Slow Braised Pork Shoulder with Tomato-Fennel Sugo and DOP Cobrancosa Olive Oil Fried Polenta

Pork With Tomato & Fennel Sugo

5-7 pound bone in pork shoulder

Kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

2 - 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes in juice

2 cups white wine

8 whole garlic cloves

1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced

3" sprig fresh rosemary, leaves stripped

3 tablespoons Spanish Hojiblanca Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 450.  

Rub the entire pork shoulder with a tablespoon of Hojiblanca olive oil, season the entire surface area liberally with salt and fresh ground pepper and place in the roasting pan, fat side up.  Arrange the vegetables around the roast in the pan, drizzle and toss with another tablespoon of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Roast the shoulder and vegetables uncovered at 450 for 20 minutes until the vegetables begin to take color and the pork roast is browned.  

Reduce the heat to 350.  In a large bowl, mix together the tomatoes, wine, a tablespoon of Hojiblanca,  and the rosemary leaves.  Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.   Pour evenly over the roast and vegetables in the pan.  With heavy duty foil, tightly seal the roasting pan and roast at 350 for five hours. 

Meanwhile, make the polenta.     

Cobrancosa Fried Romano Polenta

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups polenta

2 shallots, finely minced

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced 

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano

fresh ground pepper

Kosher salt

DOP Cobrancosa Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons plus enough to fill a frying pan 2"

In a 3+ quart sauce pan heat one tablespoon of Cobrancosa.  Saute the onion until translucent, about three minutes.  Add the garlic and saute for another minute.  Add the broth and bring to a simmer.  While stirring constantly, add the polenta in a steady stream.  Continue stirring constantly for 20-25 minutes until the polenta is thick.  Add the cheese, remaining tablespoon of Corbancosa, and season with additional salt and pepper to taste.  Immediately pour the polenta in to a 9"x13" baking dish and allow to cool.  Refrigerate covered in plastic wrap.  

Cut the polenta in to sqaures or rectangles approximately 3" x 3" in size.  Heat 2" of Cobrancosa to 350 on a deep fry thermometer in a heavy, deep sided frying pan.  Fry the polenta slices a few at a time, approximately 3-5 minutes per side until golden brown.  

Serve the pork in large shreds with the sauce from the pan over the hot, crispy polenta.

Serves 8

Flourless Blood Orange Olive Oil & 72% Dark Chocolate Cake

Ingredients


5 oz.quality bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup + 1 tbs. Blood Orange Agrumato Olive Oil
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
A pinch of sea salt

 

Preheat oven to 375°F. 

 

Grease an 8-inch round baking pan with a teaspoon of blood orange olive oil. Line bottom with a round of parchment paper and grease the paper with remaining olive oil.

 

In a double boiler melt finely chopped chocolate with blood orange agrumato olive oil. Remove from heat and whisk  in the sea salt and sugar. Add eggs one at a time whisking well after each addition. Sift the cocoa powder over the chocolate and whisk until just combined. 

 

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in middle of oven for 20-23 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate. Drizzle cake with a small amount of blood orange agrumato or dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with tangerine sorbet, whipped cream, or vanilla gelato.  

 

Serves 8-10

Truffled Cauliflower Gratin

Even my kids asked for seconds of this one.

Truffled Cualiflower Gratin
1 large head cauliflower, cut in to florets
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons white truffle oil
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup hot milk
1 cup hot half & half
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Gruyere, divided
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions
 
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle the florets with salt and steam for 8 minutes until slightly tender but still firm.  In a heavy sauce pan over medium heat melt the 2 tablespoons of butter.  Gradually whisk the flour in to the melted butter until no dry spots remain.  Pour the hot milk and hot half and half in in to the butter-flour mixture, whisking constantly  until it comes to a boil.  Continue whisking constantly for 1 minute until thickened and then remove from heat.

 Add 1 teaspoon of salt, fresh ground pepper to taste, 1 teaspoon of white truffle oil and 1/2 cup of the Gruyere, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Butter a 2-3 quart shallow baking dish or casserole.

Place the drained cauliflower in to the baking dish and pour the sauce evenly over the cauliflower.  Combine the remaining tablespoon of butter with the remaining teaspoon of white truffle oil.  Toss the butter and truffle oil with the bread crumbs and remaining 1/2 cup of Gruyere and sprinkle on top of the casserole. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden the bread crumbs are golden brown and the casserole is bubbling.

Serves 6

Grandma's Sugo Over Homemade Fusilli

This sauce recipe has been in my family for generations.  It was a staple in my Italian grandmother's kitchen and conjures memories from a time long ago, when I would perch atop a chair at her kitchen table, my feet barely reaching the the floor.  I remember swinging my legs back and forth excitedly as I dunked hunks of fresh baked bread in to a bowl of her piping hot sauce.  I also remember gladly scalding the roof of my mouth with each heavenly bite.

I believe that the entire neighborhood knew when she was making sauce, as it would perfume the house and indeed the block.  If I was with her prior to commencing the process, she would send me downstairs to the pantry to fetch several #10 cans of tomatoes.  Up and down the stairs I would go carrying the heavy cans.  I distinctly remember that she considered the quality of those tomatoes as paramount. She explained that she knew the local family that grew them.  I can still see the bright red label with "6 in1" printed on each can.  I also remember that when eaten straight from the can, they were sweet like candy and incomparably red.

The process would begin with sautéing aromatics in olive oil.  Then came the tomatoes, handfuls of fresh, torn basil leaves from her garden, lovingly prepared braciole, freshly made sausage links from her favorite, local butcher, dozens of her mind-blowing  meatballs, and copious amounts of heady olive oil.

All went in to a massive pot that I could have probably fit myself in to.  After many hours, basically all day, the sauce turned a deep brick red, and the olive oil pooled magically at the top.  At this point, she would ladle her liquid love in to a tiny bowl just for me.  I would sit at her kitchen table savoring the heady aroma wafting from the steaming bowl, content with the notion that there was nowhere else I'd rather be. 

Rosemary, Lamb, & White Bean Stew with Ultra Fresh, Robust California Frantoio Olive Oil

Here's a hearty, healthy stew that derives some richness from a relatively small amount of meat while showcasing a much larger array of vegetables, legumes and of course, the healthiest fat on Earth, olive oil.
 
Ingredients
1 pound boneless, lean lamb leg carefully trimmed of all sliver skin and sinew and cut in to 1" pieces  
1 pound dried Great Northern white beans soaked overnight and rinsed
four medium sized carrots peeled and cut in 1" dice
1 large onion finely diced
5 cloves garlic minced
1-28 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cups red wine
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 cups beef or chicken stock
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Ultra Fresh California Frantoio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 bay leaves
1 4" sprig of fresh rosemary
Sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.  Season the lamb with salt and pepper.  Dredge the lamb in flour.  In a large pot with a lid or dutch oven set over medium-high flame, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil.  Evenly brown the lamb in the olive oil for about five minutes.  Remove the lamb and add the onions and carrots. Sauté the vegetables for approximately two minutes until onions are translucent.  Add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute until fragrant.  To the same pot add the wine scraping all the browned bits of flour from the bottom of the pot.  Simmer for approximately two minutes.  Add the reserved lamb, pre-soaked beans, tomatoes, stock, bay leaves, rosemary and stir to combine.  Adjust the seasoning and place the covered pot in a preheated oven for three hours.   

Remove the bay leaves and rosemary stem/s.  Re-adjust the seasoning and serve the warm stew drizzled with additional California Frantoio and warm crusty bread.

Serves 6