Roast Pork and Summer Vegetables

This is one of those recipes that is deceptively long, but you shouldn't be intimidated. It's really  straightforward: make a dry rub - make a little sauce - roast some veggies - cook the pork. That's it. It makes a mountain of food that tastes just as good at room temperature, and certainly the next day. In other words, the perfect summer recipe. Make it on Saturday and feed a crowd, or nibble on it in various ways for days and days. 

The roasted vegetable combination is amazing and would taste great in a burrito or just all mixed together as a salad, maybe with a grain thrown in for a complete meal. I skipped the broccoli rabe just because and you could throw in any other veggies you happen to have. And I'm not sure why the shallots are unpeeled, but I did this and they look so pretty, I would do it again. Make extra because you'll find yourself reaching into the fridge for them just on their own. AND… you can make a mean Cuban sandwich with the leftover pork!!

Roast Pork with Summer Vegetables
via Saveur
Serves 6 to 8.

FOR THE PORK:
1 tbsp. coriander seeds
1 1⁄2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
2 tbsp. smoked paprika
2 tbsp. turbinado or light brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 3–4-lb. piece trimmed, boneless pork shoulder
Kosher salt, to taste
4 shallots, unpeeled and halved lengthwise
2 tbsp. canola oil

FOR THE HERB SAUCE:
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1⁄2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 green cardamom pod
1⁄2 cup minced cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1/4-1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt, to taste

FOR THE VEGETABLES:
2 large sweet potatoes
4 tomatillos, peeled
2 poblano peppers
6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic
1⁄2 bunch broccoli rabe, trimmed and blanched until crisp-tender

1. Prepare the pork: Put coriander, fennel, and cumin in an 8" skillet over medium heat and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until seeds are toasted, about 5 minutes. Coarsely grind seeds in a spice grinder and transfer to a small bowl. Add paprika, sugar, and garlic and stir to combine. Put pork on a plate and season generously with salt. Rub pork with coriander mixture and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour or refrigerate overnight.

2. Make the herb sauce: Put coriander, cumin, and cardamom in an 8" skillet over medium heat and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until seeds are toasted, about 5 minutes. Finely grind seeds in a spice grinder and transfer to a medium bowl along with cilantro, garlic, and jalapeños. Using a fork, whisk in olive oil and season sauce with salt; cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

3. Roast the vegetables: Heat oven to 475°. Put sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake, turning once, until tender, 40–50 minutes. Transfer to a plate; set aside. Increase heat to broil and arrange a rack 4" from heating element. Put tomatillos and poblanos on baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tbsp. olive oil. Broil, turning once, until charred and tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer tomatillos to plate with sweet potatoes and transfer poblanos to a bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes. Peel poblanos, discarding seeds and stems, and tear poblanos into 1⁄2"-wide strips; set aside.

4. Cook the broccoli rabe: Heat remaining olive oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add broccoli rabe; cook, stirring occasionally, until hot, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and remove pan from heat; set aside.

5. Cook the pork: Reduce oven to 350°. Heat canola oil in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook, turning, until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Place shallots cut side down under pork. Transfer skillet to oven and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of pork reads 125°, 30–50 minutes. Transfer pork and shallots to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes. To serve, slice pork thinly and transfer to a platter along with shallots.

6. Serve: Cut sweet potatoes into small pieces and halve tomatillos. Transfer potatoes, tomatillos, poblanos, and broccoli rabe to platter. Spoon sauce over pork.

The bonus! A Cuban sandwich: dijon mustard, swiss cheese, thinly sliced leftover pork, ham, dill pickles, more swiss cheese. Cook in a large cast iron skillet with smaller heavy cast iron skillet (lean into it!) on top of the sandwich to press it. 

