Asian-Inspired Pork Cabbage Rolls with Peanut Sauce

Ukrainian and other Eastern European cultures are well acquainted with the cabbage roll. Every celebratory meal has either the vegetarian or pork-filled option, floating in tomato sauce and while I can get behind a plate of perogies, I never get excited to see the cabbage roll.

This, however, is not the cabbage roll I know. This version is loaded with garlic, ginger, soy, a hint of fish sauce and topped with a nutty overture. I can dig it. In fact I did and have plenty of leftovers. I struggled to find Napa cabbage in good shape (aka Suey Choy) and had fewer cabbage leaves to use than pork filling. I wound up cooking the leftover filling and adding the scraps of cabbage left as a sort of sloppy cabbage roll. There was plenty of the peanut sauce to pour over both the rolls and remaining filling. Rolling the cabbage rolls was easy, but preparing the recipe in one pot is doable and  involves less cleanup.

Whatever you choose, I can assure you'll get excited about these cabbage rolls.

Adapted from: http://fedandfit.com

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 head Napa cabbage

Filling

• 2 T salted butter
• 2 carrots, grated
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1, 2-inch thumb of ginger, peeled and minced
• 2 lbs ground pork
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 t fish sauce
• 1 t red pepper flakes

Sauce

• 1 T sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 t fish sauce
• 1 T cider vinegar
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

Method
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, reduce to simmer and place the head of cabbage, leaves downward into the pot. Let the cabbage poach for 10 minutes. Remove from the water, cut the end off and separate the leaves, laying them on a paper towel to cool and dry.

To kick off the filling, melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the carrots, ginger and garlic. Stir well to combine and cook for about 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté for another 5 minutes.

Place the carrots in a bowl along with the rest of the filling ingredients and combine the ingredients with your hands to ensure it's well incorporated.

Make the rolls by place about 1/4 cup of the filling on the base of the stem of each leaf. Fold the sides of the cabbage inward and roll towards the end of the leaf. Place the rolls in a 9'X13' baking dish and preheat the oven to 350F.

To make the sauce, heat the sesame oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, whisking the sauce until smooth and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken on its own.

Place the cabbage rolls, neat in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and add half the sauce over the rolls, returning them to the oven for another 15 minutes.

Serve on a bed of rice, quinoa, freekeh or neat with chopped cilantro to garnish.

Meaty Cobb Salad...with Meat in it.

If you're as desperate as I am to get more meat into your diet, don't ignore the almighty salad. A double dose of meat here can easily be tripled if your beef deficient, but I'm keen on the two-tone selection of chicken and pancetta Jamie Oliver's chosen, although I did double up on the chicken.

We used to summer in the Hamptons Spokane during Nordstrom's summer sale season. During my Dad's frequent power breaks between transactions, he'd head to Nordstrom's cafe for a wedge salad covered in blue cheese dressing. I just didn't get it. Why would you eat something that's clearly gone bad?! Now I can't get enough of the stinky stuff.  Substitute the dressing for another creamy variety if preferred, but note that you won't be able to shop as hard as you would with the powers of Stilton in you. As you wish.

Adapted from: http://www.jamieoliver.com/

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 head Romaine lettuce
• 2 handfuls of mixed greens
• 2 tomatoes, sliced in wedges
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 3 eggs
• 2 avocados, sliced in wedges
• 2 ripe tomatoes, sliced in wedges
• 2 ears of corn
• 4 chicken thighs, skin on
• olive oil
• paprika
• sea salt
• 50 g pancetta

Dressing

• 50 g Stilton
• 1/2 bunch fresh chives
• olive oil
• 50 ml buttermilk
• 2 T Greek yoghurt
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 t Worcestershire

Method

Heat your barbecue to medium-high. Prepare the chicken by sprinkling the thighs with a generous dose of paprika, sea salt, pepper and a few lugs of olive oil on both sides. Place the chicken thighs, skin side down on the bottom grill for about 10 minutes on each side. Once cooked, remove from the barbecue, place the pancetta around the thighs and return to the heat for about 5 minutes each side. Check to ensure the thighs' centres are cooked through before removing them permanently from the heat. If you don' t have a barbecue, bake the thighs in an oven for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F, remove and wrap them in the pancetta to be returned to the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Once cooled, chop up the chicken into bite sized pieces and set aside.

