Braised pork loin with vegetables and mashed potatoes

Braised pork loin with mashed potatoes and vegetables by beFOODled on Flickr.

For our main plate on New Year's Day in Calgary, Mark, S and I served braised pork loin medallions topped with caramelized onions. We served them with mashed potatoes, sautéed Asian-glazed carrots, pan-seared bok choy and baked Provençale tomato.

Mark told us that the classic onion-carrot-celery flavour base used in braising is called mirepoix by the French. He also advised that tender cuts of meat, such as this loin, do not have to be fully submerged in liquid when braised. But more sinewy cuts, such as shoulder or hock, taste more tender if submerged.

Braised pork loin
serves six

enough pork loin to serve six
1/2 bottle red wine
parsley sprigs
bay leaf
whole garlic cloves
onions, carrots and celery in a large dice (mirepoix)
dried thyme


Marinate the pork loin by beFOODled on Flickr.

Marinate the pork loin in the above ingredients for a few hours.


Season the pork and reserve the marinade by beFOODled on Flickr.

Brush the elements of the marinade off the meat and season the pork loin on all sides. Set the marinade aside.

Brown the pork loin on all sides in a hot pan with hot oil. Set aside.


Sauté the garnishes in the marinade by beFOODled on Flickr.

With tongs or a slotted spoon, remove all of the whole vegetables, herbs and seasonings from the marinade. And keep that wine for later (for the love of Bacchus, don't throw it out!) Sauté the elements of the marinade for a few minutes in the same frying pan.

In a cast iron Dutch oven, add a layer of the sautéed veggies and then add the meat on top. Add the rest of the cooked veggies on top of the meat. Add some tomato paste and the wine from the marinade (about two cups). Add about two more cups of chicken or vegetable stock, or as much as you need.


Braised pork loin in a Dutch oven by beFOODled on Flickr.

Cook for two-and-a-half hours at 300 to 325 degrees. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes under foil before cutting into medallions.

Lamb braise with saffron rice

Lamb braise with saffron rice, originally uploaded by beFOODled.

You may have noticed there are a lot of stew-type recipes on beFOODled. I think that's because braising is my favourite way to cook. I just really like the flavours and textures of tomato-based one-pot dishes. Plus, braises are slow food, and I often like to cook for a bit, toddle off to do something, such as blog, then return to eat. Yes, that's it. It's a method that is forgiving of distractions.

Lamb braise with saffron rice

1 kg lamb shoulder, cut into bite-size cubes
a handful of all-purpose flour
grapeseed (or canola) oil
a handful of pearl or cipollini onions, peeled
1 - 2 garlic cloves
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
100 mL of cider vinegar
1 tsp sugar
a glug of your favourite BBQ sauce
28-oz can of plum tomatoes (I like San Marzano brand)
1/2 - 1 cup of chicken stock
fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
ground coriander
chopped parsley

Put the flour in a large plastic bag and toss the lamb cubes until lightly coated. Brown the lamb in batches in an oiled frying pan but do not cook all the way through. Set aside.

Add some more oil and fry the carrots, celery and onions for a few minutes. Add the garlic and. Turn up the heat and add the vinegar and sugar and deglaze the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat and add the tomatoes, the BBQ sauce, chicken stock and herbs and spices. Stir and cover and cook on very low heat (about 2 or 1) for 1 to 1.5 hours. Add a bit more stock if it needs more liquid while braising. Serve with chopped parsley sprinkled over.

To make the saffron rice, make basmati rice in your rice cooker as usual, but cook it using some water that's had a pinch of saffron soaking in it for about 30 minutes. It will come out a pretty yellow and taste fantastic.

Secrets and Shortcuts: flavour friendships in braises

I just picked up another tip on braising from Michael Smith's Chef at Home show.

The secret to a great braise is to first brown your meat, then add a trio of chopped onion, celery and carrot to build a neutral flavour base. You can further personalize with another threesome of your favourite flavours that go together well.

Michael, for example, braised his lamb shanks with chopped apples, cinnamon sticks and brown sugar, three flavours that go together naturally, as he puts it :)

At the end of the braising period, add those same ingredients again in fresh form. But this time, instead of using a large dice, chop them finely. You just want them to heat through, but still be crisp enough to lend texture and taste fresh.

Michael also suggested some other flavour combinations that go well together in braises:
* orange juice and rosemary
* pineapple, rum and brown sugar

The celebrity chefs are always dropping hints about which ingredients are best friends. I'll blog about more flavour friendships soon so that we can all know which combinations make for happy tastebuds :)

Secrets and Shortcuts: Braising

I am a great collector of helpful tips and sage advice when it comes to cooking and food preparation. My friends, family and favourite Food Channel chefs often share such valuable tidbits.

So, to document all of this great cooking lore, I've just created another new occasional feature on beFOODled, called Secrets and Shortcuts. Stay tuned for many more coming soon :)

Secrets and Shortcuts: Braising
Braising means to cook slowly in a small amount of liquid, so if you are cooking vegetables in a braised dish, be sure to cut up them up into biggish chunks, like quarters or a large dice, so that they don't lose all of their nutrients and flavours throughout the long cooking time.