the journey. I have to say that this is the best pork I have ever had. Who knew pork and quince were such a perfect marriage? The fruit, which has such a lovely fragrance, perfumes the meat and so every bite is heaven. I have made this before without the quince and just used apples in their place, but I promise you the quince knocks this out of the park. I found fresh quince at my local market in Seattle, and it is really worth the trouble to find. Here is what it looks like:

When I came back from Normandy last month, all I wanted was apples and cider and things that reminded me of Norman fall. I love to use cider to braise pork, and this recipe is just a riff on one that I make every year with Washington apples when they are at their freshest. Serve with mashed potatoes and a good Norman hard cider, and this is the perfect Autumnal meal.

Slow-roasted Pork with Apple Cider and Quince
Adapted from Gourment

4-lb pork shoulder
1 large onion, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
1 large apple
2 medium quince
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs fresh thyme
1 tbs olive oil
2 cups unfiltered apple cider
salt and pepper

Serves 4-6

Heat oil in a 4- to 5-quart ovenproof heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown meat on all sides, turning occasionally. Transfer pork to plate.

Add onions to pot and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic,  3/4 teaspoon salt,  and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden and caramelized, 8 to 10 minutes more. Add the fresh thyme.

While the onions are carmelizing, peel and slice the apples and quince into 1/2-inch slices.

Return pork to pot with sliced fruit and onions, and add enough cider to cover pork about 2/3 of the way. Cover pot with a tight-fitting lid and braise pork in middle of oven until very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Transfer pork to a serving dish with the aid of tongs and carving fork. Boil cooking juices with onions until mixture is reduced to about 2 cups, 2 to 3 minutes, then season with salt and pepper and serve with pork.  Can also be made in the crock pot by following the same steps and adjusting the cooking time.

Pork Chile Verde

24 Feb

This winter I have been using a different CSA, called Full Circle.  Much of what they provide is local, but during the winter some of the produce, though all organic, comes from places that are warm enough to be growing things right now.  I like this new CSA quite a bit, and also love that I can just go online and add some eggs to my upcoming order, or some local goat cheese or tofu or sausage or just about anything I might want, almost all of it locally sourced.  And so I recently added pork steak from Heritage Meats, in Rochester, WA, to my order and decided I would make chile verde with it.

I love green sauces in general, from Argentinian chimichurri to the tarragon-based sauce verte au pain in France.  I am a big fan of fresh herbs, and green sauces typically make use of a lot of good fresh (and healthy) herbs.  This version is one that I usually just make from the top of my head, and I use it with pork or chicken.  It is super healthy, super easy to make and really delicious.  I often serve it over brown rice, topped with cilantro and avocado, and with the leftovers I make tacos.  Just quick-pickle some cabbage for a nice tangy addition to the taco, and you will be in heaven. This is also a great sauce for enchiladas, and I make a vegetarian mushroom and sweet potato version using this verde. It really is quite versatile.

Pork Chile Verde
From LaFemmeCooks
(serves 4)

2 lbs pork steak, butt or shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 2-inch cubes
1 lb tomatillos, husked
1 jalapeno
1 poblano chile
3 garlic cloves unpeeled
1 onion
3/4 cup cilantro, rinsed, plus more chopped for garnish
2 limes
1 tbs mexican oregano (not italian)
2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper

Cut the onion into quarters and place on large baking sheet, along with garlic cloves, chilis, and tomatillos.  Drizzle with olive oil and roast at 400 degrees until chilis have blackened and onions and  tomatillos have softened and charred a bit, about 20 minutes.  Take out of oven and let cool slightly.

In the meantime, heat oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium high heat and brown pork chunks well in small batches, on all sides. Lift pork out of pan and place in a wide soup pot or dutch oven.

When vegetables have cooled, add them to a blender. Make sure to take the stem out of the poblano and jalapeno, but leave the seeds.  The garlic should easily squeeze out of its shell.  Add freshly squeezed juice of one lime (save the 2nd for garnish), the cilantro, oregano, salt and pepper and half of the chicken stock.  Combine, adding additional stock as necessary until the thickness of the sauce is to your liking.  Pour the sauce over the pork in the soup pot and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Serve warm, over rice and topped with fresh avocado and cilantro and lime, or with fresh corn tortillas and quick-pickled cabbage.

To pickle cabbage, simply slice it thinly and place in a bowl with vinegar, fresh lime juice, a little olive oil.  It doesn’t have to be exact, just let it sit there for at least 20 mins, and an hour or so if you can.  I often slice green onions and add them about half way through.

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