What’s not to like about Chicken rolled up with good ingredients inside and then baked or fried?  I’ve always liked the idea, so I decided to do my own spin on it and see how it went.

The results were pretty good (good enough to post here at least), and incorporated some very traditional cordon bleu ingredients, as well as a very non-traditional one in some fresh basil pesto.  Now that I think about it, the way I made this chicken cordon bleu makes me think that this recipe should belong to the Italians rather than the French, who are credited for the dish.

Try it and incorporate your own ingredients and let me know what you think.  Here’s my Italian Chicken roulade (or ‘cordon bleu’ if you like)  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Around 1 cup Gruyere cheese – grated
• 6-8 thinly sliced pieces of Prosciutto
• 1/2 cup or so of basil pesto (see recipe below)

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 2 organic eggs
• 6-8 sprigs of thyme
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs (more as needed)
• 1/2 cup flour (more as needed)
• Salt and pepper

Here’s the pesto ingredients:

• 2 cups basil – rinsed and dried (like lettuce)
• 4 Tbsp. pine nuts – toasted until medium brown
• 1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves fresh garlic – raw
• Extra virgin olive oil to bring together (about 1/3-1/2 cup)
• 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest – grated on a microplane
• Salt to taste
• Dash of black pepper

Start by making the basil pesto, in advance if you can.  For the recipe, check out the basil pesto method in this post.  Basically, it’s pretty easy – do it in advance if you can, you’ll benefit form making it in advance, as the ingredients will come together overnight.

Next you can start with the chicken roulade.  The key with any roulade is to get the meat into a ‘roll-able’ shape.  The way I do this is to take the chicken breast and place it between two separate pieces of saran wrap and pond it with a meat mallet or rolling pin (what I use).  Make sure you pound it out very evenly, to around 1/4 inch thickness.  You want to make sure that the chicken breast is pounded very thin, but not ripped or torn at all.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  You can now add the fillings to the chicken.  Remove the top saran wrap from the pounded chicken, but leave the bottom half below.  Start with the pesto – smear a thin layer of pesto onto the chicken over only 1/2 of the breast.  Make sure you use a decent amount of pesto (at least I do, because I really like the flavor of the basil).  Next, add the prosciutto, one layer at a time, try to use around 2 thin slices of prosciutto topped evenly over the pesto.  Next, add the Gruyere cheese on the top of the prosciutto.  It should all pile up on the lower half of the chicken breast.

You then want to roll the breast up into formation.  Start at the bottom of the breast where the fillings are.  Pick up the saran wrap and fold the bottom part of the chicken breast up to wrap up the fillings.  Pull back the saran wrap and roll the rest of the chicken up in full, leaving the saran wrap around the rolled breast.  You then want to wrap the breasts up tight inside the wrap and twist the ends up to seal the chicken up tightly.  Place the wrapped chicken in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the dish.

You should now set up the breading station.  Add the flour to a plate or bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Whisk the eggs with a splash of water and set them next to the flour.  You then want to add the thyme to the bread crumbs and place in a pan with the butter over medium heat and gently melt the butter into the bread crumbs.  Letting the bread crumbs cook a bit will help them brown in the oven.  Once you cook the crumbs a bit, move them to another plate.

Take the chicken out of the fridge and dredge in the flour, then move to the egg and lightly coat with egg mixture.  You then want to coat the chicken with the bread crumb mixture and place in an oven proof dish.  Bake the chicken in the heated oven for around 25-30 minutes, then remove and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.  I like to slice the chicken up and serve it over a vegetable dish like shredded Brussels sprouts or roasted sweet potatoes with rosemary.  Enjoy!

This one was one of the first recipes that I noticed and wanted to try when I picked up the ‘Jaime at Home’ cookbook.  It’s one of those recipes that is fairly intimidating (you have to make your own pastry crust) yet ultimately totally rewarding (because it’s so damn good).  Jamie Oliver makes this with spinach…not having any around I opted for Kale, a favorite veggie of Fresh Dish lobster roll author Taylor Barstow.  One of the things I really like about this recipe is the Parmesan cheese, which I supplemented with some Gruyere – Mario Batali (along with many others) considers Parma ‘the king of all cheeses’ – and if you were a doubter before, try this recipe and you’ll likely change your mind.

