Gin & Yang

Marinated Pork Loin with Lemon Greens and Soft Polenta

To paraphrase Homer Simpson: “The Pig is a wonderful, magical animal. ”  Rarely have truer words been said.  There isn’t a single bit of meat on a pig that I wouldn’t eat.  Yes that includes, snout, trotters and intestines!  It truly is a magical creature.  Bacon makes everything taste better – it’s my “go-to” ingredient, if you’re making something and it’s not working out, just add Bacon.  There is only one type of Bacon that I don’t like and that’s Beef Bacon.  Served in hotels all over Malaysia (and I suspect most other Islamic countries) it has got to be the worst excuse for Bacon that I will ever have the misfortune to eat.  It’s like Beef Jerky only without the possibility of chewing it or it having any taste.  It’s closely followed by chicken sausages, why not do beef sausages?  At least they are tasty!  So don’t go to Malaysia expecting a quality fry up, but then again… who goes to a place like Malaysia looking for a fry up?  If you want some great tasting pork out there then you need to have some Sau Nyuk – Chinese roast pork belly.  I will never get bored of eating Sau Nyuk, whoever came up with the idea of cooking a salted pork belly until the skin and fat goes super crispy deserves a medal, genius.

The recipe I’m doing here isn’t just about the Pork though, in fact the marinade is just as important – if not more so.  It really gives the meat some flavour and goes well with the Polenta.  The Lemon Greens really round out this recipe and give it a great balanced flavour profile.  Once again this is adapted from “How to cook like a Top Chef”.

Ingredients (serves 4):

4 Pork Loins

1 Shallot

2 cloves of Garlic

10 sprigs of Thyme

2 sprigs of Rosemary

2 tsp of Sea Salt

1 tbsp ground Pepper

1 teaspoon Paprika

1 teaspoon ground Cumin

125ml Olive Oil + extra for rubbing

Greens:

1 Head of Cabbage (Spring Greens or Cabbage)

1 Red Onion

1 tbsp unsalted Butter

Zest of 1 Lemon

Polenta:

See Recipe for Soft Polenta

Method:

1.  Marinate the Pork Loins in the olive oil, herbs, spices, crushed garlic and diced shallots.  Mix well, ensuring both sides of the pork are covered in the marinade.  Wrap each one in cling film and then store in the fridge for between 4-12 hours.

2.  Set a grill pan or traditional grill to a medium-high heat.

3.  Unwrap the Loins and clean off the marinade, patting them dry.  Rub each one with olive oil and sear until golden.

4.  Reduce the heat and allow the meat to cook through.  You can throw on the bits of the marinade to cook at this point, use it to garnish the Pork.  Rest the meat for 5mins before serving.

Greens:

1.  Set a saute pan to a medium heat and melt the butter.  Then add the diced red onion and saute until golden.

2.  Add the Greens and Lemon zest and saute until the Greens start to wilt.

3.  Remove from the heat and serve with the Pork.

Tips:

Don’t over cook the Greens, they will lose their flavour and smell awful!