Thursday, June 10, 2010

Tuscan Pork Normanno

Okay....a little honesty here: I make up the names for these recipes. I know you're likely not shocked, as most Italian dishes end with "alla norma", meaning in the normal manner, whereas "Normanno" means Norman, as in the Frankish and Gallo-Roman conquerors from Normandy. I, on the other hand, am in fact a Norman (italics included), neither a Norman nor normal in any manner...so it goes.

Our friend Johnny was visiting from Palm Springs CA, so I thought I'd try to prepare him a dinner that reflected the health conscious west coast, without actually becoming exceedingly healthy. The following dish came to my mind for the abundance of veggies. I originally made it with chicken breast, which is topped with grilled vegetables and a lemon-wine sauce. I must say...I liked it better with pork, which will now be the "signature". I served it with a medley of brown rice/barley/red quinoa. You can find that at good-old Trader Joes. I also made a fat-free Crab and Corn Chowder...I'll post that another day.



Lemon and Wine Sauce
-1 stick butter
-2 Tb Flour
-1 lemon
-1 cup or so white wine

Tuscan Pork Normanno
-Pork loin, sliced into nearly 1 inch medallions, seasoned
-Eggplant, sliced crosswise into 1/3 inch medallions
-Yellow squash, sliced lengthwise into 1/3 inch slices 
-Portobello mushrooms, sliced though so there are 2 medallions each
-Zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/3 inch slices
-Roasted Red Peppers

Marinate the first 4 veggies in a little olive oil and seasoned salt.
Make your choice of side-starch.
Make the sauce by melting butter, add 2 tbs flour, squeeze in a lemon, and add the wine.Keep warm.
My grill has a burner...so while I grill those veggies, I pan-fry the pork in a cast-iron skillet on high heat until just barely done.
All that is left is the plating, do it in the order listed, from pork to peppers and top with the sauce.

Please excuse the sloppy plating....I was in a rush, and lost the cork again. The perils of cooking.

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