SLOW-COOKED PORK LOIN WITH BRAISED ENDIVES, MUSHROOMS, AND MUSTARD CHICK PEAS
The technique of slow cooking is useful if you want to (and I guess you do) keep as much of the meat flavor as possible as well as dissolve and tenderize the connective tissue layers that run between the meat. Here, pork is combined with a variety of veggies that are all spiced up and interesting.
4 servings:
Preparation day before:
Soak 250 g/9 oz chick peas or other beans overnight
Pork:
Take a pork loin for 4 servings, season it all around with salt and pepper and seal it in a hot pan in olive oil. Just brown it, don't cook it! Then wrap it into aluminium foil and put into oven, 90 C/195 F and bake for 2 hours or less, until the meat is cooked and fairly hot, but still pink. If you want you can measure the temperature in it - it should reach about 65 C/150 F. While it cooks, do the rest of the dish.
Chick peas:
chick peas (mentioned above)
1 onion, halved
2 sprigs of thyme
2 garlic cloves, halved
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried marjoram
30 mL/1 fl oz cream
1 chili pepper, chopped
2 tbsp mustard
salt, pepper
Wash away the soaking water from the beans, put them into a pot, cover with about twice as much water and throw in the onions, thyme, garlic, bay leaf, and marjoram. Bring to the boil, then cook on low heat for about an hour or until the beans are soft. Then, remove the veggies and much of the water but leave some of it for flavor. Add cream and chili, along with the mustard, and heat it all up. Season with salt and pepper. Keep it warm until you serve the peas.
Braised endives:
1 onion roughly chopped
1 red chili, chopped
1 clove of garlic, halved
4 endives
300 mL/10 fl oz vegetable or chicken stock
30 g/1 oz butter
sauté the onion, chili, and garlic in olive oil for 1 minute. Add the endives, cover with stock, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add butter at the end of cooking.
Mushrooms:
150 g/5 oz wild mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
2 crushed cloves of garlic
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
100 g/3.3 oz salad leaves of your choice (or spinach)
30 g/1 oz butter
Fry the mushrooms in olive oil on fairly high heat together with the garlic, salt and pepper. Do it for about 1-2 minutes so the mushrooms become lightly brown, add the salad and cook only for a moment so it wilts. Then add the butter to the pan and remove from heat. Make sure to mix everything and coat the mushrooms with butter.
To serve, arrange the different parts of the dish on a plate. Pour some butter from the mushrooms and/or endive sauce on the meat. Serve immediately.