The corn can be prepared a number of ways, but if you're barbecuing the chicken, strip the cobs of their skin and rub a small amount of olive oil all over them. Wrap them in foil and grill them on the top rack for about 15 minutes. I unwrap them near the end end place them directly on the bottom grill for about 3 minutes to blacken some of the ears. Alternatively, you can boil the corn for 5 minutes or use the frozen variety.

To cook the eggs, heat a pot of water until almost boiling. When the water's about to boil, add the eggs and set your timer for 6 minutes. This will get you a soft boiled egg assuming the eggs were refrigerated prior to being boiled. Add another 2 minutes if you prefer a hard-boiled egg. Once you've reached your desired time, remove from the heat, dump the water and replace with cold water to stop the eggs from cooking.

For the dressing, begin by crumbling the Stilton into a jug or container. Chop the chives and add them to the jug. Follow with the remaining ingredients and whisk well until all combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To prepare the salad, wash, dry and tear the Romaine leaves into bite-sized pieces. Combine with the mixed greens in a large salad bowl. Strip the corn from their ears and distribute on top of the salad along with the sliced tomatoes and avocado. Add the sliced chicken and peeled/halved eggs as well. I included some of the remaining chopped chives in the salad and dressed each portion individually. Don't forget that crusty bread and a little beer to accompany your healthy meal!!

Apricot, Rosemary & Garlic Pork Skewers

These apricot, rosemary and garlic pork skewers are the perfect kind of entertainment food and since I was having a party for one tonight, I dove right in. The marinade and marinating can be completed in advance. All that's left when company arrives is putting the pork on skewers and throwing them on the barbecue. I had yams and a green salad as a side and experimented with some gooey and moist chocolate brownies for dessert which I'll save for another post.

Adapted from: http://www.cookingandbeer.com

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin
• 1 cup apricot jam
• 3 T Dijon mustard
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• Fresh rosemary

Method

If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least an hour before using them.

Combine the jam, mustard, soy sauce, garlic and oil and mix well. Add the needles of four sprigs of rosemary in with the marinade. Cut the pork tenderloin into one inch pieces. Add them to the marinade, coating them well and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.

Preheat the barbecue to medium-high heat. Barbecue the pork skewers for about 15 minutes, rotating them every 3 minutes. Remove them from the heat and serve immediately.

Pork Molotes with Pickled Onions

I bought a bag of masa harina, or corn flour last year and figured it was time to use what remained of the bag on something new. I found a molote recipe online, a dough-encased meat pocket originating from Oaxaca, Mexico. This version includes pickled onions, a delightful combination and a fun alternative to the standard Western holiday eating I've been indulging in lately. The original recipe calls for an empanada iron in which to cook the molotes. Since I don't have one, I pan fried these pockets in canola oil. These go well with a light coleslaw of your choice. 

Adapted From: http://www.muybuenocookbook.com

Makes about 12 molotes

Ingredients

Marinated Pork

1 t dried oregano
1 1/2 T ground black pepper
1 t ground cumin
1 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1 whole head of garlic
1 t salt
4 oranges, juiced
1 lime juiced
1/4 red onion
4 lb pork shoulder

Pickled Onions

2 large, red onions, sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 cup fresh lime juice
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 1/2 t salt

A few molote challenges along the way.

Molote Dough

2 cups masa harina corn flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 t vegetable shortening
1/2 t salt
2 1/2 cups of warm water
canola oil for frying

Method

Marinated Pork

Place all ingredients except the pork in bowl equipped to handle the spray of a hand blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into a sealable plastic bag and add the pork to it, ensuring the mix coats all of the surface of the meat. Let stand for 30 minutes or refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 F. Place the pork in a tin foil-lined roasting pan. Cover the roast loosely with tin foil and bake for 2 hours. The meat should be tender and falling off the bone.  Once cooked, cube the meat and set it aside.

Pickled Onions

Combine the juices and salt in a bowl. Add the onions to the mix and cover the bowl. Set aside.

