Next: Cowboy Salsa
Up: List of
Recipes
Caribbean-Style Pork with Hot Frying Peppers
from The Chile Pepper Book by Carolyn Dille and
Susan Belsinger. This cookbook has more appealing dishes in
it than most of my other hot-stuff cookbooks, many of which
contain only salsa recipes that are useful. The way I make
this dish is quite different from the recipe, but the results
are really tasty.
Serves 4 to 6
Any pale yellow-green mildly hot pepper can be used in this
dish: Cubanelle, hot banana, Roumanian, or Santa Fe Grande.
[I use Hungarian Wax.] Pork tenderloins cook quickly and are
lighter than the pork roast or chops used traditionally.
[Yeah, and they're also expensive!] For a Caribbean-style
feast, serve the pork with black beans and/or rice, corn on
the cob, lime- or vinegar-dressed coleslaw and sliced
tomatoes. [I usually just make brown rice.]
2 pounds (900 grams) pork tenderloins [I use pork shoulder or
butt]
3/4 cup (180 mL) white vinegar
1/3 cup (80 mL) mild-flavored honey
4 or 5 garlic cloves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons (45 mL) olive oil
1 pound (450 g) yellow-green mildly hot peppers, stemmed,
seeded, and sliced about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick
1 large sweet onion, halved lengthwise, each half cut into 8
pieces and separated into segments [!! Just chop the damned
onion.]
- Trim the thin layer of connective tissue and excess fat
from the pork. Mix the vinegar and honey together in a dish
large enough to hold the pork. Mash the garlic very well or
put it through a press and add it to the dish. Marinate the
pork, covered, in the refrigerator for 24 hours, turning two
or three times. [I usually make the marinade, chop the pork
into 1 cm cubes, then marinade it at room temperature while I
chop the onions and peppers. Chopping the pork this way is
time-consuming, but if you were really busy, would you be
reading web pages?]
- Remove the pork from the refrigerator about an hour
before ready to serve. Transfer to a plate and reserve the
marinade. Preheat the oven to 400F (200C) for about 10
minutes. [I skip all the oven steps.] Meanwhile, heat 1
tablespoon (15 mL) of olive oil over high heat in an
ovenproof saute pan large enough to hold the pork without
crowding. Salt and pepper the pork, and saute it for about 7
minutes, or until it is well browned all over. [I saute the
cubes in corn oil in a big non-oven-proof pot.]
- Baste the pork well with the marinade and transfer it to
the oven. Roast the pork for about 10 minutes, or until the
internal temperature reaches 160F (71C), basting two or three
times withe marinade. When the pork is done, place it on a
board. Let it stand while you cook the peppers and make the
sauce. [I skip this step altogether in favor of stove-top
preparation.]
- In a large saute pan over high heat, saute the peppers
and the onion in the remaining olive oil about 5 minutes, or
until they are browned and crisp-tender. Season lightly with
salt and pepper. [I saute the onions and peppers in with the
meat.]
- While the peppers are cooking, pour the remaining
marinade into the roasting pan along with a little water and
salt and pepper. Reduce by half and adjust the seasoning.
Slice the pork about 1/4 inch (5mm) thick. Place the peppers
on a serving dish, arrange the pork slices on top, and pour
the cooking juices over all. Serve hot. [I add the marinade
to the pot, and let the whole mess cook down for about 10
minutes.]
.
alison@exerciseforthereader.org
(Alison Chaiken)
..