Right next to the broccoli, there was also a big bulb of fennel hiding in the vedge bin. And out in the garden, Barbara is trying to grow Florentine fennel, though the plants haven't formed any bulbs yet and look like multi-stalked botanical scarecrows. So Holt came up with this ingenious recipe for tender, thick pork medallions using three types of fennel: dried and ground, bulb, and fresh sprigs.
The pig was frozen, so a good excuse to brine the thick slices while bringing them up to speed. Yes, that's right, we soaked pork in kosher salt.
Coat the pig pieces with ground fennel seed.* Sear in oil until nicely browned. Set aside. Add a sliced bulb of fennel to some olive oil, turn to coat and soften, then add wine and salt, cover and braise, until getting soft. Add the pig back to the pan, cover, and cook, until most of the liquid is absorbed. The fennel should be still slightly crisp and the pork is at 140º and climbing a bit. Top with pepper and the feathery fennel fronds. So it ain't kosher, it's still tasty.
*Many years ago we bought a little plastic spice grinder at IKEA. I don't know how exactly the little cog manages to crush everything from pepper corns to diamonds, but it's a piece of first rate design: adaptable and easy to clean. We don't normally plug equipment, but I'm glad to see it's still in stock. Only problem is that's named the IKEA 365+ and not something more IKEA-oid, like Blørt or Üßlîng.
No comments:
Post a Comment