Molote Dough

Mix the flours together with the baking powder, salt and shortening. Add the water and mix until all the flour mixture is combined with it.

Separate the dough into about 12 balls. Roll each ball flat between plastic sheets. Add a spoonful or two of the cubed pork and some onions onto half of the dough. Fold the other half overtop and seal the outside edges by pressing them closed with your thumb.

Heat 3 tablespoons of canola oil on high heat in a large pan. Place a molote in the pan and let brown for about three-five minutes on each side.

We served our molotes with salsa, sour cream and a side of coleslaw. 

Pork Tenderloin with Figs & Polenta

I cannot reduce sauces. I boiled the crap out of this sauce and still couldn't get it to the consistency required. This isn't the first time, but this time I didn't have the energy to fake it and add a corn starch mixture so at least it looked like I knew what I was doing. If you have any advice, I'm all ears.

Ok, let's move on to this dish's evaluation. This is my first experiment with instant polenta (only had the ready-made produced before) and I liked the result. I would guess my reaction had something to do with the pound of parmesan I added to it, but let's not begrudge our perky polenta. Searing the tenderloin definitely helps retain more moisture, so my resulting pork was lovely. The red wine sauce and fig combination was also notable. I deviated from the recipe for a few reasons: one, it was in Polish. Thanks Google translator for getting most of the recipe converted to English, but there were a few key areas where I had to guess what was happening next. Two: I couldn't get my hands on any fresh figs. Caramelizing dried figs didn't sound like a good fit, so I ended up sautéing them with onions, which was a decent trade off. Two thumbs up from this end. Hope you enjoy this entree too!

Adapted from: http://zmagazynu.blogspot.kr/

Serves 4

Ingredients

Pork Tenderloin

• 350 g pork tenderloin sliced into four steaks
• salt and pepper to season
• 1 T olive oil

Fig & Onion Melee

• 4 dried figs, halved
• half an onion
• 1 T olive oil

Sauce

• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 T sugar
• 1 1/2 cup beef stock
• Pepper to season

Polenta

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup polenta
• 1/4 cup parmesan
• 1 T mascarpone cheese
• 1 t olive oil
• salt to season

For the Pork

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a skillet, heat the olive oil. Season the pork well with salt and pepper and set aside for 15 minutes. Place in the heated skillet, searing each side for about 2-3 minutes. Place in a baking dish, in the oven for about 10 minutes.

For the Melee

Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the onions and saute for a minute. Combine the figs, mixing well until they soften, about 4 minutes.

For the Sauce

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil until the sauce has thickened and is about a third of the original volume. Add the figs and onions to the sauce before serving.

For the Polenta

Bring the milk and water to a boil. Slowly pour in the polenta, stirring continuously. Once the polenta is added, turn off the heat and add the parmesan and mascarpone. Finally, add the olive oil and season with a little salt. 

Cherry Balsamic Pork Chops, Quinoa Pilaf & a Crunchy Salad

While I know I haven't stopped eating, I couldn't figure out why the blog entries have suddenly come to a halt. My analysis brought several excuses. First and foremost was the elusive patio. I've hit every patio I could find over the last month, which has kept me out of the house and the kitchen. Summer cooking also seems less like cooking than the experiments I try in the winter. I think barbecues just call for simplicity and I haven't quite figured out how to make my grill-top creations exciting enough to write about. Finally, I pulled out several of my old favorites and repeat entries just don't make for good reading.

Now that I've given you all my excuses, here's what I ate for Sunday dinner. A good price on pork chops and incessant rain called for an attempt at a way to make pork chops juicy and delicious. I included some goods sides that I can carry as lunches too. 

Pork Chops in Balsamic Cherry Sauce

Adapted From: Fairchild, B. (2006). The Bon Appetit Cookbook. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. p. 293. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4, 140g pork chops
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette*
• 2 T butter
• 2 shallots, sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dried cherries

Method

Place the pork and vinaigrette in a dish to marinate for 15 minutes. Make sure that the chops are turned at least once to coat.

