Pork Fat Glazed Sweet Peas, Sprouted Mung Beans, Fava Beans & Wax Beans, Crispy Cured Pork Jowl, Mint, Nasturtium, Cilantro, Scarlet Runner Petals, Chive Blossoms, Ruby Streaks Mustard Green
If you follow this blog you may have noticed a trend going on with my cooking since spring finally arrived. Or maybe you haven't. I didn't notice it myself until recently. But I haven't been using very much in the form of animal protein at all. Pieces of meat or fish haven't been the focal point of dishes lately. When animal parts have been present they have played more of a supporting role. I think that this phenomenon may have something to do with an amazing, life-changing and incredibly inspirational meal I had in April at Blue Hill Restaurant at Stone Barns in West Chester County NY. If you want to find out what this place is all about just google it. Also google "Dan Barber", the restaurants chef. Or check out his new book "The Third Plate". This will help you to understand where this philosophy may have been heavily influenced. It will also help you to not have to read 10 paragraphs of my rambling on the subject.
I had all of this amazing produce from the farmer's market, as well as my garden, as is the case throughout the spring and summer. This included all of these amazing beans, or legumes if you will. Now we all know that beans and pork are a common and delicious paring. But all to often these pork and bean dishes are completely dominated by the pork. This is ok if you're using shitty produce that doesn't have any flavor in and of itself. But the last thing I wanted to do was mask the amazing flavor of these beautiful beans. So what I did was render the fat from the pork jowl and glaze the par-cooked beans in it. Just to give them a lite coating and a little of the pork flavor. I used just a few very small pieces of the crispy jowl for some added texture as well. But the pork did not dominate the dish whatsoever.
I used a bunch of greens and flowers from my garden to elevate and compliment the flavor of peas and beans as well. They also helped cut the back the dominance of the pork, ensuring that it remained in it's back-up roll.
Product-
Sweet Peas - Culton Organics
Yellow Wax Beans - Culton Organics
Fava Beans - Queen's Farm
Mung Beans - Margerum Herbs
Pork Jowl - Landisdale Farm
Mustard Greens - My Garden
Nasturtium - My Garden
Scarlett Runner Bean Flowers - My Garden
Cilantro Blossoms - My Garden
Mint - My Garden
I had all of this amazing produce from the farmer's market, as well as my garden, as is the case throughout the spring and summer. This included all of these amazing beans, or legumes if you will. Now we all know that beans and pork are a common and delicious paring. But all to often these pork and bean dishes are completely dominated by the pork. This is ok if you're using shitty produce that doesn't have any flavor in and of itself. But the last thing I wanted to do was mask the amazing flavor of these beautiful beans. So what I did was render the fat from the pork jowl and glaze the par-cooked beans in it. Just to give them a lite coating and a little of the pork flavor. I used just a few very small pieces of the crispy jowl for some added texture as well. But the pork did not dominate the dish whatsoever.
I used a bunch of greens and flowers from my garden to elevate and compliment the flavor of peas and beans as well. They also helped cut the back the dominance of the pork, ensuring that it remained in it's back-up roll.
Product-
Sweet Peas - Culton Organics
Yellow Wax Beans - Culton Organics
Fava Beans - Queen's Farm
Mung Beans - Margerum Herbs
Pork Jowl - Landisdale Farm
Mustard Greens - My Garden
Nasturtium - My Garden
Scarlett Runner Bean Flowers - My Garden
Cilantro Blossoms - My Garden
Mint - My Garden