Tag: lentils

Recipe: Cafe Linnea’s Cured Pork Chops on Warm Lentils with Canola Oil Emulsion

Posted on by Sharman

At Cafe Linnea‘s recent Taste Alberta Prairie on the Plate dinner, chef Kelsey Johnson featured a cured pork chop that was an absolute lip smacker. The main course, made with Serben Farms Alberta pork chops, was paired alongside a warm lentil salad with a canola oil emulsion and port caramelized onions. The complete dish was composed of simple flavours, but executed perfectly, and made with high-quality and flavour-packed ingredients. If you love pork chops – this recipe make make a classic comfort cut of pork shine.

Cured Pork Chops on Warm Lentils with Canola Oil Emulsion
Recipe by chef Kelsey Johnson, Cafe Linnea
Pork Chops: 
4 bone out pork chops
50 grams salt
20 grams sugar
  1. Add salt and sugar to 1 litre of water in a large pot and bring to just a boil. Allow brine to cool to room temperature or cooler before adding pork.
  2. Soak pork chops for eight hours in brine.
  3. Remove and pat dry.
  4. Over medium/high heat, sear the pork chop in a cast iron pan on both sides. Preheat oven to 350F, and finish pork chop in the oven to a nice medium, or 145F using a meat thermometer, for maximum juiciness.
Warm Lentils:
2 cups puy lentils
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced parsnips
sachet of black peppercorns, bay leaf
2 tbsp vegetable stock
1 tsp butter
salt and pepper, to taste
  1. Soak lentils overnight in cold water. Drain and rinse the next day.
  2. In a large pot, cover the lentils with an extra inch of water and bring to the simmer with the sachet of peppercorns and bay leaf. Cook until tender but not falling apart. Drain and discard the sachet.
  3. To serve, in a sauté pan, heat some vegetable stock with the diced vegetables and cook for about 2 mins. Season and add the lentils tossing to coat and finish with the butter.
  4. Dress the warm salad with the lentil dressing and adjust your seasoning to taste.
Lentil Dressing:
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup canola oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1. In a blender, combine the vinegar and Dijon and slowly stream in the oil to make a nice thick emulsion. Season to taste.
Canola Oil Emulsion:
2 egg yolks
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup cold pressed canola oil
* it’s really important to use a good quality, cold pressed canola oil or else you are just making mayonnaise with no character flavour
  1. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, blend up the yolks with a tiny splash of the lemon juice.
  2. Slowly start to stream in the canola oil to make a mayonnaise emulsion.
  3. Balance the remainder of the ingredients until its a nice thick consistency and season with salt to finish.
Port Soaked Onions
1 large Spanish onion, cut horizontally into 4 big slices
1/4 cup port wine
1/4 cup pork stock
  1. Sear your onions to very dark on a flat cast iron griddle with no oil or coating.
  2. To serve, place your onions in a large skillet being careful to keep them intact. On medium heat, add the port wine and slowly simmer and reduce. When it is half cooked off, add the pork stock and continue to simmer and reduce while glazing the tops of the onions every so often until your sauce is nice and thick and glossy.
To Assemble:
  1. Scoop the warmed and seasoned lentils onto the base of your plate.
  2. Top with your pork chops and add three nice spoons of your canola oil emulsion around the chop.
  3. Top each chop with the onion segment and a spoon of the sauce. Garnish with some greens if you have them and enjoy!

Recipe: Pork Shoulder, Lentil and Charred Cabbage Salad

Posted on by Dan Clapson

Pork shoulder, lentil and charred cabbage salad

I feel like I’ve become a little obsessed with smoked pork shoulder lately. It’s versatility knows no bounds whether you’re having it braised in this goulash I made the other week or smoky, crispy and salty like in this hearty salad here.

Roasting the pork shoulder to crisp it up along side the chicken leaves you with an amazing pan juice that transforms into an amazing dressing for the salad. I think we all should roast these two Alberta-raised ingredients together more often!

What you’ll need…

6 1/4″ slices smoked pork shoulder (cut into long strips)

2 skin-on chicken thighs

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 cups cooked whole green lentils (cooled)

1/4 green cabbage, cut into 1/4″ thick slices

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon grainy mustard

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

3 tablespoons chopped chives

sea salt (to season)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix together oil, 1 tablespoon of the maple syrup and pepper.