The ham in the original recipe called for ‘smoked ham’, which I couldn’t find in the market and didn’t have the time to smoke the ham myself.  So instead, I opted to use some prosciutto (how can you go wrong, right?) and some standard black forest ham, which turned out to add a little bit of sweetness and was great.  I’d recommend it again. Also, don’t deterred about the 3 onions – I know it seems like a lot, but you’re going to want all of them, trust me.  I was skeptical, but this tart is one that will feed a family and leave leftovers.

I’ll admit, I’m not a baker (though I’m striving to learn), so making the dough was a little bit of a challenge.  Especially because the ingredient increments were in ounces, and I don’t own a scale.  Oh man.  I was able to sort of estimate measuring out the ingredients and it turned out great, thank the lord.  I was actually thinking that we’d be ordering pizza for a little bit.  In any case, if you have the time and want to make something truly memorable, try this:

For the pastry crust (make this first):

• 1  3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup lard or shortening – cut into cubes
• Leaves from one sprig of rosemary AND/OR a few sprigs of thyme – chopped
• 1 large egg – beaten
• 2 Tbsp. whole milk
• 1/3 cup shredded (not packed too tight) cheddar cheese
• Big pinch of salt

This recipe really works best with a food processor (at least I think so…I don’t have a mixer) but you can probably have a mixer if you have one.  Start by adding the flour, cheese and lard with a big pinch of salt to the food processor and combine them for around 30 seconds.  The mixture should become sort of grainy, but still rather fine.

Add the herbs, egg and milk and mix together for another little while, just until the mixture comes together.  Once it looks good, dump out the mixture onto a lightly floured board and clump the dough together into a ball but don’t knead it!  Wrap your dough in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Ingredients for the Filling:

• ~1/2 lb. black forest or other ham
• 6-8 slices of Prosciutto – thinly sliced
• 2 cups creme fraiche
• 3 eggs
• Several sprigs of oregano – leaves picked, some chopped, others left whole
• 3 medium sized red onions – diced
• 1 medium bunch of kale – stems removed and finely chopped
• 3 medium cloves of garlic – finely chopped
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese – grated (reserve 1/2 of it for the topping!)
• 1/2 cup good Gruyere cheese – grated
• Extra virgin olive oil
• A small amount of butter for greasing sheet
• Salt and pepper

While your dough is in the fridge, start the onions in a pan over medium heat and sweat them until they’ve turned translucent, but don’t let them color.  Add in the kale, in batches (there will be a lot to add) and cook down, mixing it together with the onions.  Next add the chopped oregano and garlic and season with salt and pepper.  Add in the wine and cook until 3/4 of the wine has cooked off.  Once this is done, kill the heat and set the mixture aside.

Next, you should grab your dough out of the fridge and also grab a baking sheet.  Roll out your dough to around 1/4″ thickness.  Patch the dough as necessary, but don’t let it rip at all.  Grease your baking sheet with your butter and carefully place the rolled out dough onto the sheet.  Go around the rim of the baking sheet with a fork or knife and remove any access.  Prick the dough all over with a fork and place it into the freezer for 20-30 minutes.

At this point, preheat your oven to 375 F.  Make the topping by mixing the creme fraiche, eggs and cheeses together in a mixing bowl.  Chop or rip the ham up to your desired size and set aside.

When you dough is ready, pull it out of the freezer and pop it right into the oven for 6-8 minutes or until it’s golden brown.  Remove it and you’re ready to build your tart.  I put the onion/kale mix on first, being sure to cover all of the tart shell.  Next, add the ham and prosciutto and top with the creme fraiche mixture.  Top with the reserved Parmesan cheese, the whole oregano leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.  Bake in the oven for around 15-20 minutes, or until the topping has turned golden brown.  Let cool for 10-15 minutes and cut as you like.  Enjoy!

