Fennel-crusted pork with roasted pears and potatoes

Refrigerator clean-out week continues, this time using up some pears that I'd intended to use in another recipe, but then that didn't happen. Even us planners sometimes slip up. Pork loins were on sale at Bergen's for $1.99 a pound, so this recipe seemed like a good Plan B.

 
Fennel-crusted pork loin with roasted pears and potatoes

Adapted from Real Simple, Oct. 2007

Ingredients
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
2 pounds pork loin
2 large red onion, cut into 8 chunks
1 pound small potatoes, quartered
3 pears, cored and quartered

Method
Crush fennel seeds in a small bowl. Mix in garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Rub over pork loin and place in roasting pan.

Toss onion, potatoes and pears with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and remaining salt and pepper. Arrange around pork in roasting pan. Bake in preheated 400-degree oven for 60 to 70 minutes until cooked through (160 degrees inside). Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Rating: Very simple. The fennel crust on the pork is nice and crunchy, and the pears are a really nice sweet contrast. This serves 4 easily, so I sliced up some of the leftover pork and tossed that with some of the roasted pears, baby kale, pecans and a red-wine vinegar dressing for a great lunch.

Polenta pizza with pancetta, gorgonzola and spinach

Nothing says pizza toppings have to go on yeast-bread products. Whatever your favorite flavor combos are, chances are pretty good they might go just as well on a polenta base, so just because you don’t have a crust on hand doesn’t mean you can’t have a pie. Plus, it’s a great way to use up any leftover polenta.

Polenta pizza with pancetta and spinach

From the Star Tribune’s Taste section, March 12, 2009. While I didn’t save the article this recipe accompanies, I suspect from online searching that this must be a Mark Bittman recipe via the New York Times service.

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil, divided, plus more for pan

½ cup whole milk

2½ cups water

1 cup polenta or cornmeal

1 small onion, chopped

½ cup chopped pancetta

10 ounces fresh spinach leaves

1 cup or more gorgonzola

Method

Oil a pizza pan lightly with olive oil. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine milk, water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and whisk in polenta in a slow stream. Simmer on low, whisking continuously, until thick, about 10 minutes. Mix in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Spread polenta over prepared pizza pan. Cover and chill until firm, at least an hour or overnight.

Uncover polenta and bake in a preheated 450-degree oven until beginning to brown and crisp along the edges, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and pancetta and cook until onion is soft and pancetta is browned. Remove from pan and set aside. Add spinach and cook until it’s wilted and any liquid has cooked out. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle gorgonzola over top of the baked polenta. Scatter onion-pancetta mixture on top, then spinach. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Bake for another 2 minutes to melt cheese.

Rating: Very tasty, and very satisfying. The polenta brings enough body to the meal that it seems much more filling per slice than the average pizza. Can’t believe it took me seven years to finally getting around to making something this simple.

 

Pasta with roasted cauliflower, preserved lemon and hazelnuts

More with the preserved lemons, because once you've made them, you've got to find things to do with them. I ran across this batch of four recipes online, any one of which looks plausible. I started with this one, which the author describes as the result of cooking with what was in the larder. I adapted it very slightly to what was in mine.

Orecchiette with roasted cauliflower, preserved lemon and hazelnuts

From theguardian.com, a Rosie Birkett recipe

Ingredients

1 small cauliflower, broken into pieces

Crushed red pepper

1½ tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/3 cup golden raisins

¾ cup white wine, divided

2 tablespoons chopped shallot

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 preserved lemon, chopped, seeds discarded

4 anchovies, optional

½ cup water

1 package orecchiette

2 tablespoons whipping cream

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

¼ cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Grated Parmesan cheese

Olive oil for drizzling

Method

Toss cauliflower with 1 tablespoon olive oil, crushed red pepper and a generous pinch of salt. Roast at 350 for a half hour or until it picks up a golden color. Keep warm in oven.

Soak raisins in 5 tablespoons white wine. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat ½ tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Cook shallots and garlic over medium heat until starting to soften. Stir in lemons and anchovies, breaking up anchovies with back of a spoon to dissolve them. Add the remaining white wine and cook until substantially reduced. Add wine-soaked raisins and ½ cup water and cook to reduce again.

