Can we just stop to have a little applause for alcohol? I mean is there anything that it can't make taste phenomenal? Seriously. And not just any alcohol, wine. White in this case. When it comes to wine and meat, they're basically a match made in culinary heaven. Ok, let's be honest, anything cooked with alcohol is a match made in culinary heaven. I don't have a problem, I promise! Try incorporating wine into the cooking process of your next dinner (and I don't mean drink it while you're cooking, although that is an acceptable practice in my book 99% of the time) and taste the insane flavor it imparts. You can't beat it. Nothing can mimic that taste.
Since I made fish earlier this week, and that's usually what we have on Fridays for dinner, I decided to go the opposite direction and cook some good ol' red meat. I saw some boneless pork short ribs and decided they looked impeccable. And let me just tell you, the slow cooker is a godsend when cooking pork. Like scrambled eggs, they're best cooked slowly. Giving the connective tissue time to break down over a period of time in the cooker produces a juicy and tender rib (TayTip: get your butcher to leave a little bit of marbling--the white fat--on the ribs if you know you're not going to be cooking them for a couple of days. The fat helps retain moisture within the muscle). BUT, you always have to have a good flavorful topping/sauce to go with your ribs. I wasn't really feeling typical BBQ sauce, so I decided to make my pesto. Incorporating pesto with meat is a great use of this versatile Italian sauce. So let's start there...
This pesto is the traditional recipe that originated in Genoa, Italy, except for one ingredient. The name literally means to pound or crush, referencing the conventional preparing vessel used: a mortal and pestle (see the same prefix?) A mortal and pestle is currently on my wishlist, so I use a food processor. Doesn't give as rustic a consistency, but it does the trick. So, put about two cups of basil leaves, the juice of 2 small lemons, and 4 raw garlic cloves into your processor and pulse until the basil is broken down.
Now for the salty part: freshly grated parmigiano reggiano. This is not the stuff in the bottle with the green lid, which can be good for other recipes, but not this one. The difference is that parmigiano reggiano is made under strict Italian Denominazione di Origine Controllata ("controlled designation of origin") laws--kind of like the USDA. You know how champagne can only be called such if it's made in the Champagne region of France? Same thing with parmigiano reggiano. It must follow the rules and be made in certain regions in Italy; Parma, Reggio-Emilia, and Modena to name a few. SO this is the real deal good stuff! You'll need about 1/4 cup grated right into the processor. Pesto is customarily made using pine nuts, but I didn't have any, so I decided to toast some walnuts and throw them in instead (TayTip: chefs often do, and you can make non-traditional pesto using different herbs and nuts. I've done sage and almonds before and it turns out great, so don't be scared to deviate a little. Especially if you have an allergy to a certain nut). The last step is to add a small pinch of salt because the cheese is very salty, some pepper, and turn the processor to the "ON" position. As it's running, slowly stream in 1/2 cup of olive oil. It should be somewhere between a loose vinaigrette and a paste, but you can tweak the oil and add more or less depending on how you like your consistency.
Put it in a container or bowl and drizzle more oil on top; you always want to cover leftover pesto with oil to keep it from drying out. This can obviously be used in a plethora of different dishes: pasta, salads, as a marinade, or simply as a dip with veggies or your favorite chips/crackers. Let it sit in the fridge until you're ready to eat it with your meat.
Speaking of which, let's move onto the meat. Start by quartering 1 1/2 medium white onions and roughly chopping 4 garlic cloves. Place your ribs in the slow cooker and season with a pinch of salt, couple twists of black pepper, and drizzle with a little olive oil. No exact measurements needed here, but don't put too much oil. The pesto already has oil in it, and the meat has fat on it. Then wiggle 2-3 stalks of fresh rosemary and thyme, respectively, on the bottom of the pan. Don't worry about removing the leaves or sprigs because they will be submerged and fall off in the cooking process. Throw your onions and garlic in, and sprinkle with 1tsp of crushed red pepper flakes. Then tuck your little piggies in with a nice blanket of Pinot Grigio. 2 cups to be exact. They won't be completely covered at the start, but will cook down. Set the cooker on high, cover, and let it work its magic for 4 hours.
The pork just melds with all of the delectable elements in the cooker. It's important that the meat have a flavor element of its own, and not just take on the flavor of the pesto. So, that's why the herbs (whose stems you can fish out of the cooker at this point) onions, garlic, wine, and red pepper flakes are key players on the field. There will be a lot of broth left in the bottom of the cooker. DON'T throw that away. Put it in a container and freeze it; the next time you get sick, you'll have a good broth packed with vitamins and protein. Once the meat is finished, it will fall apart slightly.
For two reasons that stand out to me, this is probably one of the best dishes you can make. One, it's done in the slow cooker and you can get on with your life while it's working away. And two, you just can't beat the flavors of wine and fresh herbs. The pork is so tender you could cut it with a wooden spoon. It tastes like the crisp pinot grigio and the sweet undertone of the onions. The smell of the rosemary and thyme remind me of Thanksgiving, but paired with the basil pesto, there's no mistaking this is a summer dish. The tang of the lemon is also pretty prominent in the sauce, and toasting the walnuts takes away their bitter taste, so they do well in replacing the pine nuts. These are pork ribs taken up a notch without the gloppy BBQ sauce. Who needs all that heaviness when you can have juicy meat topped with the lightest freshest sauce around? Buon appetito!
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