Contributed by jacqui{JB}
Yup, it's that time of year again: a bit of nip in the air, breezy with occasional gusts of wind, leaves turning anywhere from golden to rust and clouds that look like they might mean business, notwithstanding the current brilliant sunshine.
Yes, my dears, it's AUTUMN! And you know what that means, right? Yes! PEASANT FOOD!!! Hooray!
One of the things that's been great about moving to Denmark is learning new traditional foods. Today, I'm making a dish I learned from WH, which was something his Mum used to make. I'm still unclear if this is something traditional or something she came up with on her own -- I suppose I should ask at some point.
Note: This is a recipe without specific measurements; make as much as will fit into your largest pot.
Prep the vegetables: peel the carrots and potatoes, and slice into rounds 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick. For the leeks, cut away most of the dark green top (I leave about an inch), slice lengthwise, leaving the root end intact; rinse, rinse, rinse again, until all off the sand and dirt is gone; then, slice off the root end and discard, split the leek the rest of the way through and slice crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces.
Melt a fair amount of butter in a large heavy pan and saute the pork chops over fairly high heat until nicely browned, working in batches as necessary (don't worry about cooking them all the way through at this point; the pork'll be cooked through later and right now you're looking to boost the flavor). Remove the chops to a plate and deglaze the pan with water (next time, I think I'll ask WH if using a decent chardonnay would desecrate the dish -- I think it would do lovely things for the flavor, but sometimes he doesn't like his traditional dishes mucked with).
In a large, heavy pot, layer your ingredients as follows, adding a fair pinch of salt over each layer: potatoes, carrots, leeks, pork, leeks, carrots, potatoes. Pour the deglazing liquid over the last layer, and add enough extra water so that the dish isn't too dry, but isn't swimming, like soup (unfortunately, I think I added too much water today [it's my first time making the dish] -- a little simmer later with the lid off will fix that, I hope; ideally, it's not so watery as to require a bowl, rather than a plate, to eat). Cover and bring to a boil; simmer for several hours. Pork should be very tender and vegetables will be a bit mushy.
Serve with a mellow mustard, black bread and pickled red beets (either make your own or get them in glass, *not* from a can; the canned beets always taste metallic).
This page last updated 08/192003/