Braised Pastured Pork Cheek, Pork Fat Roasted Russian Banana Fingerlings, Pork Fat Roasted Wild Foraged Spring Garlic, Caramelized Fennel, Pickled Apple, Parsnip Puree, Wild Garlic Oil, Hydroponic Green Leaf Lettuce & Pork Cheek Jus
I was out walking in the woods a couple of weeks ago, in an undisclosed location, when I stumbled upon some familiar green shoots protruding from the ground. As I was picking a few of them from the ground, making sure I ripped the whole shoot out of the ground, I thought I had found a mother load of ramps (wild spring onions). I was ecstatic. I soon discovered though, that these were not ramps but wild garlic. While a little air had been let out of my sail, I was still pretty exciting to have found something edible in the woods. And I knew that these would go great with the pork cheek I had picked up that same morning at the market.
I braised the pork cheek in chicken stock and apple cider with a splash of sherry vinegar along with onion, garlic, fennel and celery. I cooked the cheek for about 3 hours and allowed it to cool a bit before placing it in a pan, placing another pan on top and weighing it down. I chilled it overnight and then cut out rounds. I then seared the cheek in pork fat before serving.
I slow-roasted some of the wild garlic bulbs in pork fat til they were soft. I also made an oil by blanching the garlic greens, pureeing them with grape seed oil and straining it.
I slow-cooked the potatoes in pork fat and then pan fried them in the same fat along with the pieces of fennel bulb.
The apples were cold pickled in cane vinegar, water, sugar and salt.
I spooned some of the parsnip puree onto the plate and placed the cheek on the one side of it. I arranged the other components around it finishing with the greens, fennel fronds and a garlic shoot. I spooned some of the jus around the cheek and squeezed some dots of the oil into it.
Product:
Pasture Raised Heritage Pork Cheek - Livengood Farms
Organic Hydroponic Green Leaf Lettuce - Gehman Farms
Organic Russian Banana Fingerling Potato - Margerum Herbs, etc.
Cameo Apples - 3 Springs
Wild Spring Garlic - Foraged by Me
I braised the pork cheek in chicken stock and apple cider with a splash of sherry vinegar along with onion, garlic, fennel and celery. I cooked the cheek for about 3 hours and allowed it to cool a bit before placing it in a pan, placing another pan on top and weighing it down. I chilled it overnight and then cut out rounds. I then seared the cheek in pork fat before serving.
I slow-roasted some of the wild garlic bulbs in pork fat til they were soft. I also made an oil by blanching the garlic greens, pureeing them with grape seed oil and straining it.
I slow-cooked the potatoes in pork fat and then pan fried them in the same fat along with the pieces of fennel bulb.
The apples were cold pickled in cane vinegar, water, sugar and salt.
I spooned some of the parsnip puree onto the plate and placed the cheek on the one side of it. I arranged the other components around it finishing with the greens, fennel fronds and a garlic shoot. I spooned some of the jus around the cheek and squeezed some dots of the oil into it.
Product:
Pasture Raised Heritage Pork Cheek - Livengood Farms
Organic Hydroponic Green Leaf Lettuce - Gehman Farms
Organic Russian Banana Fingerling Potato - Margerum Herbs, etc.
Cameo Apples - 3 Springs
Wild Spring Garlic - Foraged by Me