When pasta is cooked, toss together with sauce, cream, lemon juice, parsley and nuts. Garnish with Parmesan and drizzle with olive oil.

Rating: Quite nice. Dave said it was a mouth brightener to counteract a day dampener. (We did taxes yesterday, so this was saying quite a bit. Ouchie.) The anchovies were a fairly mild presence, but if you don't care for them at all, by all means leave it out and this will be fine. Further proof that what's-in-the-house meals turn out better if you're careful about what's in the house to play with.

Pear and parsnip gratin

The calendar says it's spring, despite yesterday's snow fall, so it's time to think about cleaning. For me, spring cleaning involves clearing out my garden, and my refrigerators. After a reckoning with the basement frig earlier this week, I chose this recipe to finish off the parsnips I bought at the last farmers market in October, and some pears that needed using.

Pear and parsnip gratin

Adapted from “Make It Ahead” by the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten

Ingredients

1¾ pounds parsnips, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

3 Bosc pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 cups water

3 tablespoons butter, softened

½ cup sour cream

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

¾ teaspoon ground ginger

2½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon white pepper

Method

Bring parsnips, pears and 2 cups water to a boil and then simmer, covered, until parsnips are very tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer parsnips and pears with slotted spoon to a food processor and puree.

Combine butter, sour cream, eggs, orange zest, ginger, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix in hot puree. Pour evenly into a shallow gratin dish; she calls for a 9-by-12 dish.

At this point the dish can be covered and refrigerated for a few days in advance, or you can bake it directly in a preheated 350-degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes until “slightly puffed and golden on top.”

Rating: Excellent flavors, but odd texture, and if there was any puffing, it was hardly detectable. She did call for using a food mill, one of the few kitchen gadgets I don’t own, and for unpeeled parsnips and pears, but I have a hard time thinking either of those variations could account for the resulting disappointment. Mind you, a taste of the unbaked puree was mighty tasty, so I could totally see making it again only leaving out the eggs and just serving the puree unbaked, because the flavor combo was excellent and puree would have been a much better texture than the ugh it turned into.

 

Butternut squash and bacon pizza

This recipe combines most of the basic ingredients of your favorite roasted squash-bacon-kale salad recipe, only on a pizza crust.

Roasted bacon and butternut squash pizza

Adapted from dashrecipes.com, Oct. 2013, a recipe from Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen that I clipped out of the Sunday paper.

Ingredients

½ butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced

¼ pound thick-cut bacon, cut into bite-size chunks

½ a medium red onion, sliced

1 crust pizza dough

4 ounces fresh mozzarella balls

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Balsamic vinegar for drizzling

Method

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss squash, bacon and red onion on sheet. Roast for 25 minutes.

Heat oven to 500 degrees. Sprinkle a baking stone with cornmeal (or large baking sheet if you don’t have one). Stretch pizza dough into a large rectangle. Top with roasted vegetable mixture. Top with cheeses. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with vinegar for serving.

Rating: Like I said, it’s like that kale salad. In fact, if I make this again, I might well add some baby kale leaves sliced into ribbons, so it’s kale chips meets salad meets pizza.

Make ahead: I prechopped the veggies, and I'm betting you could easily preroast the veggies and bacon and hold them at room temperature for some time until the final baking.

Chickpea salad with herbs and Manchego

This zesty salad works well as either a solid side dish or could work as a meatless main course. 

Chickpea salad with fresh herbs and Manchego cheese

Adapted from “The Pollan Family Table” by Corky, Lori, Dana and Tracy Pollan. If you’re invited to this table, you should go.

Ingredients

3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 cans, rinsed and drained)

1/3 cup finely chopped red onion

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

½ teaspoon lemon zest

½ cup diced Manchego cheese

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Arugula for salad base

Method

Combine chickpeas, red onion, parsley, basil, tarragon, lemon zest and cheese. In a small bowl, combine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, mustard and salt and pepper. Toss salad with dressing. Place arugula on plates and top with salad.

Rating: Nice and zingy. Definitely worth repeating. 

Make ahead: This keeps well, so you can prepare it in advance. Just don't add the basil until shortly before serving to avoid discoloration.