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Lift the pork from the marinade, shaking off the excess liquid and place in the skillet, reserving the marinade. Sprinkle the pork with pepper. Saute until brown, at least three minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a plate. Add the shallot to the skillet and stir until soft, about one minute. Add the broth, cherries and reserved marinade and bring the mixture to a boil, scraping off the brown bits from the sides of the pan. Return the pork to the skillet and simmer, turning the pork once until it is cooked through, the cherries are tender and the sauce has thickened, about four minutes. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper if required. Transfer the pork to plates, top with the sauce and serve.

*You can make your own by whisking a 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar with 1/4 cup of any oil of your choice and seasoning it with salt and pepper. Add a tablespoon of dijon mustard for some additional kick.

Quinoa Pilaf with Mushrooms & Caramelized Onions

Opted for oyster and porcini mushrooms 

From: http://eat-drink-love.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/3 cup toast pine nuts
• 2 T parsley, chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Bring the broth and quinoa to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. While the quinoa is cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the onions and mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and let cook for about a minute. Empty the quinoa into a bowl and add the mushroom mix to it, mixing well.  Toss in the pine nuts, parsley, salt and pepper and serve.

Chopped Salad with Feta, Lime and Basil

Adapted from: http://smittenkitchen.com

• 3 cups, crunchy vegetables, chopped
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 T chopped basil
• 1 t chili powder
• 2 T lime juice
• 2 T olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

The original recipe used various wax beans, cucumber and radishes for the vegetables along with mint as the herb of choice. I opted for green beans, asparagus, both blanched, radishes and basil as my herb. Go nuts with your favorite herbs and veg people!! That's what this salad is meant for!

Combine the vegetables, feta, onions, sunflower seeds and basil into a bowl. In a separate dish, add the lime juice with the oil, chili powder, salt and pepper. Whisk well until all ingredients are well combined. Add the dressing to your vegetables and toss well. This salad can be eaten immediately, but makes for great leftovers.

Spring Panzanella & Lemon Pork Tenderloin

I forget that pork chops and tenderloin typically need a juicy marinade or a sauce to serve with it. Might be me overcooking the meat or a poor quality pork at work, but I can't recall ever having pork of this kind without an accompaniment. Luckily a little kitchen fairy sent us a crabapple rosehip jelly and we pulled it out of our emergency jelly stash for this occasion. Dinner was saved. 

Truthfully, the pork was an afterthought. I was looking for something to accompany this bread salad and pork seemed like the right thing to do. Yes, the panzanella stole the show. It's really a crouton salad and if you like garlic-riddled bread, you'll dig panzanella. While my version looks like a K-Mart variety of Heidi Swanson's, I don't believe it tasted like one (check out her pic via the 101 cookbooks link below). 

Spring Panzanella

From: http://www.101cookbooks.com

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 lb loaf of day-old whole wheat bread, cut up into 1 inch chunks
• 1 shallot diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T thyme leaves, pulled from stem
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 bunch of asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cup of peas, fresh or frozen
• 4 handfuls of spinach
• 1/4 cup small basil leaves
• Salt as required

Method

Preheat your oven to 350F. In a large bowl, toss the bread chunks well with the shallot, garlic, thyme leaves, oil and salt. Spread the mixture evenly over a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. When ready, the bread crumbs should be browned and crunchy.

In a cold skillet, add a splash of olive oil and a splash of water and a few pinches of salt. Turn the burner  on high heat. Once the water starts to bubble, add the asparagus and cover for 30 seconds. Add the peas and cover for another 30 seconds. Finally, add the spinach and cover for a few seconds until the spinach starts to wilt.

Put the breadcrumbs in a bowl and toss in the asparagus mixture including the juices. Add the basil leaves and mix well.

Lemon Pork Tenderloin

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin
• 1 T rosemary leaves, chopped
• 1 T thyme leaves, chopped
• 1 T lemon zest
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 t salt
• 1 t pepper

Method

Combine all ingredients with the exception of the pork into a bag and mix well. Add the pork and ensure it gets completely coated with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least an hour, but overnight is best. Barbecue on medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and tent the loin for 10 minutes. Serve with a citrus chutney or other sauce/jelly.