This apple chutney recipe is perfect for pork chops or on top of a pork sandwich.  This was one of those recipes that sort of came together at the last minute when cooking a pork roast for a big group of family and turned out really well.  It’s also a great way to incorporate apples into a savory dinner (it’s a good way to use that basket of apples you bought at the store or farm that are rotting on your counter).

I’ve never really cooked chutney before, but was inspired to do so after sampling some of Vermont Harvest’s great jams and chutneys at this years Expo East show in Boston.  Check them out!  Cooking chutney involves making a vinegar based sauce that includes cider vinegar and sugar, and then adding big flavors, including A LOT of fresh garlic and fresh ginger.  After steeping these guys for a while, you add in the apples and some other spices and cook them down for a while.  In fact the lower and slower you cook the chutney the better (I rushed it for the sake of time, and though it turned out ok, I had to blast the heat to cook off the rest of the vinegar…).

The result should be both sweet and savory and really tasty.  The base of this recipe comes from Bon Appetit magazine, with a few choice TFD modifications – I think we have a winner here in the ‘autumn condiment recipe’ category.  Enjoy!

• 1.5 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 6 cloves of fresh garlic – chopped (minced if no food processor available)
• 1.5 Tbsp. fresh ginger – peeled and rough chop
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp. brown mustard seeds
• Around 8-10 apples – granny smith or another variety of more tart apple (really any will work besides red delicious) – Peeled, Cored and Chopped into 1″ cubes
• 1 cup raisins (golden preferred)
• 1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
• Salt to taste (doesn’t need much)

Start with the vinegar and sugars in a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot.  Bring the vinegar up to a boil so that the sugar dissolves (should take around 10 minutes or so).  Stirring will help.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine the apples and the lemon juice so all of the apples get some love from the lemon.  If you need to add some more lemon juice, go for it.  You should then place the garlic and ginger in a food processor with a big pinch of salt and pulse to combine until they’re relatively small.

Next, add the chopped garlic and ginger to the vinegar mixture and mix to combine, letting them steep in the vinegar for a few minutes.  Add the apples to the pot, stir to combine them with the vinegar.  Finally, add the raisins, red pepper, mustard seeds and a little more salt (just a pinch).  Turn the heat up to high to bring the vinegar mixture back up to a boil, then lower the heat to low/medium, cover the pot (leaving a small opening) and let the mixture cook down for around 45 minutes or until most of the liquid has cooked off.  Remember, it’s very important to stir the mixture on an intermittent basis.  Taste the chutney and adjust the seasonings as needed.  Enjoy!

A long time ago, I made up the decision to give up eating beef and, consequently, I didn’t eat meatballs for many years. About a year ago, I saw a woman in an Italian restaurant eating spaghetti and meatballs and seeming to enjoy every bite, and I realized how much I missed eating them.  It then occurred to me that meatballs, like burgers, could certainly be made without beef.

I began a search for authentic meatball recipes, and I found one that used buttermilk, an ingredient that I don’t often use, but the author of the recipe claimed to have tried several different recipes and suggested this method above all others so I decided to give it a try.   I chose to substitute the ground beef with ground turkey and hot Italian sausage meat, and the result was even more delicious than any meatball I remember from my years of eating beef.  The recipe would work just as well with ground pork, lamb, chicken, beef, or veal any combination you prefer.

The reason I love this meatball recipe is it produces very moist and tender meatballs, despite the fact that I use turkey, which is leaner than beef, and therefore has a tendency to dry out. The Parmesan, parsley, and garlic add wonderful flavor.  I often don’t mention that the meatballs are made without beef to my guests until the have already tried them, and most admit that they would not have been able to tell the difference, or even that they like them better.  Try them out and you can be the judge.  Here’s how they are made:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground turkey meat
• 3 hot Italian sausages, removed from its casing
• 1 egg
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 3 slices of white or Italian bread
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 lb. (standard package) dried semolina spaghetti
• 4 cups prepared simple tomato fennel sauce (see previous post)

Begin by soaking the slices of bread in the buttermilk until the bread becomes soft enough to smash into a mush with a fork, about 1/2 hour.  In a large bowl, mix the meat, egg, garlic, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper, and bread mixture until thoroughly combined.  Do not be afraid to use your hands to mix.

