Scaloppine ...

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Pork Scaloppine

The New Year always makes me want to try new things, make new friends, pick new projects, and in general get off my duff and get busy at the serious winter pastime called puttering.

Once again, we're staring at another snowstorm headed toward us, so I have spent the afternoon playing on the computer where I discovered this website . I have had some serious fun playing around at building the mosaic below so that I could post on a fair-to-middling pork scaloppine recipe that I made last evening.

I browsed the recipe for a warm red cabbage and pear salad and pork scaloppine in an old  Food & Wine magazine. Boy, did it sound wonderful! SO ... I pulled a pork tenderloin out of the freezer and hit the market for a nice red cabbage and a couple little Forelle pears. I followed the recipe almost to the letter and it was good, but... there's always a BUT!  I will make this dish again , but I will add a bit of honey to the warm cabbage and pear salad and cook it a bit longer to get the cabbage a bit softer. I'll also chop some fresh thyme leaves and add it to the flour in which the pork scallops are dredged before their fry-up. I think I would also like to see about some fresh sage leaves fried up and used as a crunchy topping for the scaloppine. I would love it if someone out there in cyberspace made this dish and got back to me on their adaptations.

Thanks to Food & Wine magazine for Chef Ken Vendriski's recipe...

Pork Scaloppine with Warm Cabbage Salad

almost a Food & Wine magazine recipe

Ingredients:

1½ lb boneless pork tenderloin
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ c. chopped walnuts, roasted
¼ c. red wine vinegar
3 tbsp. good quality balsamic vinegar or vin cotto (grape must condiment)
1 small shallot, minced
¼ c. plus 3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
Flour for dredging
1 lb. red cabbage, washed and thinly sliced
1 large pear (Bosc, Forelle, or Anjou), washed and sliced into matchsticks

Making the Dish:

1. Prepare the vegetables and roast the walnuts. Set them aside.

2. Whisk the vinegars, shallot, and 3 tbsp. olive oil together in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and black pepper and set the vinaigrette aside.

3. Cut the pork loin into one-inch thick medallions. You should get about 5 or six from the 1½ lb measure. Trim any excess fat from the outer edges, and place them in a large plastic bag. Pound each medallion to a thin scallop of about 1/8 to ¼ inch thickness.

4. Salt and pepper each scallop and dredge it in flour.

5. Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add half the pork scaloppine and brown well on each side. Remove from the pan to a warm platter. Add another 2 tbsp. oil and fry the other half of the scaloppine. Place the browned pork in a warm oven.

6. Pour off the oil in the pan and wipe it out. Add the vinaigrette and 1 tbsp. butter to the hot pan. Stir together to melt the butter and bring it to a bubble. Add the cabbage and pears and toss to coat the warm salad. Heat for another three minutes.

7. Plate the salad, sprinkle with the roasted walnuts, drizzle with a bit more balsamic or vin cotto, place the pork scaloppine at the side and serve.

Serves: 4

It's a nice meal. We had a side of oven roasted potato wedges and a bottle of good Merlot with it ... hit the spot! Improvements, anyone?