Recipe: Lemon Garlic Brined Pork Chops with Arugula Pesto

A good pork chop is next to godliness. So, if you want to start off the new year in your friends or family’s good books, then best serve them up one hell of a dinner this week!

As I’ve mentioned before, brining pork is an amazing way to infuse flavours and keep the meat nice and juicy. If you have one resolution for 2014, make it to brine your chops more often!

What you’ll need…

Brine:

1 cup water

1/2 cup white vinegar

2 tbsp sea salt

2 tbsp cane sugar

1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns

1 lemon (zested and juiced, note: use a vegetable peeler to zest the lemon in large strips)

1 yellow onion (quartered)

3 cloves garlic (halved)

2 cups ice cubes

6 bone-in pork chops

Pesto:

2 cups arugula (firmly packed)

1/3 cup walnuts

2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp minced garlic

salt and pepper

olive oil (approx. 1/4 cup)

Directions:

Place all ingredients for the brine in a medium pot aside from ice cubes and chops and bring to a simmer on medium-high heat. Transfer liquid to shallow baking dish and add the ice cubes and let sit for 10 minutes. Once ice has melted and liquid has cooled completely, lay in the chops, cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

For the pesto, place the first 4 ingredients in a food processor and pulse while slowly pouring in oil until it forms a smooth paste. Spoon into a small bowl, season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside for now.

Once the pork chops have finished brining, remove from liquid and pat dry. Cook as desired (I pan-seared the chops and finished them in the oven for 8 minutes, preheated to 375 degrees).

Top generously with arugula pesto and serve!

Happy New Year!

Serves 5-6

Total prep and cook time…6 hours, 20 minutes)

Recipe: Roasted Garlic Pork Meatballs with Walnut Arugula Pesto

Roasted Garlic Meatballs with Walnut Arugula PestoNow that fall is just around the corner, everyone is back and school and your workload is a bit more substantial (ok, a lot more substantial) than it was in August it can be hard to find extra time to put dinner on the table. While this is not quite a complete meal, both the meatballs and the pesto can be made ahead of time so when it comes to the 30 minutes between walking in the door and sitting down for supper, you’ll be ahead of the game.

Of course, these pork meatballs would also be fantastic in a variety of pasta sauces and the pesto makes a great spread for sandwiches when mixed with a little bit of greek yogurt or mayonnaise.

What you’ll need…

Meatballs:

1 yellow onion (diced)

1 1/2 lb ground pork

1 egg

1 bulb garlic (roasted, loosely chopped)

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 TBSP soy sauce

2 TSP grainy dijon mustard

1 TSP dried parsley

salt and pepper

canola oil

Pesto:

1 clove garic

1 lemon (zested and juiced)

1 1/4 cup arugula (packed)

2/3 cup walnuts

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cook down the diced onion in a pan with a bit of canola oil on medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Place into large mixing bowl and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Next, add in remaining meatball ingredients, season generously with salt and pepper and mix with hands until well-incorporated. Roll out by hand into 20 small meatballs, approximately 1″ in diameter.

Heat some canola oil in a large pan on medium-high heat and brown the meatballs on all sides, working in two batches. Transfer to a large baking dish and let roast in the oven until completely cooked through, about 15 minutes. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

For the pesto, place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and pulse while slowly adding some olive oil (should only need approximately 1/3 cup) until a chunky sauce forms. Scoop into a small bowl, season lightly with salt and pepper and give the pesto on final stir.

To serve, place small spoonfuls of the pesto onto a serving platter and top with the warm meatballs. The pesto will keep in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

Yields 20 meatballs, 2 cups pesto

Total cook time…30 min

Recipe: Cranberry Walnut Pesto and Prosciutto Crostini

Well, yet again New Year’s Eve has snuck up on us. If you’ve had a past twelve months like I’ve had, I’m sure you can agree that this past year sped by so quickly. Don’t they always though?

If you’re having some friends and family over to your house tomorrow to ring in 2013, here’s a nice and easy appetizer you can put together in no time featuring prosciutto, an Italian-style ham that is cured and dried, with a rich flavour and melt-in-your-mouth texture.

What you’ll need…

Pesto:

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1/2 cup walnuts

1 cup fresh basil (firmly packed)

3 cloves garlic

1 TBSP red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

olive oil (2/3 cup approx.)

Crostini:

1 white baguette (1/4″ sliced)

250g package prosciutto

1 cup goat cheese

Directions:

First, let your oven preheat to 400 degrees. Starting with the pesto, place the first five ingredients in a food processor. Add a pinch of salt, and a good helping of ground black pepper. Slowly pour the olive oil into the food processor while pureeing. Stop once the mixture turns to a paste. Have a taste, add a bit more salt and pepper if needed. Then process a final time. Remove from processor and store in the refrigerator in a covered container until ready to assemble the crostini.

Now that your oven is preheated, spread out the baguette slices onto two baking sheets. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and let cook in the oven until the bread begins to turn golden and is nice and crispy, about 10-12 minutes. Remove and let cool.

To assemble the appetizer, place a small spoonful of goat cheese on top of each crostini, top with a ribbon of prosciutto (the packaged slices will tear apart easily into smaller pieces) and, finally, a dollop of the cranberry walnut pesto.

Can be served cold or slightly warmed up. Happy New Year!

Yields 72 pieces

Total prep time…25 min