Our first Farmer’s Wine Dinner at the store on Thursday, September 29 was a huge success! We’ve done many wine dinners at the store in the past, but this is the first time where we didn’t have the food catered in meaning that the Chef de Cuisine was none other than us………along with the help of our good friend and customer George Lowe. As you can see below, it was a packed house and thank goodness a rousing success! Thanks to all who came out to support small farmers and to enjoy the products of their labor. Below, you will find the recipes for all of the dishes prepared that night. Keep on drinking and eating well in the universe that is Asheville!
Asheville Food and Wine Lovers at Table Wine
Slow Roasted Pork in Brown Spices
You will need:
2 pounds pork of your choosing (I used organic loin and boneless spare ribs, but butt or shoulder work well too, especially if you’re making more)
4 tbls vegetable oil
2 tbls chile powder
1 tbls cumin
1 tbls oregano
1 tsp coriander, nutmeg and cinnamon
1 onion quartered
4 cloves of garlic smashed
Handful of cilantro
1 lime, halved
2-3 cups of chicken stock
Instructions:
1. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbls of oil over medium high heat. Cut pork into chunks, salt and pepper and add to skillet. Brown on all sides and then remove to bowl.
2. While your pork is searing away, add 2 tbls oil to your pressure cooker and bring up to medium heat (oh yeah, you’ll need one of these too……..we got ours at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $30 or so). Once the oil is pretty hot, add all of your spices and stir in with oil. Add garlic, onion and cilantro and squeeze the lime juice right into the cooker and then just throw the limes in.
3. Add your pork to this mixture and then add your stock. Seal your pressure cooker and crank the heat up to high. Once the cooker has reached “high pressure”, you want to turn the heat down to medium and let it pressure cook away for 20 minutes.
4. Remove cooker from the burner and set aside to “depressurize” naturally – this will take about 20 minutes. You will know when your pressure cooker is depressurized when it quits “hissing” and the aut0-lock unlocks. At this point, you’ll be able to remove the lid.
5. Remove fork tender pork to a seperate vessel and strain the remaining liquid. Use forks to mince the pork or wait until it cools and shred it with your hands. Pour strained liquid directly over pork and stir. That’s it! We love this pork in corn tortillas with fine diced red onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime.
Sweet Potato/Butternut Squash/Ginger Soup
You will need:
2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 butternut squash, peeled and diced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium-size Yukon gold or russet potato, peeled and diced
6 cups vegetable stock
Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and stir together until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the squash, sweet potatoes, regular potato, and water or stock, and bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes, or until all of the ingredients are thoroughly tender.
2. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup (or you can put it through the fine blade of a food mill or use a regular blender, working in batches and placing a kitchen towel over the top to avoid splashing). Return to the pot and stir with a whisk to even out the texture. Heat through, adjust salt and add pepper to taste.
Yield: Serves 8
Advance preparation: You can make this a day ahead and refrigerate. Reheat gently. The soup freezes well. Once thawed, whisk well to smooth out the texture, and reheat.
Grilled Vegetable Lasagna With Puttanesca Sauce and Pesto Oil
You will need:
2 pounds ricotta
1 teaspoon salt
Pesto Oil, recipe follows
Puttanesca Sauce, recipe follows
1 1/4 pounds lasagna noodles
Grilled Vegetables, recipe follows
8 ounces mozzarella, coarsely grated
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl mix the ricotta cheese with salt and half a cup of Pesto Oil.
Lightly grease a large rectangular baking dish, then spoon 1/2 cup of Puttanesca Sauce onto the bottom of the dish. Cover with a layer of lasagna noodles. Top the lasagna with a layer of ricotta, then a layer of eggplant, zucchini, onion and red pepper, a layer of grated mozzarella, and a layer of puttanesca sauce. Repeat layering the lasagna, ricotta, vegetables, mozzarella and sauce in this manner until all ingredients have been used, ending with mozzarella on top.
Bake until the lasagna is bubbling and golden brown, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving, drizzled with some of the remaining pesto oil.
Puttanesca Sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
6 cloves minced garlic
2 (28-ounce) cans Roma plum tomatoes, broken into pieces, with juice
1 cup tightly packed, pitted, chopped Kalamata olives
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons drained capers
2 tablespoons (about 8) minced anchovy fillets
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed basil
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
Salt
In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and lightly caramelized, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the remaining ingredients and simmer until the sauce is thickened and slightly reduced, about 40 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste, cover and set aside.
Pesto Oil:
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
In the bowl of a food processor or blender place the garlic and basil and process on high while adding the olive oil in a steady stream. Continue to process until well blended, season with salt to taste and set aside until ready to assemble lasagna.
Grilled Vegetables: 4 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices 4 red or yellow bell peppers, roasted, seeded and peeled 2 medium eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/4-inch rounds 2 large yellow onions, cut into 1/4-inch rounds 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Light the grill or pre-heat the broiler.
In a large shallow bowl, toss the eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and onion with the oil and salt. If using the broiler, arrange the vegetables in a single layer on 2 lightly greased or non-stick baking sheets. Grill or broil in batches, turning the vegetables once, until they are tender, lightly browned, and have released most of their moisture, about 5 to 6 minutes per side.