Vegan Goat Cheese, Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Pork Chops with Roasted Garlic Fingerling Potatoes and Pearl Onions
I've been test limits since I popped out the womb. When I was about three, I was sitting in the child seat of my mom's shopping cart. As she navigated up to a check-out lane, I snatched a bag of Doritos off of a shelf. My dear mother, being the sweetheart that she is, looked me in the eyes and said "No, honey. Not today". I eyed her right back, my signature devious grin spreading across my face, and ripped the bag open with a triumphant pull...my three-year-old logic leading me to believe the chips would now have to be mine.
Wrong. My mom grabbed that bag out of my hand faster than a ninja and gave it right back to the checkout lady. It was probably in that moment my mother realized that in ten years, she was in for quite a ride. How right she was ;)
I was actually quite a well-behaved tween. Once I hit 14, it was a down-hill slide. I think I hit a low point during my brief stint at Ohio University. I'm going to link you to an article that I must first preface with an explanation. The Extreme Smokers Club is not real. My two friends and I started it as a joke. The university had a deal going on that, for any club on campus with 30 members or more on the group sign-up sheet, free hoodies would be provided. We wanted those damn hoodies. One night, my two friends and I walked around the dorms gathering signatures. I made the unfortunate mistake of asking a girl that worked for the local newspaper. Questions ensued, and my smart ass couldn't help but embellish. One week later, this story appears on the cover of the Post:
Students Taking Extreme Measures To Protest Anti-Smoking Movement
Needless to say, I felt like a real A-Hole.
How does all of this relate to my recipe? Vegan Pork Chops definitely pushes some boundaries, and I'm afraid of the harassment from all my fellow vegans that don't jive with the fake meats. Try it. It's good. And if you don't have anything nice to say, you can just stuff your face instead :)
with Roasted Garlic Fingerling Potatoes and Pearl Onions
- 6 Vegan Pork Chops (recipe follows)
- 2 TBSP Olive Oil, divided
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 6 Sun-Dried Tomatoes, diced
- 1 (10-ounce) bag of Frozen Spinach, thawed and moisture squeezed out
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Dried Thyme
- 1/4 cup Vegan Goat Cheese (recipe follows)
- 1 1/2 cups No Chicken Broth (Better Than Bouillon)
- 1/2 Lemon, zested
- 2 TBSP Lemon Juice
- 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
Directions
Warm the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook until combined, about 2 more minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Add the vegan goat cheese, and stir to combine. Set aside.
Use a sharp knife, carefully cut a pocket into the thickest portion of the "pork chop". Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the spinach and sun-dried tomato mixture. Season the outside of the pork with salt and pepper. They should look like this:
In a small bowl combine the no chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard.
Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the pork. Cook until golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Mmmmm....
Transfer the pork to a side dish and tent with foil to keep warm. Add the chicken broth mixture to the skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as the chicken broth simmers. Reduce the broth by half to make a light sauce, about 8 minutes. Spoon some sauce over the pork before serving.
- 1 cup Vital Wheat Gluten
- 1 cup Water mixed with 1 tsp No Chicken Broth Paste
- 3 TBSP MimicCreme
- 4 cups Imagine Foods No Chicken Broth
- 1 cup MimicCreme
- 1/8 cup Tamari
- 1/2 TBSP Better Than Bouillon's No Beef Broth
- 1 cup Pineapple Coconut Nectar
- 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/2 tsp 5 Spice Powder
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Shallot Powder
- 4 whole Cloves, ground
- 3 points broken off of a Whole Star Anise
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 additional cup Water
Next, take all of the Seitan Broth ingredients, and mix them together in a very large pot. Bring to a boil.
Cover the pot, reduce heat to simmer, and let the seitan cook for a little over an hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes.
Don't throw out the broth! Use a slotted spoon to remove each "Pork Chop", and place into a collander to drain. Let both the chops and the broth cool. Allow the "pork chops" to marinade in the broth until ready to use. Drain again before using.
- 1/2 cup Vegan Cream Cheese (Follow Your Heart)
- 1/4 cup Vegan Sour Cream (Follow Your Heart)
- 1/3 inch thick slice of Sunergia Lemon Oregano Soy Feta
- 1/2 tsp Shallot Powder
- Splash of Lemon Juice
- Splash of Vermouth
- Salt, to taste
Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
- 1 lb Fingerling Potatoes, washed and scrubbed, skin on
- 15 Pearl Onions
- 5 cloves Garlic, chopped
- 1/3 cup Olive Oil
- 1/3 cup Fresh Chervil, chopped
- 1 1/2 TB Fresh Sage, chopped
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Bring a medium size pot of water to a boil, and blanch onions for 1 minute. Drain, and allow to cool. Using a paring knife, remove the root end of the Pearl Onions, and peel off the skins. Set aside.
Preheat a hotel pan or heavy metal baking dish in a 375 oven. Toss the potatoes, pearl onions, garlic, olive oil, sage and chervil with salt and pepper. When the pan is hot, add the potatoes. They should sizzle. Roast until they turn brown, then turn oven down to 350 degrees. Cook for about 30 minutes or until a knife easily pierces the spuds.