Cook Like a Rock Star (31 page)

5
Remove the pork from the oven, cut off the twine (you don’t want to floss and eat at the same time), and remove the pork skin—it will probably come off in one large, lovely crispy piece like a helmet! Use kitchen shears to cut the skin into pieces and make sure everybody gets some on their plate. Slice the pork and serve it over the vegetables, drenched in lots of porky pan juices.

That’s my idea of pigging out!

I suggest asking your butcher to bone the pork for you—but be sure to keep the bone!

Braised Cabbage Stuffed with Sausage & Fennel

SERVES: 4 TO 6 • TIME: ABOUT 2 HOURS

My mom used to make stuffed peppers, but I don’t like peppers. What I liked was the stuffing. So I’ve taken my mom’s recipe, tweaked it, and stuffed it in cabbage instead. I’ve also added chicken livers. The livers add an earthy richness that makes this dish super-special. If you don’t like chicken livers—or think you don’t—this is one time where you should get beyond the ick factor, accept that they’re worth adding, and move on … because this dish rocks.

MISE EN PLACE

FOR THE SAUCE

1 onion, cut into large chunks

2 celery ribs, cut into large chunks

½ fennel bulb, tough core removed, cut into large chunks

3 cloves garlic, smashed

Extra virgin olive oil

¼ pound pancetta, cut into ¼-inch dice

2 teaspoons fennel seeds,
toasted and ground

Pinch of crushed red pepper

1 cup dry white wine

1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, passed through a food mill

2 cups
chicken stock

2 bay leaves

Kosher salt

FOR THE CABBAGE AND STUFFING

¼ cup red wine vinegar

Kosher salt

1 large head savoy cabbage, leaves separated and tough bottom ribs removed

Extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, cut into ¼-inch dice

½ fennel bulb, tough core removed, cut into ¼-inch dice

Pinch of crushed red pepper

3 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped

1 pound fennel sausage, casings removed

½ to ¾ cup bread crumbs

½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano

3 chicken livers, finely chopped (optional but highly recommended!)

1 large egg

FOR THE SAUCE

1
In a food processor, purée the onion, celery, fennel, and garlic to a coarse paste.

2
Coat a large wide pan with olive oil and add the pancetta; bring to medium heat and cook until brown and crispy, 4 to 6 minutes.

3
Add the puréed veggies, ground fennel seeds, and red pepper and cook until the vegetables become soft and aromatic and start to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.

4
Add the wine, bring to a boil (BTB), and reduce by half, 3 to 4 minutes.

5
Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, and bay leaves and season with salt. Bring to a boil (BTB) and reduce to a simmer (RTS); cook for 15 minutes. Taste to make sure it’s delicious; adjust the seasoning as needed.

FOR THE CABBAGE AND STUFFING

1
Add the vinegar to large pot of well-salted water, bring it to a boil (BTB), and set up a large bowl of well-salted ice water. Add the cabbage to the boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until just tender; immediately plunge it into the salty ice water. When the leaves are cool, remove them from the water and pat dry. Reserve.

2
Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil. Add the onion, fennel, and red pepper and season with salt. Bring the pan to medium heat and cook the vegetables until soft and aromatic, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool.

3
In a large bowl, combine the sausage, bread crumbs, Parm, chicken livers (if using), and egg. Season with salt, add ½ cup water, and mix well to combine; if the mixture seems too dry, add up to another ½ cup water—it should be kind of wet. Stir in the onion-fennel mixture.

4
Make a 1- to 2-inch tester patty. In a small sauté pan, heat a bit of oil and cook the patty. When it’s cool enough, taste it to make sure it’s delicious—if it’s not, reseason.

5
Lay each cabbage leaf on a flat work surface. Spoon about ¼ cup of filling into each leaf. Fold the outside edges in and roll the leaf around the stuffing. Place each roll on the work surface with the seam side down so the roll will hold itself shut. Look at us, always thinking!

6
Add the cabbage rolls to the sauce, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, then uncover and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve the cabbage rolls with the sauce spooned over them.

Coolio—stuffed cabbage!

Brined Pork Chops with Fennel Pollen

SERVES: 6 • TIME: ABOUT 30 MINUTES ACTIVE TIME AFTER 2 DAYS IN THE BRINE

I grew up hating pork chops. My mom used to make pork chops that were about as fat as a piece of paper (that’s all that was available back then), and she would cook them for a really long time—until they were dry and flavorless. Sadly, today so much commercially raised pork has so little fat in it that even if you cook it correctly, it can still be like eating your shoe. That’s why I love this brine—it infuses the pork with moisture and flavor, so you end up with a succulent and delicious chop. Then I crust it with one of my super-secret flavor weapons—fennel pollen. I discovered fennel pollen when I was working in Tuscany; it’s expensive but is so worth it. (If you can’t find it or don’t want to fork out the cash, toasted ground fennel seed is an acceptable substitute.) This is such a great combination of flavors that you will never think of pork chops the same way again!

MISE EN PLACE

3 to 4 tablespoons kosher salt

2 to 3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons fennel seeds

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

3 bay leaves

1 onion, cut into ½-inch dice

2 carrots, cut into ½-inch dice

2 celery ribs, cut into ½-inch dice

4 cloves garlic, smashed

6 bone-in pork loin chops (nice fatties!)

2 tablespoons wild fennel pollen (or substitute toasted ground fennel seeds)

This is a plan-ahead recipe! The brine takes a couple of days, but it’s really worth the effort.

1
In a large bowl, combine 2 quarts water with the salt, sugar, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, red pepper, bay leaves, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. (The amount of salt and sugar you use depends on your personal taste.) Submerge the pork chops in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for 2 days (if you don’t have 2 days, at least brine the chops overnight). Remove the chops from the brine, discard the brine, and cook these bad boys!

2
Preheat the grill to medium-high.

3
Roll the fat edge of each pork chop in the fennel pollen.

4
Place the chops on the grill over medium-high heat and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Rotate the chops 90 degrees to create beautiful crosshatched grill marks; continue to cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the chops over
and repeat this process on the second side. If the chops start to burn, move them to a cooler part of the grill. Stand the chops up and grill the fat edge—you want to get it nice and crispy and release the lovely aroma of the fennel pollen. Remove the chops from the grill and let them rest in a warm place for 8 to 10 minutes before serving. The meat should be pink in the middle and very juicy.

Juicy pork chops? Who knew!!!