To form the meatballs, use a tablespoon and scoop heaping spoonfuls of the meat mixture into your palm.  Gently roll into a ball, taking care not to over work the meatball, and place on a cookie sheet.  Try to form the meatballs to be uniform in size.

Once all the the meatballs are prepared, heat a large, heavy bottom pan, such as a dutch oven, over medium high heat and add about two tablespoons of olive oil.  Place one layer of meatballs in the pan, being careful not to overcrowd them.  Do not try to turn the meatballs until they are brown on the first side, and then turn them to cook on the other side.  Once the meatballs are browned on all sides, remove from the heat.  At this time, cook the remaining meatballs in the same way.

Once all of the meatballs are browned on all sides, add the sauce to the pan (see previous post for recipe).  Stir to work all of the browned bits into the sauce, and reduce the heat to low.  Add the meatballs back into the sauce, making sure they are fully submerged.  Let them finish cooking in the sauce, for at least another twenty minutes or so.

Pour the sauce and meatballs over spaghetti, garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese and serve.

Serves six people. Enjoy!

The Italians call this dish linguine con vongole, which simply means linguine with clams.  The traditional preparation is often prepared with the option of a tomato based red sauce or a wine based white sauce.  In this preparation, we have combined the two, using wine and chicken stock as the base for the sauce, but including fresh tomatoes to add color and acidity.

I was introduced to this dish at an early age, as it is perhaps my mother’s most favorite dish to cook and eat.  I would find myself drawn to the kitchen with smells of garlic, wine, and fresh seafood at least twice a month.  Although it was such a staple in my household, I never tired of the dish, which I attribute to the fact that each “batch”, as my mother called it, varied in it’s outcome.  The best “batches”were always the ones made with the most fresh little neck or manila clams, and contained just the right balance of pork, which could include chorizo or linguisa sausage or bacon.

I like to served the dish in large shallow bowls with plenty of fresh sourdough to dip in the sauce.  A caeser salad makes a great accompaniment to this dish as well.  Do not be afraid to make more than necessary, as this dish is often even better the next day.  Just remove the shells from the clams and cover prior to refrigerating.  Here’s how we make it happen:

• 1/2 large sweet onion – diced
• 4 garlic cloves – roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped Crimini mushrooms
• 1 cup fresh ripe tomatoes – roughly chopped
• 1 lb. Chorizo, Linguisa sausage or bacon
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 2 cups chicken broth, heated
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
• 1 Tbsp. fresh oregano
• 3 Tbsp. butter

• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. good dry (or fresh) linguine pasta
• Salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

Set the pasta water to boil prior to beginning the sauce.  By the time your water is boiling and your pasta is cooked al dente, according to the directions on the box, your sauce will be done.

Heat a large, heavy bottomed pan over medium heat.  Add the butter and olive oil and wait until the butter bubbles.  Add the onion and cook it until it begins to soften, then add the sausage (removing any casing) and cook it until it browns.  Add salt and red pepper to taste, but take care to not over spice.  Next add the mushrooms, garlic, oregano, and thyme, and stir to combine.  Cook until all of the vegetables soften.

Add the tomatoes and wine, and allow the wine to reduce for about three minutes on high heat.  Add the heated chicken stock and allow the stock to reduce by half.  At this point, there should be enough liquid to cook the clams, but if there is not, freely add more chicken stock as necessary.

Add clams to the broth.  The clams should be soaked and scrubbed clean so they will not add sandy grit to your dish.  Cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low, and allow the clams enough time to open.  Check intermittently and stir.  Once all or almost all of the clams are open, add the cooked pasta directly to pan and stir into the sauce.  If one or two clams are not open, discard them as they are not safe to eat.  Finish the pasta with the fresh parsley and sprinkle with parmesan cheese (optional).  Serves four to six people.

