Ease of Preparation: Hard
Yield: serves 6, as a small main
What could match up to a moist, pink, perfectly smoky grilled pork chop on a cold winter’s night? A rich, earthy, umami ragu of mixed wild mushrooms and roasty, toasty chestnuts. This is a dish that’ll keep you warm all through the winter.
Ingredients:
Chestnut Mushroom Ragu:
- Boiling water
- 1 cup (240 ml) dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 cup (240 ml) dried morel mushrooms
- 2 cups (470 ml) king oyster mushrooms, chopped into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces
- 1 cup (240 ml) cremini mushrooms, quartered
- 1 cup (240 ml) shimeji mushrooms, sliced into 1-inch (2.5 cm) sections
- 1 cup (240 ml) chanterelles, stemmed and torn
- 1 cup (240 ml) oyster mushrooms, torn
- ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil, plus
- 3 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) rosemary, fine chopped
- 2 tablespoon (15 ml) sage, fine chopped
- ½ tablespoon (7.5 ml) juniper berries, ground
- 1 cup (240 ml) white wine
- 1 cup (240 ml) demi-glace
- 1 cup (240 ml) chestnut puree
- 2 cups (470 ml) peeled roasted chestnuts, halved
- 1 cup (240 ml) whipping cream
- Salt and pepper
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) butter, cold and cubed
Pork Chops:
- 6 1-inch thick bone-in pork loin chops (‘Frenched’ – bone end cleaned)
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) chives, finely sliced
Method:
In a heatproof bowl or dish, pour boiling water over dried porcini and morel mushrooms, cover, and allow to steep for 20 minutes.
Once reconstituted, strain, reserving mushrooms and 1 cup of mushroom stock.
Heat oil in a large cast iron over medium high heat.
When shimmering, add king oyster, cremini, shimeji, chanterelle, and oyster mushrooms and cook for 7-8 minutes, moving every 2 minutes.
When the mushrooms are nicely seared golden brown, add the shallots and garlic to the same pan and cook for 1-2 minutes, until starting to soften.
Add the thyme, rosemary, sage, and juniper berries and stir.
Deglaze with white wine, scraping up any bits that are stuck to the pan.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until reduced by half.
Add the demi glace, then whisk in the chestnut puree until smooth.
Add the chestnuts, reserved cooked mushrooms, reconstituted mushrooms, and mushroom stock and bring to a simmer.
Stir in the cream and season with salt and pepper.
Keep warm until needed.
For the Pork Chops:
When the sauce is nearly ready, prepare the pork chops.
Preheat a grill to high heat. Preheat an oven to 350 F (175 C).
Lay out the pork chops, coat well with oil, turning, and season both sides with salt and pepper.
Grill over high heat for 2-3 minutes, then turn 90 degrees to make crosshatch grill marks.
Cook for 2 more minutes, then flip and repeat.
Transfer to baking sheet and place in the oven to finish cooking for 4-5 minutes, or until they reach an internal temp of 150 F (65 C).
Remove from oven and let rest, loosely tented with foil, for 6-8 minutes.
To Serve:
Before serving, remove the Chestnut-Mushroom Ragu from the heat and slowly swirl in cold cubed butter.
Neatly position the chops on the serving plates.
Top the chops with Chestnut Mushroom Ragu and garnish with chives.
Serve immediately.