Simply Yummy Pork

I've actually had this recipe for a few months, and keep meaning to post it, but as you can tell, I've been neglecting my blog for a while. Somehow real life has been taking up too much of my time! Anyway, I love this meal because it is sooo easy, and sooo quick; the other night, I did all the prep and cooking in less than 45 minutes. Even better, wrapping the tenderloin in prosciutto keeps the pork nice and tender which is great for me since I tend to have a propensity for overcooking pork. Probably the best part is that the kids will eat it!

I found this recipe on Real Simple, and was reminded that I really like that magazine as source for weeknight meals. I always forget about it, and then when I re-discover it, I am so happy I did. The recipe calls for red Bartlett pears, but I've just always used the green ones. I am not sure that it really makes a difference which pears you use -- I've always been happy with the results. Either way, do make sure that you use firm pears so that they don't turn to mush during the roasting process. And, I've used both fresh thyme and dried thyme. If you have the fresh on hand, use it -- but if not, the dried thyme will work too.

Prosciutto-wrapped Pork with Sweet Potatoes and Pears
(courtesy of Real Simple Magazine online)
Serves 4

2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 lb), peeled and cut lengthwise into wedges
2 firm red Bartlett pears, cut into wedges
2 tablespoons of olive oil
8 sprigs of fresh thyme
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 piece of pork tenderloin (about 1 1/4 lbs)
1/4 lb of thinly sliced prosciutto
1 tablespoon of honey

-- Heat oven to 425F. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes, pears, thyme, olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Roast for 15 minutes.
-- Meanwhile wrap the pork in the prosciutto, slightly overlapping the slices to cover the pork completely.
-- Push the vegetables to the sides of the baking sheet, place the pork in the center, and drizzle the pork with honey.
-- Roast until the pork is cooked through, and the pears and potatoes are tender, about 20-25 minutes. Let pork rest about 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with sweet potatoes and pears.

Figgy Pork

My parents visited the wine country in Sonoma earlier this fall and brought me back a jar of dried fig compote from the girl & the fig.  I looove figs.  I've been saving this jar until I could find something really special for which to use it.  I didn't want to just spread it on bread like it was some pedestrian jelly.  I wanted to use it on something more exciting.  But after looking at it sitting in my pantry for two  months, I finally decided to just use it.  Since pork lends itself so well to sweet sauces, I decided to use the compote with pork chops.  I looked at a few different recipes for inspiration, and came up with the following.    I suspect you could tweak it a bunch of different ways and still come up with something equally tasty.  The key here was the fig compote.   It was definitely a keeper recipe.   And, the ingredient amounts listed below are mostly approximations -- I did this one mostly by sight rather than by measuring utensils.   

Pork Chops with Fig Compote

(makes 4 servings)

4 bone-in pork chops

2 tablespoons olive oil

kosher salt 

fresh ground black pepper

1/2 cup diced onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup red wine

1 cup chicken broth

pinch of dried thyme

1 jar (about 1 cup) dried fig compote 

 

-- Season pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper

-- Heat large heavy skillet over medium high heat.  Add olive oil and swirl to coat pan. 

-- Sear pork chops on each side until just golden brown, turning only once. 

-- Remove to a platter and keep warm

-- Reduce heat, add onions and saute for about 2 minutes

-- Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute

-- Pour the red wine into the pan to deglaze and scrape up browned bits

-- Cook one minute, then add chicken broth, thyme, and fig compote

-- Cook over medium heat until sauce thickens

-- Return chops to the pan to warm and cover in sauce

-- Serve chops with sauce spooned over top

My Achilles heel is pork.  For some reason I have a lot of trouble not over-cooking it.  Chops, especially the thinner cuts, just cook so much faster than I anticipate.  So if you have this tendency at all, I would recommend that when you remove your seared chops from the pan, leave them a little undercooked.  They'll cook more once you return them to the pan.  

Lastly, this is a fast recipe, perfect for weeknights.  I served it with some roasted blue and red potatoes and some zucchini rounds sauteed in olive oil and seasoned with fleur de sel.   

Note:  Since posting this, I've created a new variation on this recipe to make an orange-y pork.  Instead of deglazing with white wine, I use orange juice.  And I replace the fig compote for about a cup of orange marmalade.  All of the rest stays exactly the same.  I love the combination of citrus with pork, so for me, this is an even tastier recipe.  

Pork Burritos (and hidden chard)

I've been busy this fall -- cooking a lot, but too busy to write about it.  One thing I've been doing a lot of lately is trying to make a meal out of the items I already have in the house, rather than running to the grocery store to buy more ingredients.   Not only is it better for our wallets (in this ridiculous economic environment), but it's kind of fun to MacGyver a meal together.  

All day today I've been trying to figure out what to make.  I had an entire package of diced pancetta left over from a recipe last week.  I also had some red chard from my CSA delivery.  I knew that I couldn't get my family to eat chard on its own (it's green, and therefore suspect), so I knew it had to be hidden in something else.  Pancetta and greens are a great side dish, but not something from which you can make an entire meal.  Then it hit me:  burritos!  What better way to hide things from your kids than to wrap them in a tortilla and cover them with cheese and sour cream!  So, I decided to make pork burritos -- all I needed to buy was the ground pork. 

Actually, I should note here that I don't really buy ground pork.  My father-in-law was a butcher who ran several Petrini's markets (if you are from Northern California, you probably know Petrini's -- my mother-in-law is a Petrini).  He told me that he is generally suspect of pre-packaged ground meat in the supermarket; he claims that grinding up pork is a way for markets to easily get rid of pork that is either low quality or nearing the end of its shelf life.  So instead, my mother-in-law recommended that I buy boneless ribs and grind them myself in the food processor.  This actually works great and is really easy!  

All I had to do was saute the pancetta, chard, and pork together, put them in a soft, warm tortilla, add some cheese, sour cream, and roll the entire thing up.  Yum!   Obviously this is a versatile recipe and you can make plenty of substitutions.  You can use almost any hearty green like regular chard or mustard greens.  And instead of pancetta, you can use Canadian bacon or just regular bacon, if you like.  But don't be tempted to skip the bacon just because the recipe already calls for pork.  The pancetta not only provides some flavorful fat in which to saute the greens, but it also adds some nice texture to the pork.  And really, doesn't everything taste better with bacon?

Pork Burritos

6-8 servings

1 1/2 pounds boneless pork ribs

4 oz diced pancetta

1/2 cup of chopped red chard, ribs removed (or similar hearty green)

2 tablespoons of green salsa, plus more to taste

tortillas

shredded Jack cheese

sour cream

-- Heat broiler

-- Chop pork into 1-2 inch cubes.  Grind in food processor

-- Remove pork from food processor and add chard.  Chop until diced

-- Heat a saute pan over medium high heat, and add pancetta.  Cook until it starts to crisp, about 5 minutes

-- Add chard to pan and mix in with pancetta.  Cook until the two are well incorporated, about 2 minutes

-- Add pork to mixture, and cook until meat is cooked through

-- Add green salsa to mixture

-- Place tortilla for each person on top rack of oven.  Let sit under broiler until soft, about 10 seconds.  Don't let them sit too long, or the tortilla will get crispy and become unwrappable.

-- Put tortilla on plate, 1-2 tablespoons of pork mixture (depending on the size of your tortilla), add cheese, sour cream, and more salsa, if desired.

-- Fold and roll tortilla

Note that you probably won't need to add any salt to this recipe.  The pancetta is generally pretty salty.  Taste the meat after you add the green salsa to the pan.  Add salt to taste, if necessary.