Out of habit, I make a lot of pasta.  I have made hundreds of variations of this dish, with some sort of ground meat or sausage, some variation on vegetables, and sauce.  Come to think of it, I could pretty easily write an entire cookbook full of them, changing the ingredients to accommodate the changes in season and mood.  This particular version, however, was special.  In my world, no dish exists that is more delicious and comfortable.  It has a few really fresh and high quality ingredients, none of which are expensive, and it could satisfy even the most insatiable crowd.

I would serve this to my friends on a Tuesday night, but I would not be ashamed to serve it to my mother on a Sunday. I never really feel the need to serve it with any accompanying side dishes because it is packed with veggies and served over spaghetti, and there is nothing that brings people together better than a family sized bowl of pasta in the middle of the dinner table. I also love to entertain with a dish like this because it only takes about 40 minutes to prepare and there are plenty of things for guests to help chop.

One thing that makes this particular pasta unique is the flavor the sauce gets from the vodka.  If you have never tried a vodka sauce before, it is awesome.  The flavor is more subtle than you would think, but it is sharper and cleaner than the flavor you get from using wine.  I was first turned on to the idea of using vodka when I had the linguini arabiata at a great little place in East Bay Area in California called La Piazza.  This family oriented Italian restaurant has an open kitchen with a few  bar stools to watch the action, so I was able to pick up some ideas for recreating this dish myself.  The nice thing about preparing it at home was that I could use whatever vegetables and meat I chose, and I was able to substitute the heavy cream for the yummy sheep’s milk feta, an option I felt a little better about.

View the recipe below as a cooking method rather than specific dish, although these ingredients do work together quite harmoniously.  I often search the fridge, inventory the fresh produce and protein on hand, and piece together a meal spontaneously.  So if you happen to have kale instead of spinach or chicken sausages rather than ground pork, you can absolutely make this happen.  My last bit of advice on this dish is to make twice as much as you think you will need for that night…it’s even better left over.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 large yellow onion, julienned
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

• 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced, with 3 tablespoons of the fronds chopped and reserved for garnish
• 1 large bunch of fresh spinach, cleaned and roughly chopped
• 12 oz. of feta cheese (I used sheep’s milk feta)
• 1 cup vodka
• 1 large can of San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 large can of tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup of pine nuts
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 package of spaghetti (I used whole wheat), cooked al dente
• Salt and red pepper flakes to taste

Heat the olive oil in large, deep skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and fennel and cook until they begin to become translucent.  Add the garlic, pine nuts,  and red pepper flakes.  Season the pork with salt and pepper and add to the pan, allowing the meat to brown before you turn it.  When the second side is cooking, break the pork into bite site bits with the back of a wooden spoon.

When the pork is browned on both sides, add the vodka and allow the alcohol to cook off for about five minutes.  Add the tomatoes and the tomato sauce and reduce the heat to low.  Stir in the chopped spinach. Break up the feta over the sauce and slowly stir it in to the sauce.  Stir in the reserved fennel fronds.  Add the cooked spaghetti to the skillet, and toss well all together.  Serves four with leftovers!

I recently found some awesome looking rhubarb at a roadside farm in Concord, MA near my sister Elise’s house.  I bought it with the thought that I didn’t just want to settle and make the standard ‘strawberry rhubarb’ desert that is delicious but oh so common.  ‘There has to me more uses for this stuff than just deserts’ I thought to myself.  So through the cookbooks I went for ideas and happened upon a Jamie Oliver recipe that combined the rhubarb in a Chinese sauce that went over pork and then got braised.  The pork is served over cold noodles with elements of a salad, in which I included watercress, cilantro, habanero, scallion and of course some of the reduced braising liquid.

If you aren’t familiar with rhubarb (as I wasn’t really) in its raw state, it’s very tart and a bit bitter, almost to the point of a lime flavor.