Pork with Gorgonzola Sauce & Wine-Sauteed Portobello Mushrooms with Polenta

This was the entree that went with the scallops and yes we actually moaned when we ate this meal. Hello rich food! Actually, the only thing rich on this plate is the gorgonzola sauce. This sauce was the highlight of my Christmas vacation. We made so much of it that I had plenty to top grilled vegetables with it, baked spuds and other items. Definitely worth the experiment!

http://www.epicurious.com

Ingredients

Pork

• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T dried thyme
• 2, 3/4-pound pork tenderloins
• 
  

Gorgonzola sauce

• 1 T butter
• 1 T all purpose flour
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese 

Pork

Oil large rimmed baking sheet. Whisk Dijon mustard, olive oil and thyme in small bowl to blend. Sprinkle pork tenderloins with salt and pepper. Heat heavy large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add pork and sear until brown all over, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer seared pork to prepared baking sheet. Spread Dijon mustard mixture over all sides of pork. (Can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead. Refrigerate pork uncovered.)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Roast pork until thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 150°F, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes.

Sauce

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon flour and whisk 1 minute. Gradually whisk in whipping cream, white wine and chicken broth. Boil until mixture is thick enough to coat spoon, whisking frequently, about 1 minute. Add crumbled Gorgonzola and whisk until cheese is melted and smooth and sauce is reduced to desired consistency, about 5 minutes.

Slice pork and transfer to plates. Ladle some sauce over pork. Serve, passing additional sauce separately.

Wine-Sauteed Portobella Mushrooms and Polenta

Adapted from: Martha Stewart Living. October 2007 p. 102.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 portobello mushrooms
• 1 garlic glove, coarsely chopped
• 2 T coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 t kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/8 cup and 1 T of olive oil
• tube of ready-to-serve polenta (feel free to prepare your own. I wasn't able to find anything but the ready-made variety)

Method

Toss portobellos with garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, vinegar, and 1/8 cup of oil in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature, tossing occasionally for 1 hour. Pour portobellos and marinade into small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining tablespoon of oil and remove mushrooms only from pan.

Slice polenta into 1/2 inch disks and place in pan on medium heat. Coat with remaining vinegar and oil mixture in pan. Let simmer for 3 minutes on each side. Place the polenta on a plate and the portobellos on top. Add the sauce over the combination and garnish with chopped parsley.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Coleslaw & Carnitas

  I've made pulled pork in a crockpot earlier this year, but was keen to try baking it in the oven in order to get that crispy surface area that makes pulled pork so noteworthy. Even with a dry rub, the pork retained quite a bit of moisture. It looks like a lump a charred turd once cooked, but should fall apart easily with a little prodding from your fork and knife and I can assure you, this will be the best turd you've ever prepared! Our first meal with it was a simple sandwich with plum chutney as a sauce. If you have soft buns (lunges will help!) and barbecue sauce, I can only assume you would moan at the pulled pork sandwich combo Paula Deen puts together on her recipe available through the coleslaw link below.

Pulled Pork: http://thewholekitchen.blogspot.com

Serves 8

Ingredients

•  3.5 lbs. pork shoulder (bone in)

• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup kosher salt
• 
1 T chili powder

• 1 T cumin

• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 1 T smoked paprika

1. To make the rub, thoroughly mix together the brown sugar, salt, smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes and cayenne.
2. Pat dry the pork shoulder and then liberally apply the rub to all sides. Place in a leak-proof container. Cover and refrigerate for as long as 24 hours, or as little as overnight. It will give up a cup or more of liquid so make sure your container is big enough to prevent spillage.
3. Remove the shoulder from refrigerator, brush off any excess or caked on rub. Move to a clean roasting pan with the fat side up.
4. Heat the oven to 275F. Place in the oven and let roast for 9 hours. Yes, I’m serious about it taking that long. After about 3 hours, there will be enough fat rendered to allow you to baste the shoulder every 1 to 2 hours. With a large spoon simply pour the rendered fat over the shoulder.
5. You will know it’s ready because the outside of the shoulder is extremely dark, nearly burned looking. The pork should pull easily from the bone and the fat/skin on the top should be nearly crispy.
6. Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 30 min. Using a pair of forks or very clean hands pull the pork away from the bone. This should be very easy to do.
7. Serve on a bun with bbq sauce, on tortillas..this list goes on!

