Vegan Goat Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops + Garlic Fingerling Potatoes & Pearl Onions

I've been testing limits since I burst into this world. When I around 3, 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 pretty advanced three-year-old logic lead me to believe that the chips would now 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 mom realized that she was in for quite a ride. 

How right she was...

 

I was actually a pretty well-behaved tween. Once I hit 14, it all went sideways.

I think I hit my lowest point during my undergrad year at Ohio University. I'm going to link you to an article, but 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 any student club on campus with 30+ members could receive free hoodies. 

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 go all the way. 

One week later, this story appears on the cover of the University Post: Students Taking Extreme Measures To Protest Anti-Smoking Movement. Needless to say, I felt like a Grade A asshole. How does all of this relate to my recipe? Vegan Pork Chops definitely push some boundaries, and I'm afraid of the harassment from all my fellow vegans that don't jive with the fake meats. 

If you're down to try making them, they're exceptionally good. If you don't have anything nice to say, you can just stuff your face instead...which I should have done in college.

Vegan Goat Cheese, Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Pork Chops with Roasted Garlic Fingerling Potatoes and Pearl (Cipollini) 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)
• Zest of 1/2 Lemon
• 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. Mmm...

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.

Vegan Pork Chops

Seitan Ingredients:

• 1 cup Vital Wheat Gluten
• 1 cup Water mixed with 1 tsp No Chicken Broth Paste
• 3 TBSP Vegan Heavy Cream

Seitan Broth Ingredients:

• 4 cups Imagine Foods No Chicken Broth
• 1 cup Vegan Heavy Cream
• 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

Make your Seitan Dough by mixing and kneading the Vital Wheat Gluten, Water/Bouillon blend, and Heavy Cream until it's completely mixed. It will be a little more wet than most seitan doughs. Squeeze out the excess liquid, and form the mixture into a ball. 

On a cutting board, flatten the ball out, and use kitchen shears to cut into six pie wedge shaped pieces. Before putting in boiling broth, flatten each part down by pressing it firmly between your hands, then drop them into the pot. 

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 broth cool. Allow the pork chops to marinate in the broth until ready to use. Drain again before using.

Vegan Goat Cheese

• 1/2 cup Vegan Cream Cheese
• 1/4 cup Vegan Sour Cream 
• 1/3 inch thick slice of Vegan Feta (Use Sunergia Lemon Oregano Soy Feta if you can.)
• 1/2 tsp Shallot Powder (sub 1/4 tsp Onion Powder if unfindable)
• Splash of Lemon Juice
• Splash of Vermouth
• Salt, to taste

Place all the ingredients except Salt in a medium bowl, and cream together well. Add salt to taste. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

 

Garlic Fingerling Potatoes & Pearl Onions

• 1 lb Fingerling Potatoes, washed and scrubbed, skin on
• 15 Pearl (Cipollini) Onions (frozen will work if fresh are unavailable)
• 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

Chef's note: Skip the first step if using frozen pearl onions. Just make sure they're completely thawed.

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 F oven. In a large mixing bowl, toss the potatoes, pearl onions, garlic, olive oil, sage and chervil with salt and pepper. Make sure all of the contents of the bowl are evenly coated with oil/herbs/seasoning. 

When the pan is hot, add the potato and pearl onion mixture. They should sizzle. Roast until they turn brown, carefully stirring a few times while browning, then turn oven down to 350 degrees. 

Cook for about 30 minutes or until a knife easily sinks into the spuds.