Apple - Pecan Stuffed Pork Chops with Cumin Mashed Potatoes

I had some lovely boneless, thick cut pork chops that were just begging for stuffing. I made a stuffing of coarse bread crumbs, chopped pecans, onion, and diced apple.

To stuff a pork chop, use a sharp paring knife to cut a pocket into one side of a chop. You want to cut to just about 3/4 inch from the other sides. Be careful not to cut all the way through. Press the stuffing mix into pocket, until the chop bulges a little, but the opening of the pocket will still close.

I grilled the pork chops to medium well, and finished them off with a glaze of apple cider and sweet soy sauce. I augmented the glaze with some ginger and cinnamon. Once I had good grill marks on one side, I flipped the pork chops and brushed the cooked side with glaze. I brushed the chops two or three times, before removing them from the grill.

To accompany the pork chops, I made cumin mashed potatoes. I added a little non-fat Greek yogurt and a little cream. The spouse mashed the potatoes, and had the patience to get them much smoother than I usually do.

For the vegetable, I sauteed some chard leaves in a little bacon butter. I finished the chard with a splash of apple cider vinegar.

I was really happy with this meal. All the flavors complemented each other well. I got the pork chops to a perfect juicy doneness. I was able to allow them to rest long enough to not be dry.

The bacon butter was a gift, so I do not know what the exact recipe is. One that seems like it should get the right results is here.

Recipes

Apple - Pecan Stuffing

1/2 cup coarse dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. chicken stock

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the onion in the olive oil until tender but not browned. In a bowl, mix together crumbs, nuts, onion, and apple. Slowly add stock, until mixture is moist, but not wet.

Apple Cider Vinegar - Sweet Soy Glaze

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sweet soy sauce
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Cook until glaze has reduced by half, and has started to thicken.

Cumin Mashed Potatoes

6 small russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
2 tsp. ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

In a stock pot with plenty of water, boil potatoes until tender. Drain, return to pot. Add yogurt, cream, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mash until smooth.

Chard with Bacon Butter

6 cups roughly chopped chard leaves
2 Tbsp. bacon butter
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

In a stock pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add chard, cook, stirring until chard starts to wilt. Add vinegar, and cover. Reduce heat to low. Cook until chard is completely wilted.

Happy Eating!

Islamic Medieval Dinner 2

As I've mentioned before, I am co-ordinating a medieval Islamic banquet next month, and I am testing out recipes. Previous experiments can be seen here and here. This time, I was working on recipes for chicken with pistachios, carrots and leeks with tahini, and lentils with taro and chard.

The chicken was diced, sauteed, then covered with chicken stock and simmered a bit with the coarsely chopped pistachios. I like it, but I think it is crying out for just a hint of cardamom. I think that would really pop the pistachios.

The carrots and leeks are simmered in vegetable stock, and spiced with tahini, nutmeg, clove, pepper, and ginger. I think next time I will get the carrots almost done before adding the leeks.

Taro is an interesting beast. The skin is quite tough, but the buggers are slippery as heck when peeled. According to sources on the web, some people react to the raw taro, which can cause an itching sensation on the hands, or in the mouth, if eaten under-cooked. I did not learn this until after I peeled and diced them, so apparently I am not one of those people. They can have a slimy texture, but I found that if boiled to tender, then drained and rinsed, they can have the same texture as boiled potato. Chard really has two components, the leaf and the stem. Both are delicious, but need to be handled differently. I diced up the thick stems, and sauteed them in  oil for a few minutes, until tender. The leaf I just rough chopped, then added to the lentils just at the end of cooking. The cooked taro was added just before serving, as well.These were quite good. The spouse said they were the star of the plate.

Recipes

Chicken with Pistachios

2 chicken breasts, diced
1 cup pistachios, roughly chopped
1 cup chicken stock
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. olive oil

In a skillet, saute chicken in olive oil over medium-high heat until half way done. Add stock, pistachios, and salt, cook until chicken is cooked but tender.

Carrots and Leeks with Tahini

5 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 inch wide, 4 inch long pieces
white part of 1 large leek, quartered and cut into 4 inch long pieces
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tbsp. tahini
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
a pinch of clove
salt to taste

In a saucepan, simmer carrots in stock until mostly tender. Add leeks and spices. Cook until both carrots and leeks are tender. Drain, toss with tahini and salt.

Lentils with Taro and Chard

1 cup lentils
4 small taro roots
5 leaves of chard
2 cups vegetable stock
4 cups water
salt to taste
1 tbsp. oil

Peel and dice taro. (Care should be used with raw taro, it can cause itching. Safest to wear gloves). In a saucepan simmer taro in 4 cups water, until tender,  15 to 20 minutes. Drain, then rinse thoroughly. Set aside.

Separate chard stems from leaves. Dice stems, chop leaves into roughly 1 inch square pieces. Saute stems in oil over medium heat until tender. Set aside.

Simmer lentils in stock until tender, between 15 and 20 minutes. add water as necessary to keep lentils covered. When tender, stir in taro, chard stems, and chard leaves. Cook until chard leaves are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Salt to taste.

Happy Eating!

Garlic-Sage Chicken, Chrispy Fried Okra, and Rainbow Chard with Bacon

Tonight was about using up things that needed to be used. I had about a pound of chicken breast left over from the Chicken Tasting Party. I also had some purple okra and rainbow chard from our CSA that needed to be used before it went bad. So far, I've only found two ways to use okra effectively, throw it into a soup or stew just before serving, or bread it and fry it. Admittedly, just about anything can be made tasty that way. I had some leftover bacon, and bacon and greens is always a good combination. Finally, I had leftover sage, and sage and chicken are a classic.

The chicken is sauteed with onion, garlic, and sage. I used both the stems and leaves of the chard. They have different textures, and I like the contrast. The chard stems are cooked in the bacon fat, then the greens and some rice vinegar added to steam and wilt. I breaded the okra in seasoned cornmeal, then fried in hot canola oil.

Recipes

Garlic-Sage Chicken

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
12 large fresh sage leaves, cut into thirds
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Toss chicken cubes with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. In a medium-hot pan, add olive oil and chicken. Saute until browned, but not completely cooked. Add onion and sage, cook until onion is nearly translucent, then add garlic. Cook until chicken is done, but still moist.

Crispy Fried Okra

1/2 lb. fresh okra
1 cup fine cornmeal
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 egg, beaten
canola oil for frying

Trim okra, then cut into approximately 1/2 inch long pieces. Mix cornmeal, salt, and spices in a bowl. In a small saute pan, add about 3/4 inch of canola oil. Heat to 370 degrees. Toss okra with egg, then cornmeal mixture, until well coated. In small batches, fry okra until brown and crispy. Be careful not to crowd the pan.

Rainbow Chard with Bacon

2 bunches rainbow chard
1/4 lb. bacon, diced
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

Chop chard into 1 inch long pieces, keeping stems and leaves separate. In a stock pot on medium heat, cook bacon until fat is rendered and bacon is crispy. Remove bacon. Cook stems in bacon fat until tender. Add leaves and vinegar, put on lid. let steam until chard is wilted. Return bacon ton pan and toss.

Happy Eating!