Tag Archives: jarlsberg cheese

Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork

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Where we live, the length of our growing season isn’t guaranteed. Winter can be 4-6 months long depending on the mood of Mother Nature so second harvests of veg usually isn’t in the cards. But my husband decided to experiment a bit with the peas. The packet always says you can do two plantings but we’ve never had luck with that but he took peas from the pods that had gone past it a bit and planted those peas. Lo and behold, it worked! We did have to cover them a few times with the frosts we’ve had. Thank goodness as there seems to be a shortage of peas in the grocery shops and it’s a key veg in my Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork.

With this insane year it has been fascinating what becomes scarce in the shops. Now it’s peas but I’ve had trouble getting Coleman’s mustard, Old Bay seasoning and sour cream. Olives were scarce but that must be because of the spike in martini drinking. Like most people, a crystal ball would be handy so I can try to stay ahead of the curve!

I like mixing it up with risotto, it is such a versatile ingredient so it’s fun to think outside the box. I was in the mood for more German inspired flavours for this dish and I love trappist ale. It’s a great pairing with Jarlsberg cheese that is in this dish.

Technique for Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork

You couldn’t get an easier marinade if you tried. Beer, mustard, sea salt and pepper. That’s it.

Stir the ingredients and add the pork. Cover and chill for about an hour.

When it is time to cook the risotto, prep all the ingredients and get the grill heated. In a large skillet, heat up the garlic infused olive oil. Add the scallions and mushrooms.

Sauté for a few minutes, then add the risotto.

Cook for a minute. Add the mustard and stir well. Cook for another minute then add the beer.

As the liquid reduces, gradually add the veg bouillon to the dish while stirring frequently. When you start adding the bouillon, add the peas. At this point start grilling the pork. Cooking the risotto will take about 20-25 minutes. You don’t want it boiling but a decent simmer is good.

When you put in the last of the bouillon, add the cheese. There needs to be enough liquid for the cheese to melt into.

Once the pork is cooked, allow it to rest a few minutes before slicing it.

Top the risotto with the sliced pork and grate some Jarlsberg over the dish. Serve immediately.

It’s such a good feeling to be able to use and eat food that we grew ourselves, can’t get more local than that!

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Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork

A fun twist on risotto with trappist ale and Jarlsberg cheese.

Course Main Course
Cuisine German
Keyword Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 4
Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

Grilled Pork

  • 1 lb Pork Loin 453g
  • 1 cup Trappist ale 8oz
  • 2 tbsp stone ground mustard
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Trappist Ale Risotto

  • 2 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
  • 1/2 medium sized scallion/green onion chopped
  • 3-5 shiitake mushrooms chopped
  • 2 tbsp stone ground mustard
  • 1 cup Trappist ale 8oz
  • 1 1/2 cup risotto 290g
  • 1 cup frozen peas 130g
  • 5 cups veg bouillon, needs to be hot. 40oz
  • 1 cup grated Jarlsberg cheese 85g
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Grilled Pork

  1. Mix the marinade ingredients together and add the pork loin. Cover and chill for at least an hour.

  2. Heat the grill to medium high. Cook the pork until very light pink in the centre. Once cooked, let it rest for several minutes before slicing.

Trappist Ale Risotto

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the scallions/spring onions and mushrooms and sauté for a few minutes.

  2. Add the risotto and cook for a minute. Then add the mustard. Stir well and cook for another minute. Then add the Trappist Ale. Cook again for another minute.

  3. Begin adding the bouillon 1/2-1 cup at a time. Add the peas at this point as well. You don't want the risotto to be boiling but you want a good simmer going. As the liquid reduces, add more bouillon. Throughout this process stir frequently.

  4. When the last of the bouillon is being added, add the cheese. Stir well and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Putting it all together

  1. Slice the pork. Spoon the risotto onto a plate. Place the pork on top of the risotto and grate Jarlsberg over the top. Serve immediately.

Shaking Up The School Morning Breakfast…

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The kids survived their first day of school and handled the homework.  They both really like their teachers and they were really happy to catch up with their friends after a busy summer.  Though our daughter is already doing the countdown for the number of the days left!

We had been getting into a rut with school morning breakfasts of toast because with getting the kids ready, dogs, walked, and lunches made time can get a bit crunched in the morning.  The kids are much better at getting ready without much prompting but there is still a lot to do.  Remember when the South Beach Diet was all the rage?  One of the things they suggested was to make up some little quiches so you could reheat them during the week.  I remembered this idea this week and thought I would do my quiches in mini form.  The response from the kids was yes and can it have bacon?  🙂

Preheat the oven to 425F/220C

Mini quiches 1 2014

In a small skillet start cooking and rendering 5 rashers of streaky bacon.  Add 1/2 a chopped onion, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme, and a few splashes of dry sherry.

Mini quiches 2 2014

In a separate bowl beat 4 eggs.  Add 1 1/2 – 2 cups of milk or light cream.  The more watery it is the less you want to use.  Mix in 1 1/2 cups of grated jarlsberg, tsp of salt, pinch of nutmeg, a couple pinches of cayenne pepper, and pepper to taste.

Mini quiches 3 2014

Pour into 12 regular size muffin cups that are lightly greased.  Don’t over grease as it will get absorbed into the quiche.

Mini quiches 4 2014

Bake for 8 minutes then reduce the temperature to 350F/175C and bake until golden and the egg is cooked.  If you get the mixture wrong with using low fat milk and they come out a bit watery, put them on a baking sheet and bake at 350F/175C until the quiches is less wet.

Mini quiches 5 2014

Served them this morning and the kids loved them.  Easy to make, easy to heat up, and healthy for the kids.  Can’t go wrong!

French Onion Soup

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For the longest time I wasn’t a fan of French Onion soup.  It was always overpowering and heavy on the stomach.  Then I met my husband who loves this soup.  But he had the same problem of finding a decent recipe.  We found one from Hannafords and then changed it a bit and now we have a soup that is very easy to make and we all love eating it.

To start melt 2 T of butter in a saucepan.

I thinly slice about 1 1/2 large onions and saute in the butter.  Cook until they start to soften and then add a tablespoon of sugar.  Stir well.  I found a lot of recipes called for 3 large onions but it would be too much of an onion flavour and you wouldn’t get a balance of all the flavours.

Saute for another 5 minutes or so.  Add 4 cups of broth.  We use the veg broth though most recipes call for a beef broth.  Heat until simmering.  Add a few squirts of stone ground mustard, 3 T of cognac, 3-4 T of Worcestershire sauce.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

I like it to simmer for awhile if I have the time for the flavours to really come together but once it is heated through it can be served.  I butter some bread and toast them to top the soup.  Then grate some Jarlsberg cheese over it all.  Broil until melted and serve.

This is perfect on a cold day or when your schedule is hectic.  And if you want a variation of this try the french onion grilled cheese sandwiches.   A big hit in my family.  🙂