Pig Tales, My Very Own Abridged "Nose to Tail Eating" Experience Without the Ubiquitous Belly.

My sister and her family of four split a pig with her girlfriends’ family, right down the middle. The animal came of age in eastern Pennsylvania, wandering freely on his farm without the need for growth hormones, antibiotics or petroleum driven fodder. I asked for all the extra parts that no one wanted or knew what to do with. My very own abridged "Nose to Tail Eating" experience without the ubiquitous belly. I was given the whole head, the pigs’ tail, its’ neck bone, a very large liver, kidneys, skin and a few smoked shanks, the narrowest part of the leg, above the ankle. I used the ham hocks first since I was craving a rustic bowl of velvety ham and bean stew. I seared the meat in my cast iron glazed brassiere with a hearty, chunky mirepoix, deglazed with red wine, and then added some Rancho Gordo gems of the earth, a combination of ‘Good Mother Stallard’ and ‘Eye of the Goat’ beans (which I soaked overnight). Then back in the oven, with herbs on hand and 2 bay leaves, at the lowest possible temperature with minimal liquid, for effortless, sublime results. I can’t think of anything more delicious in this coldest of winters.

Saturday morning I decided to thaw the head. It was frozen solid so I let it sit on the counter on a sheet pan to get it to defrost quicker. It was already split in half with brain matter removed. My six year old son came in the back door and looked at the pigs’ head looked at me and said, “Mom, what are you doing” ?, then promptly ran through the house to call everyone to see what I had to his amazement. It was a very beautiful head with its ear folded over gently; eye lid closed shut, as if he were sleeping soundly, a pudgy snout with the slightest hint of blood and thick folds of pink fatted jowls, my source of inspiration. As the dogs circled my feet, I went to work on the first half removing the cheek, then the ears and at last some parts around the snout for salt pork. I ended up boiling the ears and then crisping them in the oven. I gave them to my dogs since I knew it would be difficult to get anyone in my house to try them. How much pig’s ear can one woman eat? I used a recipe from ‘Charcuterie’ by Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn’s, for the guanciale cure. The word is derived from the Italian noun guancia meaning cheek. Wrapped in cheesecloth I hung them in the basement stairwell for 3 weeks of dry ageing. Oh the possibilities are endless.

If you think you stumbled upon another one of those chefs who consumes hooves, bellies, loins, livers and hearts on a daily basis you are wrong! I LOVE “ORGANIC” VEGETABLES,* (that is when I am not eating copious amounts of tiny little fish, mollusks, odiferous cheese, eggs, bread, legumes, grains, fruit, nuts, profiteroles, my kids holiday candy stash and last but not least beautiful soul quenching wine). Oh yes, and most of the time that is what I eat, crave and jump up and down about everyday. In my continuous effort to eat as seasonally as possible I made good friends with curly Russian kale this winter. Try this satisfying whole wheat pasta recipe with garlic confit, pine nuts and pecorino Romano cheese. It has an addictive quality to it, delicious hot or cold. You might even say it has a certain umamishness.

*Yes, I am now reading ‘The River Cottage Cookbook’ by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Garlic Confit Recipe
Garlic bulbs
Pure olive oil
XVOO

Brake down the bulbs into cloves. Remove skin and the green germ which can be bitter for this application. Place in a small stainless steel pot, or you can use a stainless measuring cup and do a few batches. Cover with pure olive oil and turn on low heat. They will sizzle slightly in the oil which is ok. Too much and you are deep frying them. They should be golden brown and soft while still holding their shape. After cooling in their oil I add a little XVOO and store it in the refrigerator. They will disappear quickly.

Pasta Recipe
Box organic ww or spelt linguine (my favorite shape)
Pecorino Romano cheese, use your micro planer grater
Kale, washed, stems removed and leaves torn to medium size
1 to 1 ½ bulbs garlic confit
Hand full of lightly toasted pine nuts
Coarse Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
XVOO

Optional; chili flakes

Get your salted pasta water going. Next, sauté the kale in XVOO until wilted. Season, add a little water and cover for a few minutes. Remove greens from pan and let cool at room temperature. Use your kitchen shears to cut the fibrous leaves into smaller manageable bite size pieces. Sauté pine nuts in a small pan on the stove top at very low heat with a touch of oil. Not the time to walk away. Toss occasionally to cook evenly which is golden brown. Also cool on a plate. Strain your cooked pasta and put back into the sauté pan you used for the greens. Add a little pasta water, the greens and pine nuts. Taste, season and add your cheese, garlic confit and XVOO off heat. Place in a large bowl and garnish with a little more cheese on top. I like to add a sprinkle of large coarse sea salt and more XVOO as well.

The apple orchards are overflowing right now into your kitchen. I adjusted this very simple Apple Walnut Honey Crisp recipe for optimal flavor and texture, a perfect end to a weekend meal. The addition of 2 T. of rye flour into the topping gives the dessert an earthy flavor. I read somewhere that at Poilane Bakery in Paris he used a bit of rye flour in his pastry crust for his apple tart and since a crisp is a deconstructed tart, why not give it a try. I think you will agree it is a subtle difference however very good. One of the first things you will notice walking into Poilanes, or any other fine boulangerie in France is that the goods are darker, that is well done and almost slightly burnt looking in comparison to most American commercially baked goods. To me, American pastries usually seem half done, gooey and sticky not crisp and caramelized like their French counterparts. In other words don’t take the crisp out of the oven until it is bubbling and crispy brown! A light sprinkle of confectioners sugar or unsweetened whipped cream, or both on top, if you are at my house, can brighten up its’ appearance prior to serving. This is a 10 minute recipe and ideal to make with someone prior to sitting down to dinner, i.e. dinner guests, children or significant other catch up time.

Apple-Walnut-Honey Crisp Recipe
1 C. cubed cold unsalted butter
1 C. packed light or dark brown sugar
¾ C. all purpose flour
¼ C. Rye flour
1 tsp.cinnamon
A few modest shavings of nutmeg
A good pinch sea salt
3/4 C. raw walnuts, just broken up into smaller pieces in your hands

This is enough topping g for 2 crisps but if you have the ingredients you might as well prep them since it freezes so nicely.

Apples (1 large apple / person)
3-4 T. honey


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Quickly incorporate the butter by smearing it with your fingertips together with all the other ingredients. Add walnuts. Refrigerate while you peel, core and rough slice the apples. I suggest 1 large apple per person. Also, it is best to have 2 to 3 layers of sliced apples so it cooks quicker. Place them in a ceramic baking dish and drizzle with honey. Add topping and bake.

You can see the importance of using fresh, seasonal, organic ingredients when you use so few of them in one recipe. Try to source a local honey since it will be fresher and will also have more immune system health benefits. Raw is even better. I use E & M Gold Beekeepers in Monmouth County NJ, which I found on the internet. She is a ten minute drive from my house and I purchase a 5# container at a time. The flavor is so bright and fresh compared to brands sitting on a grocery shelf flown in from all other parts of the world.

Support your local farmers, businesses, the planet, your body and well being by eating local and organic!