Dan Dan Noodles

This is a great, fast recipe for weeknight dinners. I joked with the boy that it's like a quick Asian version of bolognese sauce — ground meat fully flavored with a luscious poignant sauce, but made on the fast. I've never had the authentic Chinese Dan dan version, and so can only imagine that this is most highly Americanized version courtesy of Bon Appetit — but I just loved its wonderful flavor! I used the suggested substitute of Japanese udon noodles, as I couldn't find traditional Chinese cu mian (thick fun) noodles called for in the original recipe. I think next time I might Americanize it even more by trying linguine (sacrilege, mais non?!?) as I might prefer a more substantial bite to the noodle than the somewhat mushy udon provides.

But back to the flavor — it is fantastic, yet somewhat subtle. Again, I did more substituting with Aleppo pepper flakes standing in for Sichuan peppercorns. This is starting to sound like a bad Epicurious recipe review where every ingredient is substituted out for something else and then the reviewer is so sadly disappointed in the "recipe," and yet, this is not, and — I am not!

You will find all kinds of threads online saying there is no substitute for Sichuan peppercorns. Alas, I could not find them conveniently, so resorted to my favorite hot pepper, the Aleppo, and just loved the overall result, but I am sure you could also give plain ol' crushed red pepper flakes a try, though I may start with just a 1/2 teaspoon as they are significantly spicier than Aleppo. This dish is truly yummers and you get the picture: Make do with what you have and try this delicious noodle dinner. I served it with a quick pickled cucumber salad to cool the fires on your tongue.

Dan Dan Noodles

Serves 3

Adapted from Bon Appetit

8 ounces Shanghai-style noodles (cu mian) or udon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 ounces ground pork
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped peeled ginger
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons (or less) chili oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns or Aleppo/crushed red pepper flakes
Large pinch of sugar
2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions

Cook noodles in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water until just tender but still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Drain; transfer to a large bowl of ice water and let stand until cold. 

Combine chicken stock and next six ingredients for sauce.

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pork, season with salt and pepper, and stir, breaking up pork with a spoon, until halfway cooked, about 2 minutes. Add ginger; cook until pork is cooked through and lightly browned, about 2 minutes. 

Add sauce and simmer until sauce thickens, about 7 minutes. 

Drain noodles well and add to simmering sauce. Cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. 

Divide between three bowls and garnish with peanuts and scallions.

Pork Banh Mi: The best sandwich I know

Happy Monday, everyone! I have so many things to tell you, I wasn't sure where to start. And then I realized that I owe you a recipe, big time. So I am starting there. Banh mi are one of my all-time favorite sandwiches. If you're not familiar, it is a Vietnamese sandwich with many variations but the basics are some kind of meat filling—often a pate of some sort—pickled vegetables, chiles, cilantro all gathered up on a baguette. The banh mi recipe here is with incredibly flavorful pork meatballs and a spicy Sriracha-based mayo spread. The original recipe called for sliced, fresh jalapenos, too, but with the mayo, I didn't think it needed any more spice — feel free to add to yours though! I used cucumbers in the pickled veggies because that's what we had, but I definitely plan on trying it with the daikon, too.

Pork Meatball Banh Mi
Adapted from Bon Appetit, January 2010

Spicy Chili Mayo:
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon hot chili sauce (such as sriracha)*

Pickled vegetables:
2 cups carrots, julienned
2 cups daikon or cucumber, julienned
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Meatballs:
1 pound ground pork
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)*
1 tablespoon hot chili sauce (such as sriracha)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
4 10-inch-long individual baguettes or four 10-inch-long pieces French-bread baguette (cut from 2 baguettes)
16 large fresh cilantro sprigs

Stir all ingredients for the spicy mayo in a small bowl. Season with salt. Cover and chill.

Toss the ingredients for the pickled vegetables in a medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature for one hour, tossing occasionally.

Line rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap. Gently mix all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Using moistened hands and a scant tablespoonful for each, roll meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs. Arrange on baking sheet. Cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Heat sesame oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of meatballs. Sauté until brown and cooked through, turning meatballs often and lowering heat if browning too quickly, about 15 minutes. Transfer meatballs to another rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven. Repeat with remaining meatballs.

