Citrus Roasted Pork Shoulder with Spicy Pickled Onions, Black Beans & Saffron Rice

My love affair with pork continues. Roasted pork shoulder is amazingly rich and practically melts in your mouth, especially when bathed in its own succulent juices while roasting. I like to cut through that richness with a little pop of citrus. In this recipe, I used a combination of grapefruit and lime but feel free to substitute any combination of citrus fruit that you like. Tangerine and lime is also quite delicious. Just make sure that you have enough fruit to yield at least one cup of juice for the marinade. This pork shoulder is served with Latin American influenced side dishes because the pairing of citrus and pork is a hallmark of that part of the world, especially Cuba. The best way to enjoy this meal is with friends, mojitos and the music of The Buena Vista Social Club. Don’t forget to make a toast in memory of Cachaito Lopez, one of Buena Vista’s original musicians who passed away this week.

CITRUS ROASTED PORK SHOULDER

5 pounds smoked pork shoulder, bone-in
1 medium grapefruit
1 lime
1 small onion
3 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon adobo seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Zest the grapefruit and lime. Put zest into bowl of food processor. Juice fruit and add juice to bowl.

Coarsely chop onion and garlic. Add to bowl and pulse until very finely chopped.

Add cumin, salt, adobo seasoning, pepper and ginger. Pulse a few times to combine.

With a sharp knife, score sides of the pork about 1/3 inch deep through the rind. Do not score the flat, cut side.

Place pork shoulder in a very large zip top bag. Pour in marinade and coat pork. Use your hands to really rub the marinade into the score marks.

Marinate at least 24 hours, up to 48 hours. Turn over the bag once or twice a day to ensure that all sides of the pork are coated in the marinade.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place pork cut side down in a baking dish. Pour marinade in the pan around the pork.

Roast for 4 hours. You may need to add 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of the pan every hour or so to prevent the pan from scorching. Also, at the 3 hour mark, you may cover the pan loosely with tin foil if the pork is becoming too dark.

Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving into slices.

SPICY PICKLED ONIONS

2 small yellow onions
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup very cold water
4 tablespoons kosher salt
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Use a mandoline to very thinly slice the onions or use a very sharp knife to slice the onions less than 1/4″ thick.

In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.

Add the onions to the bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for four hours.

Drain before serving.

BLACK BEANS

15 ounce can black beans, partially drained
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
6 big garlic cloves
1/4 onion, finely chopped
1 chopped tomato
1 teaspoon oregano
1 smoked chili

Place the garlic cloves on an 8″x8″ square of tinfoil. Sprinkle with one teaspoon of the olive oil. Close tightly and roast in the oven at 350 degrees for half an hour. (Tip: Prepare the garlic when you roast the pork shoulder. Put the garlic in the oven at the beginning of the pork’s cooking time. The roasted garlic can rest in the foil until you are ready to prepare the black beans.)

Heat the remaining oil in a skillet over medium low heat. Add onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomato and saute until the tomato begins to breaks down, about 10 minutes.

Add the beans, oregano, smoked chili and roasted garlic.

Turn up the heat to medium and simmer for a few minutes, until warmed through completely.

Remove the chili before serving.

Serve hot.

SAFFRON RICE

1 1/2 cups jasmine or basmati rice
3 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
very big pinch of saffron

In a small saucepan, bring broth, olive oil, salt and pepper to a boil.

Add saffron.

Add rice and bring back to a boil.

Low heat to low and cover tightly.

Cook for 25 minutes or until broth is completely absorbed by rice.

Fluff rice with a fork before serving.

Serves 4 very generously, with leftovers.

Roasted Pepper & Onion Salad with Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette

The supermarket was having a sale on red bell peppers so I bought way too many. My family will be eating red bell peppers with almost every dinner for the rest of the week. Sorry, guys! Fortunately, bell peppers are versatile so we won’t get too bored. They can be cooked just about any way and they take on many different seasonings so well. I also like how bell peppers add a mellow sweetness to any dish when they are sauteed or roasted. In this recipe, the sweetness of roasted peppers provides the backdrop for an assertive vinaigrette featuring smoked paprika and garlic.

ROASTED BELL PEPPER AND ONION SALAD WITH SMOKED PAPRIKA VINAIGRETTE

2 large red, yellow or orange bell peppers, seeded and cut in large wedges
1 large onion, peeled and halved
3 cups of baby spinach
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 garlic clove, mashed into a paste
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro or parsley

In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, smoked paprika, salt and garlic.

Turn on the broiler to its highest temperature.

Place the peppers, skin side up, and the onions, cut side down, on a baking sheet. Broil 5-7 inches away from the heat for about 10 minutes, until the peppers and onions are charred and have softened.

Place peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes

Remove onions to a cutting board while still warm. Take off the blackened outer skin and discard. Cut the onion into small wedges. Add onions to vinaigrette.

Remove peppers from bowl while still warm. Carefully peel off the charred skins and discard. Cut the peppers into strips and add to vinaigrette and onions.

Toss peppers and onions in vinaigrette until coated.

Arrange the spinach on a serving platter. Spoon the peppers and onions on top of the spinach. Drizzle over any vinaigrette remaining in the bowl.

Garnish with cilantro.

Serves 4 as a side dish or 2 as a light lunch.

Coriander Steak Tips with Broccoli

You’re probably familiar with coriander in its leafy form as cilantro, an herb commonly tasted in Mexican and some Asian cuisines. Coriander, as a spice, comes in seed form or ground to a powder. It carries a completely different flavor profile compared to cilantro, even though they come from the same plant. Ground or seed coriander has a clean, subtle citrusy taste whereas cilantro has a bolder, more astringent taste. Coriander in all its forms is popular at my house so you will see it popping up in many different kinds of recipes because it marries well with so many other herbs and spices. In this particular dish, the coriander really makes the broccoli sing and nicely underscores the beefy goodness of the steak tips.

CORIANDER STEAKS TIPS WITH BROCCOLI

1 1/4 pounds steaks tips, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 cups broccoli florets
2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly

1/2 tablespoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 1/2 cups low sodium beef broth
1 1/2 teaspoons corn starch
1 1/2 teaspoons cold water

Crush spices together with a mortar and pestle. Rub into steak tips.

Heat oil in large saute pan with high sides over medium heat.

Brown beef well on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove beef from pan onto a plate. Set aside.

Add onions and broccoli to pan. Saute until vegetables begin to soften and brown on the edges, about 5 – 7 minutes.

Add garlic and 1/2 cup of beef broth. Cover and steam/simmer until broccoli is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

Add beef and any accumulated juices to the pan.

Add remaining one cup of beef broth. Bring to a boil

Mix together the cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Quickly stir mixture into pan.

Lower heat to low and simmer uncovered for another five minutes.

Pair with hot jasmine rice or noodles.

Serves 4.

Substitution: Swap broccoli with 2 cups of chopped red and yellow peppers.