Arrange pork shoulder and chicken thighs in a large baking dish. Drizzle oil/syrup mixture over top of meat and let roast in the oven until chicken is cooked through and pork is dark and crispy, approximately 25 minutes.

Remove from oven, transfer meat to paper towel to cool and absorb any excess grease. Strain pan drippings into a small bowl and set aside for now.

Using the same baking dish, roast cabbage slices in the oven until slightly charred and tender, about 30-35 minutes.

While that’s roasting, remove chicken meat from bones and give a rough chop with the crispy pork shoulder.

Pour the reserved pan drippings into a pot along with reserved maple syrup, vinegar, mustard and chili flakes and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes or until mixture has reduced by 1/3.

Once cabbage has roasted and cooled slightly, chop roughly and combine in a large bowl along with meat, lentils and chives.

Pour pan dripping vinaigrette overtop and toss until well-coated. Can be served slightly warm or cold, but if you’re serving cold, do not add into the crispy pork shoulder until just before dining.

Serves 5-6

Total prep and cook time…1 hour, 15 minutes

Lentil, Bacon and Smoked Tofu Salad

Posted on by Dan Clapson

Lentil salad recipe

My tastebuds don’t really discriminate. Tofu can be delicious when it’s prepared well and there’s no reason why it can’t be joined in holy matrimony with crispy bacon. I made this simple salad for a barbecue recently and it was a hit. After crisping up bacon for the salad, I used the leftover fat in the pan to boost the flavour of the salad dressing. Bacon-y goodness-meets-summer salad. You’ve gotta love it!

What you’ll need…

1 tablespoon canola oil

6 strips bacon (thinly sliced)

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

1 small red onion (halved and thinly sliced)

6 cups cooked red lentils

1 cup smoked tofu (1/4″ diced)

1 cup fresh parsley (finely chopped)

1/2 cup roasted cashews (roughly chopped)

salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in a medium pan on medium-high heat, add chopped bacon and cook until very crispy. Remove from heat and transfer bacon to paper towel to absorb any excess grease.

Once the pan has cooled, transfer the leftover fat and oil to a small bowl, add the mustard, vinegar and honey and whisk to combine.

Place remaining ingredients, along with crispy bacon in a large serving bowl, pour dressing overtop and toss several times to combine.

Finally, season to taste with salt and pepper and keep chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Serves 4-5

Total cook time…12 minutes

Lemon-Dijon Pork Tenderloin Lentil Salad

Posted on by Sharman

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From freezing cold and windy to super sunny with above average temperatures, the weather in February was all over the place. It is on those sunnier days that I start believing that spring is on the way – which means I it won’t be long before I can BBQ without doing the mad dash on and off the balcony in sub-zero temperatures.  This recipe is simple, packed with protein (thanks to a health dose of pulses), and light and refreshing thanks to a boost of lemon flavour.

Lemon-Dijon Pork Tenderloin Lentil Salad

3 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Salad
1 cup lentils
grated lemon zest from one lemon
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 orange, red, or yellow bell pepper, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
½ tsp of dill
Salt and pepper to taste

  1. Season tenderloin with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together canola oil, mustard, lemon juice. Evenly rub over tenderloin and set aside in a bowl to marinate for at least an hour.
  2. Bring a medium-sized pot of salted water to a boil. Add lentils and reduce heat to simmer until lentils are tender but not mushy, approximately 10 – 15 minutes depending on the type of lentil. Cooking time for lentils can vary so see instructions on bag. Drain, and immediately rinse with cold water until lentils are cool to the touch.
  3. Meanwhile, place pork on BBQ or grill over medium-high heat and close lid. Turn tenderloin and continue grilling until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 145 degrees F.
  4. Transfer the pork to a cutting board to rest for 5- 10 minutes before slicing.
  5. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, canola oil, vinegar, and Dijon mustard. Add drained lentils, peppers, and avocado; season with dlill, salt and pepper. Plate each dish with lentil salad and top with sliced tenderloin. Enjoy!