Rhubarb is in a family of plants that doesn’t include any other popular vegetable really, but lots of flowering plants.  Interestingly, the leaves of the rhubarb plant are poisonous, while the stalks are edible (so if you are growing rhubarb, don’t eat the leaves!  The plant itself is indigenous to Asia, but grows well in most all temperate climates (and any climate really), and is easy to grow.

This dish worked with the tartness of the rhubarb, but also combines many other flavor profiles into the super savory pork (the word umami came to mind).  I’ll start with the sauce and go from there – you can make this ahead of time if you want, and would probably be better.  Keep in mind that the pork has to cook for at least 90 minutes, but would be better left in for at least 2.5 hours.

Here’s the sauce for ya:

• 4 medium thin stalks of rhubarb (or 2 think stalks) – chopped into 1 inch segments
• 1 piece of ginger about the size of a silver dollar – peeled and chopped roughly
• 5 cloves garlic – peeled

• 4 Tbsp. Honey
• 4 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. Chinese 5-spice powder
• 2 medium Jalapeno peppers – seeded and chopped
• 1 small stalk lemongrass – end removed, halved and chopped finely

Here’s the ingredients you’ll need for the rest of the dish:

• 2-3 lb. piece of pork shoulder – cubed into 1-2 inch cubes (can also use pork belly here)
• 10 oz. Udon noodles
• 3-4 scallions
• 1 habanero pepper (or red jalapeno for milder flavor) – seeded and THINLY chopped
• 1 small bunch watercress – around a cup
• 1 small bunch cilantro – around a cup as well
• 1-2 limes

To make the sauce: toss all of the ingredients into the food processor (it’s fairly necessary for this) and blend for a couple minutes until the mixture becomes the consistency of thick salsa.  It will certainly smell strongly.

Preheat your oven to 350 F.  Now for the pork, the main event of this dish.  You want to use a sharp knife first of all.  Remove any bones out of the pork and cube it into 1-2 inch pieces.  Place the pork pieces into a roasting pan or dutch oven and dump the sauce all over the pork along with about a cup of water and mix all together.  Cover with a lid or tin foil and put the pan in the oven for around 1.5 hours, taking out and stirring the pieces every 30 minutes.  You can let this go for longer if you want (I recommend it!)

Next, start a pan of boiling water.  Taste the pork after it’s been cooking for a while, it should be really tender, but not totally falling apart.

When it’s to your liking, remove the pork from the sauce and set aside.  Get a pan going over medium high heat and add a bit of vegetable oil.  Put the pork in the pan and brown until it’s crispy.  When the water is boiling, salt it and add the noodles and stir a little.  You should also add the pan with the sauce still in it to a burner and reduce until it’s about the consistency of ketchup.

Chop up the rest of the vegetables listed in the ingredient list above.  Once the pork is nice and crispy and the noodles are done, strain them and get some plates or bowls out.  To assemble, add some noodles to the plate, then the pork and top with the sauce (about 2-3 Tbsp. per plate, but you can estimate of course).  Finish with the scallion, watercress, peppers, cilantro on top and serve with a half a lime to squeeze on top.  Enjoy!

Ok, here’s the situation: it’s winter time – snow falling and not very many good, local, fresh ingredients at your local market.  You got some friends or family coming over for dinner on a weeknight and want to make something really good, but don’t want to have to work very hard at it.  Here’s an idea – do just a little bit of work a few days in advance and then reap the benefits later while only having to sear some pork chops for a few minutes.

Brining is something that I was introduced to a couple of Thanksgivings ago by Aimee’s family when we decided to brine an entire turkey for the dinner.  It turned out great for the turkey, and even better for these pork chops.  If you haven’t tried brining pork chops, you will be impressed with the moistness of them, I guarantee.  It’s so easy to do too, though the hard part is remembering to do it in advance.  A lot of sources may recommend brining pork chops 1-2 days, but I would definitely advise using the full 2 days or more. For other poultry, you can use less time, but be patient for the pork.  Here’s a pretty good guide for brining different types of meat.