Buttermilk Coleslaw Recipe: http://www.pauladeen.com

Serves 6

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1½ T Dijon mustard
• 2 T light brown sugar
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 2 T buttermilk
• ½ t celery salt
• 1 t kosher salt
• 1 t freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups finely shredded green cabbage (about ½ head)
• 4 cups finely shredded purple cabbage (about ½ head)
• 2 large carrots, grated

Whisk together the mayo, mustard, brown sugar, vinegar, buttermilk, celery salt, kosher salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cabbages and carrots and toss to combine. Cover and chill until serving time.

 The following night, we made carnitas with the pork. I opted for tortillas from the Argyll Foods on 63 Avenue. Their little corn tortillas are made with masa flour and make all the difference as far as flavour is concerned. With tomatillo salsa, avocado slices, cilantro and a little sour cream, these were delicious little meals. 

Tomatillo Salsa


Ingredients

• 4 tomatillos, finely chopped
• Juice of one lime
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 large red onion, diced
• 2 T chopped cilantro
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Simply combine the ingredients and serve. Tomatillos are firm in texture and not as juicy as a tomato, so don't be surprised when you slice them open. I remove the seeds from one half of the pepper and leave the seeds from the other half in. This gives me a medium salsa.




Carnitas


As far as the carnitas are concerned, heat your tortilla shells in a dry frying pan on high heat for a minute on each side. Pile as much sour cream, avocado, pork, salsa and other treats that you can handle on top and eat carefully: These babies are messy.

Soy-Ginger-Marinated Pork Chops and Green Rice

Voted best leftover lunch dish by Liv's belly, this dish came from one of the recipe cards in Martha Stewart's Living magazine. The marinade calls for low-sodium soy sauce, but that's like eating non-fat yoghurt: ridiculous. Soy sauce is salty, so if you find it a bit much, use less of it or cut back on your sodium with respect to other ingredients.  As far as I'm concerned, low-sodium soy compromises on flavour and that's just not what Martha would have wanted...although she did edit this recipe. These chops were loins and quite low on the lard side, but the marinade also kept them tender. Yay food!

From: Martha Stewart Living Sept 2011

• 1/4 cup plus 2 T soy sauce 
• 1/4 vegetable oil
• 3 T freshly grated ginger
• 3 T light-brown sugar
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 t pepper
• 4 bone-in pork chops

Whisk together soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of oil, ginger, sugar, chopped onion and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.  Arrange pork chops in a 9 X 13 inch baking dish. Reserve 3 tablespoons marinade and pour remainder over pork chops. Marinate, covered with plastic wrap, flipping chops halfway through for 45 minutes. Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove pork chops from marinade and sear for 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Flip chops and sear until just cooked through, 4 minutes more. Transfer chops to a board or platter. Let rest for 5 minutes. Add reserved 3 tablespoons marinade to skillet. Simmer over medium heat until thickened, about 30 seconds. Spoon sauce over chops. Garnish with thinly sliced scallion.

Green Rice

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup packed fresh mint
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 T vegetable oil
• 1 cup jasmine rice
• coarse salt

Puree water, cilantro, mint, onions and garlic in a blender until smooth. Heat oil in a small saucepan over high heat. Cook until slightly toasted, 1-2 minutes. Add herb puree and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook covered for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Grilled Pork & Noodle Salad with Basil, Cilantro & Mint

The sambal oelek was a gift from my soon-to-be mother-in-law and its flavour is distinct. Nonetheless, you could substitute this with chili sauce if need be. If you don't have a mandolin, please put this on your list of must-haves next to good health and working organs. A mandolin is simply a chopping device that makes repetitive, thin-cut work all the more pleasant. It's typically a $30 tool although I went all out and bought the $60 version.  

