Pork Chop Migas - Wine & Spirits Magazine

Pork Chop Migas


This recipe comes from Carlos Teixera, the chef at the restaurant at Herdade do Esporão’s estate, and it’s great with a fresh Alentejo red.


Ingredients
  

  • 1.3 lbs Pork Chop
  • Red Bell Peppers Roasted
  • 5 cloves Garlic
  • 1/2 lb Asparagus
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1/2 loaf Sourdough 2 to 4 days old
  • 2 oz lardons (substitute salted fat back, salt pork or bacon)
  • 1 Orange

Instructions
 

  • Purée roasted red pepper with garlic and extra virgin olive oil into a paste.
  • Marinate the pork chops in the red pepper paste overnight in the refrigerator.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Cut sourdough loaf into small cubes and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Spread on a baking sheet and place in oven. Turn when the bottoms start to brown. Bake until the cubes get golden brown and crunchy.  
  • Cut the bottom part of the asparagus and peel the remaining skin from the top of the asparagus. Save everything.
  • Bring pot of water to a boil. Blanch asparagus in salted water for 10 seconds and immediately put it cold water.
  • In another pot, heat 2 tbsps olive oil. Add onion and asparagus trimmings, stir for two minutes. Add reserved asparagus blanching water and cook for 10 minutes. Purée the asparagus stock and then pass it through a sieve. Reserve the stock.
  • Place half the lardons in a hot frying pan, add the pork chops and the marinade and let sizzle until the chops caramelize—3 to 4 minutes on each side. Add the remaining pepper marinade and set aside.
  • Chop half of the blanched asparagus into a small dice.
  • In a cast iron pan, add the rest of the lardons. Once lardons have rendered, then add the cubes of bread. Stir well to coat all the bread cubes then add the asparagus stock. Simmer and smash to break down all the bread into a soft paste. When the bread has absorbed all the liquid, add the diced asparagus. Stir and then press into one half of the pan, resembling an omelette. Continue cooking until a crust a forms on the bottom.
  • Slice the pork chops into strips, add the sauce from the frying pan.
  • Prepare a salad of orange segments and blanched asparagus, thinly sliced lengthwise, to garnish.
  • Plate the sliced meat on top of the migas (smashed bread) and garnish with salad.

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