Cut each baguette or baguette piece horizontally in half. Pull out enough bread from each bread half to leave 1/2-inch-thick shell. Spread hot chili mayo over each bread shell. Arrange cilantro in bottom halves. Fill each with 1/4 of meatballs. Drain pickled vegetables; place atop meatballs. Press on baguette tops.

This was the boy's reaction to this tasty sandwich. Need I say more?!

Vietnamese Pork Chops

I have a hard time ordering the same thing twice in a restaurant. I like to try something new each time in case I find something better than what I tried last time. This is the exception. In a Vietnamese restaurant, this is what I order: every time. I always think I'll try something different, but just can't bring myself to miss out on the supreme tastiness of Vietnamese marinated and grilled pork chops. I could never pick out exactly what the flavors were, and I still couldn't say for sure, but I did run across this version from Mark Bittman that is quite delicious. Apparently the real deal has caramelized sugar in it giving it a more complex flavor than the honey called for in this version, but it is a darned good replication that I am happy to now have in my arsenal. If you haven't used lemongrass before, you remove the tough outer stalk until you get to the inner layers that are bit more tender. You should get about one tablespoon of minced lemongrass per stalk.

Vietnamese Style Pork
via Mark Bittman
Makes 4 servings.

2 tablespoons minced lemongrass
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fish sauce, or to taste, or soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
1 1/2 pounds boneless pork chops or country-style ribs
1 lime, quartered
Thai basil or cilantro, chopped for garnish (optional)

Whisk lemongrass, garlic, honey and fish sauce in large bowl. Add lime juice and pepper. Place pork in the bowl, turning to coat; let stand while you preheat grill or broiler.

Grill or broil pork, spooning marinade over as it cooks, until nicely done, about 10 minutes. Turn only once so that each side browns nicely. Serve with remaining lime and, if you like, the herb garnish.

I served it over this noodle salad, but the pork chops are the star!

Cuban-Style Pork worthy of the clipping service

My stepfather, Dennis, is not known for his culinary expertise. He has two specialties in the kitchen: meatballs and meatloaf. (Yes, that's two.) Dennis does, however, have a penchant for clipping articles out of newspapers. If he finds out you are interested in a topic, you'll have your own personal clipping service whether you like it or not. The boy, for example, regularly receives envelopes in the mail with all articles pertaining to solar power Dennis can lay his hands on — no note, no post-it, just the articles neatly trimmed from the page. I think it's sweet. That said, with all his clipping, it is rare to find a recipe in his archives. Yes, he may find something on an unusual cocktail on rare occasion, which we then try out at the next family gathering, but, recipes are not the norm. That is why it is so unusual that the one I'm about to lay down was cut out by him back in the 90s. Something about it caught his eye and my mother, brothers and I have been making it ever since. It's chock full of citrus and garlic and easily straddles this strange season between summer and fall.  

Cuban-Style Pork 

Serves 4.

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

2 Tb freshly squeezed lime juice

1 pork tenderloin or 4 boneless center-cut pork chops

1 Tb olive oil

Combine onion, garlic, cumin, cilantro, salt and pepper in a baking dish just large enough to hold the pork in a single layer. Pour orange and lime juices over and stir to combine. Add pork and marinate for 15-30 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat grill. Remove chops from marinade, scraping off excess. Grill until just cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side depending on size of tenderloin, or until a meat thermometer reads between145º and 155º. Remove and let rest five minutes before slicing to serve. 

If making chops, heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium high. Add pork, after scraping off excess marinade and cook each side 4 to 5 minutes, or until just cooked through.

While the pork is cooking, pour marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 3 to 5 minutes to make it safe for consumption. Spoon over pork and serve with rice and baby carrots sprinkled with a tiny bit of cinnamon and allspice.