The kale is a fairly simple Italian recipe that is spicy and savory.  The white beans added some starch and thickened the sauce and the tomatoes and lemon play key roles for their acidity.  This was a good complement to the pork and would serve it again.  Here’s how it went down:

For the Brine and Pork:

• 1/3 c. sea salt
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 10-15 whole black peppercorns
• 5-6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 rosemary sprigs
• 2 cloves garlic – smashed with your knife
• A few fennel seeds
• ~5 c. water
• 4 bone-in or bone-out pork chops

You can really add as many things here as you want or whatever you would like – it can be as simple as salt and water and it will still work great.  Some other ideas are star anise, cloves, cinnamon sticks, juniper berries, saffron, etc…you get the idea – go nuts.

Mix the brining ingredients well in a large seal-able bowl and add in the water.  The salt and sugar you add should dissolve before you add in the meat.  Once the liquid is ready, add the meat and cover in the fridge for the desired brining time. The brining time can vary, but I wouldn’t go over 36-48 hours on it, or your meat will end up too salty.

When the pork is done brining, remove them from the liquid and discard the liquid.  Dry the pork well with paper towels and set aside to come to room temperature.  Heat a heavy-bottomed pan (cast iron works great) over medium-high heat and add olive oil to coat the pan – grab a well fitting lid too!.

Once the pan is hot and the oil is almost smoking, add the chops and sear for a few minutes before flipping – you are looking for some good carmelization here!  Flip the chops and cover the pan with your lid.  Continue to cook until done, around 10-12 minutes depending on thickness.  If you think your pork is done, pull it from the heat and let it rest for another 10 minutes – it will continue to cook!

For the Kale:

• ~3 c. Kale – chopped into 1-2″ pieces lengthwise like lettuce
• 1 can white beans or 1-2 c. cannelloni beans soaked overnight and boiled in salted water until tender
• 1/3 c. white wine
• 1/2 large white onion – juilianed (half moons)
• 2 anchovy filets
• Leaves from 7-8 thyme sprigs
• 3-4 garlic cloves – peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/3 c. Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp. red pepper
• 1/2 c. tomato puree
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• salt and pepper

• olive oil

Start by adding the olive oil in a pan, then the onions and salt and sautee until softened.  Add in the red pepper, thyme, anchovy (let it dissolve into the oil) and garlic.  Cook until the garlic is a light golden brown before adding in the wine.  Let the wine cook until the liquid from it is almost cooked off, then add in the beans.  Cook the beans for a minute or two, and then add the chopped kale and some more salt and pepper.  Let the kale wilt and cook down, incorporating it into the dish, but don’t stir to hard or you’ll break up the beans – you want to keep them fairly whole.  Finish in the pan by adding the tomatoes and lemon juice (you can also use a little vinegar) and finally the Parmesan cheese.

Serve immediately with a pork chop on top!

More brining ideas:

• Cookshack – good looking brining guide
• I Like to Cook
• Real Restaurant Recipes

And a couple Kale recipes:

• Kathy’s Blog
• 101 Cookbooks

Got myself an entire loin of pork the other day, nice looking cut. Brought it home and cut a number of chops off of it, and a few larger pieces for roasting too. One of the roasting pieces was a bit smaller and I decided that it would make a good candidate to try to butterfly and roll up – something I’ve been wanting to try for a while. What made it even more enticing was the idea of rolling it with some fresh garlic paste that I had made the day before – along with some other ingredients that I thought would go well.

My dilemma was whether to roast the pork once it was rolled and tied, or braise it…Pork loin is a pretty lean part of the pig, so I thought that by braising it, I’d stand the best chance for keeping the moisture in – so that’s what I set out to do. I wanted me braising liquid to be kept pretty simple – wine and tomato in this case with a little stock, but not much. I thought that if I used tomato, I could make a pretty good reduction sauce to go on top of the pork.

