Month: March 2019

Carnitas Salad with Buttermilk Cilantro-Lime Dressing

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Carnitas Salad with Buttermilk Lime Ranch Dressing

Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Main Course

Ingredients
  

Carnitas

  • 2 lbs pork shoulder roast
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
  • 1 small onion (cut in large chunks)
  • 4 garlic cloves (trimmed and halved)
  • 1/2 cup pineapple juice

Salad

  • 8 cups green leaf lettuce (washed and torn into bite-sized pieces)
  • 1 avocado (peeled, pitted and sliced)
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
  • 3/4 cup frozen corn (browned in a dry pan)

Salad

  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 lime (juiced)
  • 2 Tbsps fresh cilantro (cut fine)
  • 1 garlic clove (grated)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp paprika

Instructions
 

  • The carnitas can be made in an instant pot or slow cooker.
    Either way, place the shoulder in the pot, rub down with the spices, covering as much of the surface as possible, letting the rest fall to the bottom of the pot. Add the onions and garlic, then pour in the juice. If cooking in the slow cooker, cook on low for 8 hours. If cooking in the instant pot, cook on the "meat" setting for 55 minutes, ensuring the pot is sealed for pressure cooking. Once the meat is cooked, let it cool for a bit, then tear it roughly into chunks. Reserve the liquid and add the meat to a frying pan at medium to high heat to crisp up the meat. Once the meat is starting to brown, slowly add the liquid, then allow it to cook down until the liquid has cooked into the meat and the sugars from the liquid have caramelized the meat.
    Whisk all the dressing ingredients together.
    Assemble your salad, top with the crisped carnitas and drizzle with the dressing.
Keyword Instant Pot, Pork, Pork Shoulder, Salad, Salad Dressing

And now for the details…

A bit “healthier” then the first few posts, my husband and I are resetting our eating a bit after the rich foods we had taken in over the several months. We are reducing our simple carbohydrate intake (which, to be honest, was not too hard once we started cutting out treats throughout the day, afternoon snacks, and bread with every meal), and have been focusing on dinners that are filling, fresh and flavourful.

This meal is one of my favourites because it’s got the freshness from the greens and the cilantro dressing, while also bringing in the heartiness and umami-rich carnitas.

I might be a little loose in calling this recipe “carnitas”. Traditionally carnitas is pork cooked low and slow in lard, similar to a confit. Probably a better title for what I am making here would be “pan-fried, slow-cooked pork shoulder”, but that’s just not nearly as fun to say.

We start everything off preparing our pork shoulder, since it needs the longest time to prepare and cook. I have done this recipe before in two different ways: in our slow cooker and our instant pot. Both work, but to be honest, it turns out better in the slow cooker. For the photos today, I have done the recipe in the instant pot.

Start by mixing the carnitas spices together in a small bowl. Place your shoulder in the pot, and rub the spice mix all over the meat, trying to coat the entire surface area. Place the shallots and garlic in the pot with the shoulder, then pour the juice into the bottom of the pot.

When you place the lid on the instant pot, ensure the vent is set to “sealing”, since we are going to be pressure cooking our meat. Set the pot to the “meat” setting, and cook the shoulder for 55 minutes.

While the meat is cooking, we can prepare our salad toppings and dressing. Set a dry pan on the stove at medium- to high-heat. Place the frozen corn into the pan, and stir regularly, allowing the corn to char slightly. Be cautious! Even though it’s not popcorn, some of the kernels may actually “pop” out of the pan under the high heat.

Next, let’s make our dressing. I love buttermilk dressings. They’re creamy and tangy, offering a nice balance of flavours. I also feel they necessitate a decent amount of garlic, because what goes better with richness than a nice garlicky punch to the tastebuds? To really allow the garlic to suffuse the entire dressing, I use my garlic grate plate, which basically destroys the garlic and breaks it down into a fine mash, which then lends to tiny bits of garlic spreading throughout the entire dressing. My mom got me this garlic plate over a decade ago, and it is a staple in my kitchen.

Those little ridges are what break down the garlic. Using the plate is easy; just peel the garlic, hold it in your fingers and then grind it into the plate.

Start by mixing together your buttermilk and mayo. I used the full fat buttermilk, as well as Japanese mayo for my recipe. I wanted that added richness to the dressing, to help balance the acidity of the lime juice and the freshness of the cilantro. Add the rest of the dressing ingredients and mix together.

By about now, your pork is likely ready to come out of the pot. Take out the shoulder, reserve the liquid, and tear the meat into chunks. Place a large pan on medium-high heat and transfer the pork into the pan. Once the meat has browned a bit, add the juices and let them cook down until the liquid has boiled off and the meat is starting to caramelize.

