Jerk-seasoned Pork with a Pumpkin Farce and Sweet Potato-Callaloo-Goat Cheese Gnocchi
Pork chops are stuffed with a mixture of ground pork, pumpkin, and seasonings before being rubbed with jerk seasoning and grilled. The chops are finished in the oven so that the inside is completely cooked but the outside remains tender; when sliced on the plates, they reveal their colorful stuffing. Chef Wiles serves the grilled chops with silky gnocchi in a creamy goat cheese sauce. An assortment of blanched baby vegetables completes the meal.
Ingredients
- Gnocchi
- Sweet Potato - 1 large (12 ounce), peeled, cut into chunks
- Goat Cheese - 4 ounces, softened, divided
- Egg Yolk - 1
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons
- Spinach - 1 package (10 ounces), frozen, chopped, thawed and squeezed dry
- Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
- Freshly ground black pepper - 1/4 teaspoon
- Nutmeg - 1/8 teaspoon
- All-Purpose Flour - 1/4 to 1/2 cup
- Heavy Cream - 1 cup
- Tomatoes - 2 large, halved and hollowed
- Pork
- Boneless Pork Loin - 4, well-trimmed, cut 1-1/2 inches thick
- Pork liver - 4 ounces, boneless, cut into cubes
- Pumpkin Puree - 1/3 cup, (fresh or canned)
- Egg - 1 large
- Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
- Freshly ground black pepper - 1/4 teaspoon
- Scallion - 1/4 cup, chopped (green onion)
- Caribbean jerk seasoning mix - 2 tablespoons
- Fresh lime juice - 2 tablespoons
- Unsalted Butter - 3 tablespoons, divided
- Chicken Stock - 1 cup (alt. broth)
- Veal demi-glace (see Basics) - 1/4 cup (alt. reduced beef or veal stock)
- Rum (optional) - 2 tablespoons
- *Available in the spice section of the supermarket.
- Optional garnishes
- Blanched baby eggplant, chayote squash and green beans
Instructions
To make the gnocchi: While still warm, mash sweet potato with 2 ounces of the goat cheese in a food mill or food processor. Stir in egg yolk. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add half of the spinach, salt, pepper and nutmeg; saute 4 minutes. Add spinach mixture to sweet potato mixture. Stir in flour, 1 tablespoon at a time until dough is no longer sticky. Divide dough in half and roll each half on lightly floured surface into a 1/2-inch thick rope. Cut rope into 1 inch long pieces. If desired, roll each piece of dough on a butter paddle to create a scored appearance. Let gnocchi dry slightly at room temperature 20 minutes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add one fourth of gnocchi; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until gnocchi rise to surface of water and are firm. Using a strainer, transfer cooked gnocchi to a plate; set aside. Repeat with remaining gnocchi.
Cook cream in a large skillet over medium-high heat until reduced to 3/4 cup. Stir in remaining 2 ounces goat cheese until melted. Stir in remaining spinach; heat through. Season sauce to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add gnocchi; cook 2 minutes, stirring to coat gnocchi with sauce.
To prepare the pork: Using a sharp, thin boning knife, cut a pocket in the center of each pork chop leaving the smallest opening possible. Place the pork cubes in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add pumpkin and egg yolk; process until fairly smooth. Stir in salt, pepper and scallion. Place into a pastry bag; pipe mixture into pockets in pork chops. Rub seasoning mix over both sides of pork chops. Let stand at room temperature 10 to 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add to chops to skillet; sear for 2 minutes per side or until browned. Transfer to a shallow roasting pan. Repeat with remaining 2 chops. Sprinkle chops with lime juice and transfer to the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until pork is no longer pink inside.
While chops are cooking, add chicken stock to skillet and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup. Add demi-glace, and, if desired rum; reduce mixture again to 1/2 cup. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter until melted and sauce thickens.
To serve: Carve pork crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices; fan out onto serving plates and coat with the sauce. Fill tomato shells with gnocchi. Garnish each plate with eggplant, squash and green beans, if desired.
