Braised Pork and a Smoked Salmon antipasto

Today I want to provide you with a couple of my favorite dishes. I made the braised pork for a dinner party we had in August 2008. I had just arrived in Italy to live and my wife invited her chef and a few others over for dinner. Pork in Italy is terrific, is well-marbled and cooks beautifully. Melchiorre had never eaten a dish like this and most Italians are not particularly adventurous eater. “If it doesn’t taste like Mom’s sauce I don’t want to eat it”. But Melchiorre as a chef has a much more adventurous palate and I waited to find out how he liked the dish. He tasted a small bite, chewed it slowly, and then turned to me and said “Molto buono”. We had a winner.


Braised Pork with onions and raisins

This is a stove top braising recipe that makes a wonderful stew-like dish. It takes a bit of time to cook on top of the stove and can easily be done in the oven using a low temperature setting and prolonged cooking. It is best to use pork cuts from the shoulder, which are rich in fat and connective tissue that slowly is released into the braise resulting in a succulent dish.

Ingredients
2 pounds of pork shoulder
1/4 cup flour
Salt, black pepper
Mild paprika
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Olive oil of light cooking oil
2 -3 onions
Liquid for braising (stock, boiling water, wine)

Directions
Cut 2 pounds of pork shoulder into 2” x 2” cubes.
Sprinkle all sides with a mixture of salt, black pepper, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder.
Dust in flour and shake off excess.
Brown in olive oil, in a heavy skillet or braising pan until brown on all sides.
Add 2-3 medium onions, sliced.

Cook to start caramelization of the onions and then add the braising liquid. This can be boiling water, beef stock, or wine or a mixture of all three. The liquid should go up approximately ½ ways up the meat. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover. Cook for approximately 2 hours on the stove until pork is tender. This can be cooked in the oven at 325 degrees for 2-2 ½ hours. In the last 20 minutes of cooking add a ½ cup of wine vinegar and ¾ cup of raisins.

This dish can be served hot or warm, but not cold. A small serving (3-4 oz) will provide an adequate level of protein. Serving pilaf or mashed potatoes with this dish will provide the carbohydrates guests might want. Serving a soft vegetable such as spinach sautéed with garlic will also add an interesting accompaniment to the pork.


One of my favorite appetizers uses smoked salmon, cream cheese, chives and a condiment called mostarda (recipe to follow). I make a beer bread with cheese grated into it, slice it thinly and lightly grill it. I then spread a bit of mostarda on the bread, top with the cream cheese and then a slice of smoked salmon. I then put a dollop more of mostarda on top.

Smoked salmon and crema with chives

Ingredients
Smoked salmon
Creamed cheese and chopped chives
Beer bread crostini

Directions
If you purchase smoked salmon it can be chopped into dice and added directly to the creamed cheese and chives, and then spread on crostini. Or make the creamed cheese and spread on the crostini and then topped with a small piece of salmon. Whip 8 oz of Mascarpone cheese and 8 oz cream cheese (or 16 oz of cream cheese) until light and creamy. Add 1/4 cup chopped chives and 1 Tbs of lemon juice. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste

Spread on crostini and top with the smoked salmon. Try a bit of lemon or citrus mostarda on the crostini, then some cream cheese, then the salmon then a bit more mostarda.

Lemon or citrus mostarda

I like this one made with tangerine rind or lemon. Makes a great condiment for crostini with cream cheese and smoked salmon.

Ingredients
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of water
2 Tablespoons of yellow or black mustard seeds
1 Tablespoon of powdered mustard (Coleman’s)
1 cup of citrus peels (tangerine, lemon, orange or mixture)
All the juice from the peeled fruits
2 Tablespoons of white wine vinegar (more to taste)

Directions
Mix water and sugar together and bring to a boil.
Boil for 10 minutes, and then add the citrus peels and juice.
Add the powdered mustard.
Continue boiling the sugar mixture until it thickens, and the bubbles are small.
Toast the mustard seeds in a small frying pan until they start to pop.
Transfer the seeds to a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.
Grind to a coarse grind and add to fruit mixture.
Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes.
Transfer to clean canning jars (1/2 pint or less).
Cap and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Transfer to rack and allow to cool.