Finally, assemble your salad with your toppings, leaving a little nest in the middle of the salad for your pork. Pile the pork in the middle, drizzle with the dressing, and enjoy!

Until next time, happy eating!

A Prairies attempt at cuisine Québécoise in three parts… Part III: Haricots Verts (Green Beans) with crispy shallots and caramelized nuts

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Haricot Verts with Crispy Shallots and Caramelized Nuts

Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Side Dish

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb greens beans/haricots verts (cleaned and trimmed)
  • 4-6 shallots sliced thin
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 + 3 Tbsps butter
  • 3 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp kosher or Maldon salt
  • 1/2 cup pecans chopped in large pieces

Instructions
 

  • Slice the shallots thin (approximately 2mm) and lay them on paper towels to dry. Heat the vegetable oil in a large shallow pan at medium to medium-high heat. Lay the shallots out in the oil and allow them to turn gold brown. Stir regularly to allow them to brown on all sides. Once golden brown, transfer to a dish with a paper towel to drain any excess oil and allow to cool. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and add the sugar. Add the pecans and stir, allowing the sugar to melt in the butter. Continue to cook until the sugar is completely melted and browns slightly. Lay the cooked nuts out onto a plate covered in parchment paper, sprinkle with the salt and allow to cool completely. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan, add the beans, a bit of salt, and sauté until cooked through. Top with the crispy shallots and lightly chopped pecans.
Keyword Caramelized Nuts, Green Beans, Shallots, Vegetables


And now for the details…

So to “finish off” our Quebequoise night, we added a vegetable dish, being haricot verts, or green beans, with crispy shallots and caramelized nuts. Now… for our actual evening, we used walnuts, but when I recreated the recipe (since I kinda forgot to take enough photos the first go ’round), I had no walnuts in the house and used pecans instead. Both were delicious, and I feel filberts and almonds would be equally delicious with this recipe. However, if using the filberts or almonds, it would be a good idea to chop the nuts slightly before cooking, because they are quite a bit thicker and they would not toast through as well.

If you want additional accoutrements to your dinner besides the recipes listed, the suggestions that came from Krystal’s boyfriend, Philipe, was to add pickled beets and… pickles. Apparently sweet pickles are the traditional side dish, and he teased us that it would not be the same with garlic pickles… But… ummm… I am not the biggest fan of sweet pickles, so we settled for pickled beets and garlic pickles and left it at that. (Sorry Philipe!)

Right… the cooking… Let’s start by slicing the shallots nice and thin and laying them out on a paper towel to dry. Drying the shallots will allow them to crisp up nice and easy once they hit the oil, without steaming themselves first.

Heat the oil in a pan on medium to medium-high heat until adding a drop of water pops. Add the shallots to the pan, trying to keep them as spread out as possible, in a single layer. Let them cook, stirring regularly, to allow them to crisp up and get golden on all sides. As they cook, they will soften and break apart, but continue to push and pseudo flip them so that they brown on all sides. Once they have browned, use a slotted spoon to remove them and transfer onto a paper towel on a plate to allow them to drain any excess oil and to cool. If they are soft-ish when you remove them, fret not! As they cool, they will crisp up and be delicious little morsels of shalloty goodness.

Next, let’s caramelize the nuts. Like I said, I didn’t have any walnuts in the house and made this with pecans instead. Equally as delicious, and I made them the same way.

Start by adding the three tablespoons of butter and sugar to your pan. I used brown sugar, but you could replace this with cane or even white sugar instead, since the sugar will brown and caramelize. Allow the butter to fully melt and the sugar should start to kinda stick together in a paste. Add the nuts, and continue to cook until the sugar looks like it is melting into the butter and around your nuts.

Pour everything out onto a large plate lined with parchment paper, sprinkle with your salt, and allow to cool completely. As they cool, the sugar will harden, leaving a nice buttery, sweet crust, and the salt gives that sweet with savoury crunch. I have made these for salads as well, and added a wee sprinkle of cayenne pepper while the nuts were cooking. This led to a deliciously sweet, savoury and spicy topping that was so good, but the cayenne didn’t seem very French, so I left it out of this recipe 😉

Lastly is to cook your beans. The good news: have you noticed how all these steps can be done in one pan?? My husband loves my cooking, but points out that I seem to need to use every dish in our kitchen while I’m preparing meals… luckily, this is all in one dish!

Start by trimming the ends off the beans. Next, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in your pan, then add your beans and little (or… a lot) of salt to the pan.

Cook until the beans have changed to a vibrant green and are cooked to your preferred level of doneness.Personally, I like a bit of bite, so that the beans are still a bit crisp, but feel free to cook as much or as little as you prefer. I also chose to cook my beans at a slightly higher temperature so I would get the level of doneness I prefer, as well as a tiny bit of char. It doesn’t add much flavour, but I like how it looks.