In any case, it turned out very well, though the cooking time was significantly less than I expected it to be. I did do this braise on the stove top over low heat instead of the oven, so that might have something to do with it. The key to the dish in my opinion was the roasted garlic paste – here’s what I did for that:

Roasted Garlic Paste:

• 6 heads of fresh garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste

Turn the oven on at 450. Take the garlic and cut off the tops of the heads with a sharp knife. Meanwhile, take some tinfoil and break off 3 squares of it. Take 2 heads of garlic and place them in the middle of a tinfoil square. Drizzle a touch of olive oil on top of the garlic heads and wrap them up tightly, bringing the tinfoil to a close at the top, creating a little ‘garlic bundle’ – repeat this for the rest of the garlic heads, two in each package.

Roast in the oven for around an hour – or until the garlic becomes golden brown and soft. Remove the garlic bundles and let cool for 10 minutes or so. Take the garlic heads out of the tinfoil and literally squeeze the cloves out into a bowl (the food processor bowl preferably) – repeat this for all the heads. Place the roasted garlic in a food processor and add a pinch of salt and about 1 tsp. of olive oil. Process until smooth.

–

The stuff to me is like gold. I put it on everything from my toast to my roast. It is straight up delicious – if you’re a garlic lover this is a must know recipe. So after using some in a broccoli dish the night before, I decided to utilize the rest on my Braciolona. Here’s how that went down:

Braciolona:

• 1-2 lb. section of pork loin (or shoulder or (large) tenderloin)
• 3 Tbsp. garlic paste (see above)
• 4-5 cloves of fresh garlic
• 1 medium onion – diced
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1 1/2 cups pork stock (or chicken or beef)
• 1/4 cup whole dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup feta cheese

• 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1 large can (28oz.) whole tomatoes
• 1 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 Tbsp. fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup parsley
• red pepper flakes
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Ok, so this might seem like a lot of ingredients, but it’s actually pretty simple. Start with the pork, your board and a sharp knife. There should be a fat side of the pork and lean side. Starting at the fat side, cut a small amount about 1/2″ above the bottom of the pork, allowing the pork to sort of ‘roll off’ onto its side.

You’re looking for a flat piece of meat here, so the thinner the better, but don’t cut through the meat exposing holes. Once this is done, salt and pepper the meat and set aside.

Meanwhile over medium heat, add a bit of olive oil to a pan and 1/2 of the onions and brown them – being careful not to get them too dark. While you’re doing this, toast your pine nuts in another pan or oven. Set them aside. Add the oregano and red pepper flakes (and some fresh garlic optionally) and continue to cook the onions, lowering the heat if necessary. Add in the spinach and 1/4 cup of the stock and cover, letting the spinach steam for 2-3 minutes, then uncover.

Once the liquid is gone, transfer the mixture to your food processor. Add the pine nuts, feta cheese, cranberries, mint, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, Parmesan (reserving a little of this to finish the dish). Process, adding about 1 tsp. of olive oil, which should turn the mixture into a paste.

Back to the pork. Take your roasted garlic paste and smear a thin layer onto the pork – then take your newly created spinach paste and spear a thin layer of that onto the pork as well. You then want to roll the pork up – literally. Start from one end and simply roll it to the other – fairly tight. Some of the filling might fall out, but that’s ok. Using butcher’s twine, tie the roast in a few places pretty tight. Salt and pepper it.

Now to cook it, take a heavy bottomed pot – like a dutch oven – add oil and heat over high heat until oil is smoking. Add the pork in there and brown on all sides – about 10-15 minutes. Then remove the pork and set aside. Lower the heat a bit (and take out any burnt pieces) and add in the rest of the onion, salt and fresh garlic and cook until translucent. Add in the wine, a little stock and tomatoes, breaking up the tomatoes with your hands. Salt to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to a low simmer and add the pork back into the pot.

Cover and cook for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of your loin. Once it’s done, remove the loin and let it rest for a while before slicing. If desired, you can reduce the braising liquid a little and serve that on top of the pork, topped with some Parmesan…or simply add some cauliflower to the liquid, cook and serve alongside. Enjoy!