Serves 6


Adapted from: Martha Stewart Living's April 2011 edition

• 2 t sambal oelek 
• 3 T plus 2 t nam pla (fish sauce)
• 1 T plus 1t of safflower oil
• 1, 14 oz pork tenderloin
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 3 T sugar
• 1 T finely chopped red chili
• 5 oz rice vermicelli
• 1 english cucumber sliced in thin strips lengthwise (preferably with a mandolin)
• 1/2 large carrot, peeled and cut into match sticks
• 1 small shallot sliced thinly lengthwise
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint

Rub sambal oelek, 2t nam pla and 1t oil over pork to coat completely. Let marinate in refrigerator, covered for at least one hour. Heat grill to high. Grill pork, rotating often, until charred on all sides and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reaches 140F; about 20 minutes. Transfer to a platter and tent with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes. Whisk together remaining 3T name pla, 1T safflower oil, lime juice, sugar and chile in a large bowl until sugar dissolves. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain again and add to the bowl with sauce.  Thinly slice port on the bias and add to bowl along with cucumbers, carrot, shallot and chopped herbs. Toss well to coat.

Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Pork

Yum. This tastes just as you think it would: creamy, tangy and full of lovely flavours. I served this with basmati rice, roasted peanuts and cilantro as the recipes mentions, but there are so many options for altering this recipe, you could make it a million times over in a slightly different way. 


Adapted from http://letsdishrecipes.blogspot.com


Serves 6

• 1 (2 pound) pork loin
• 1 cup hoisin sauce
• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons chili sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 2 cups snow peas
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup chopped green onions or cilantro
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts
• 2-3 limes, cut into wedges
• Cooked rice or rice noodles

Lightly grease a slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.  Place pork loin in slow cooker.  In a medium bowl, stir together the teriyaki sauce, rice vinegar, chili sauce, ginger and garlic. Pour the teriyaki mixture over the pork loin.  Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred with two forks.  Whisk the peanut butter into the juices in the slow cooker. Return the pork to the slow cooker, along with the sliced peppers and snow peas and cook for 30-60 minutes more, until vegetables are tender but still crisp. Serve over rice or noodles with green onions, peanuts and lime wedges to garnish. 

Curried Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Maple-Ginger Sweet Potatoes and Apple

Serves 6

Adapted from http://www.ouichefnetwork.com

Ingredients:

For the pork:

• 1 large pork tenderloin, cut into 6 medallions
• 2 T curry powder
• 2 T canola oil

For the apple cider sauce:

• 2 cups apple cider
• 1/2 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 T of cold unsalted butter
• 1 t chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 t cornstarch mixed with 1/2 teaspoon water

Roasted sweet potatoes and apples:

• 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (about 8 cups)
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 T unsalted butter, (2 T melted, 1 not)
• 3 T lemon juice, divided
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cubed
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 3 t grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Method:

Roasted sweet potatoes and apples:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Toss cubed sweet potatoes with the melted butter, the grated ginger, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and some fresh ground pepper and arrange them in an even layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. 
• Place sheet in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, give them a quick stir and then continue roasting them for another 15 minutes.
• Pull the sheet from the oven, drizzle the potatoes with the maple syrup, add the cranberries, and give them another stir.  Place back in the oven and roast for a final 10 minutes.
• While the potatoes are roasting, heat 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter and the other 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in a small frying pan and throw in the cubed apples and chopped nuts. Cook until the apples have softened some, but still have a little crunch. Place in a bowl to reserve.
• When the potatoes have finished roasting, add them to the bowl of apples and stir to combine.  Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, with chopped scallions and cilantro sprinkled over the top.

Apple cider sauce:

• Place the 2 cups of apple cider and the 1/2 tablesoon of apple cider vinegar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and reduce to 1/2 cup.  Lower the heat and add the cornstarch slurry, whisking constantly until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Remove from heat and whisk in the tablespoon of butter until it is fully emulsified with the cider. Toss in the thyme leaves, and season to taste with freshly ground pepper.  Cover and reserve in a warm place.

Pork tenderloin:

• Season the pork medallions with the curry powder and let stand for at about 30 minutes.
• In a large, heavy skillet, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 8 to 10 minutes total. Depending on the size of your tenderloin and thickness of your medallions, they may be fully cooked at this point, if not, transfer the skillet to the 400℉ oven and continue cooking until the center of the pork registers 150-155 ℉.   Remove the meat from the skillet and tent with foil to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.