Turn the beans out into your serving dish of choice, top with the nuts and shallots and enjoy.

Now that we have gone through all three parts, I hope you enjoyed your Québecois-inspired meal! Until next time… happy eating!

A Prairies attempt at cuisine Québécoise in three parts… Part II: Ragoût de Boulettes

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Ragoût de Boulettes

Recipe translated from the recipe courtesy of Chef Cuisto, link available below
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Main Course
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs ground pork
  • 1 onion diced fine
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp dry mustard
  • 2-3 Tbsps flour
  • 4 Tbsps butter
  • 4 cups boiling water
  • 1/2 cup toasted flour
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions
 

  • Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pot, then sauté the balls, turning gently, to brown on all sides. Once all sides have browned, add the boiling water, cover the pot and simmer on low for one hour. Remove the balls, then thicken the broth by slowly adding the toasted flour until desired consistency. Add the gravy to the meatballs and serve.
Keyword Gravy, Main Course, Meat, Meatballs

And now for the details…

Ragoût de Boulettes or Meatball…euh…. Ragout.

Okay, so I have no idea of the traduction for ragout… I’ve always just heard folks refer to it as, well, ragout. Whoops… right. “Traduction.” French for “translation”. Certainly Franglais would need to make its way into one of these posts!

I can’t take really any credit for how this recipe turned out… like at all. As I said in the previous blog, this Quebequoise cuisine night was a joint effort, and Krystal did all the heavy lifting for the Ragoût. And it turned out AMAZEBALLS. Seriously. So good. Our credit for this recipe goes to Chef Cuisto, as we had never made these before and needed some help. The recipe turned out really, really well.

Krystal mixing the onions with spices before adding the pork to form the meatballs.

I feel as though I need to take this time to mention the fact that Krystal is a dietician. Now, her and I have had a number of conversations regarding food, diets, nutrition, and the like (fun fact: Krystal supported me while I was training for my first half Ironman. She helped me with everything from hydration to timing of nutrition to ensure I maximized my recovery). And in all of this, we have talked a lot about “healthy” food choices. When Krystal and I get together, often the meal choices we have made are for fairly rich foods (our first ever cooking adventure included molten chocolate lava cake). And the lucky recipients of our efforts often tease Krystal about her being a dietician and the food choices we make. But one of the things that I have learned through all these experiences is that all food is healthy. Preparing food socially with friends is healthy. Rich foods are healthy. “Healthy” foods are healthy. What I have learned most is that a balanced diet is key and having a healthy relationship with food is extremely important. Which I do my best to focus on, because I love food. I like it a lot. Alot alot…

So with that, lets start talking about the food!

Before we get into the cooking, a quick blurb on “farine grillée”, or toasted flour: When Krystal’s boyfriend had been telling us about ragoût de boulettes, he had mentioned making it with “farine grillée” to which Krystal responded with “eh?” And then later when she was telling me about what I translated in my brain incorrectly as “grilled flour”, I also responded with “eh??” And then we found out… it’s actually very simple. Toast the flour in the bottom of a dry pot on medium heat until it turns light brown and toasty… therefore: farine grillée. The toasted flour adds a nice flavour and reduces that “raw” taste you may get when you add flour to a recipe to thicken it up. Note: the more you toast, the less the thickening power… of the flour. (hee hee, I rhymed)

Alrighty, let’s get to cooking. Start out by combining pork, onions and spices, and forming into balls, and lightly cover them in flour. Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pot to get ready to brown the meatballs.

Place the meatballs in a single layer of the pot and brown the meatballs at medium high heat, turning them gently to get all the sides.

A gentle hand is needed while flipping the meatballs to avoid breakage.

Once the meatballs have been browned on all sides, pour the boiling water into the pot, turn the heat down to a simmer, cover the pot and let the meatballs simmer for 1 hour.

You can use some of this time to toast your flour. In our search, Krystal and I found a few methods. You can bake the flour spread thinly across a cookie sheet until the desired level of doneness. You can actually purchase your farine grillée pre-toasted, at a several levels of toastiness. No seriously, it comes in a flour bag same as all-purpose. See an example here. The method we chose to use was to toast the flour on medium high heat in a dry pot until the flour released a slightly nutty smell and was a nice golden brown.

Once your meatballs have cooked for an hour, remove the balls to a serving dish, then slowly add the farine grillée, whisking as you add to avoid clumping, and cook at medium to medium high heat, allowing the gravy to thicken. Pour the gravy over the meatballs, and serve with patates pilées (mashed potatoes)

Enjoy!

Up next… haricots verts with crispy shallots and caramelized nuts.