Kale Cakes & Pork Chops

What follows is a time-line of our dinner last night, from the raw ingredients to their finished form.



Beautiful, beautiful kale!
The purpley-one is Red Kale and the long, skinny dark-green one is Lacinato Kale.








These funny looking parsnips are actually from my garden. I finally got around to digging them up and it's apparent that I should have done a better job of thinning them out. Many were too small to use, but there were also plenty that were a decent size. (On a side note, I learned earlier that parsnips require a freeze to convert their starches to sugars. I tried one in the fall and it was horrible--chalky and dry. But now they are sweet and tender!)







I turned all of this into Parsnip-Potato Kale Cakes (recipe follows).






We ate our Kale Cakes with the most delicious pork chops from Samish Bay Cheese. They are a farm up near Bellingham that raises beef and pork in addition to making cheese. They call their pork Whey Tastier because they also feed their pork the residual whey from their cheese-making process. I am more than happy to participate in that kind of recycling!
To keep the pork chops from drying out during cooking, I first brined them for about two hours in a solution that was 1/4 cup kosher salt, 1/8 cup sugar and about 3 cups water. Before cooking I rinsed them, patted them dry in paper towels and then sprinkled with pepper (no salt!). To cook, I seared both sides of the meat in olive oil over medium-high heat and then put the pan into a 350 degree oven for about 5-7 minutes. While the meat was resting, I deglazed the pan with about 1 cup of ruby port. I let it reduce until it was slightly thick and glazey, then combined it with the juices from the resting meat.

Everything was "whey" tasty. The meat was tender and juicy, and the Kale Cakes were crisp on the outside and warm and comforting throughout. The only negative was that the cakes soaked up all of the delicious pan juices too quickly. Not only did this create a soggy cake by the end, but we also ran out of juice to dip the pork into. I can think of worse problems for a Monday night.

Parsnip-Potato Kale Cakes
Serves 4

2 bunches kale
1/2 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs or Panko
About 3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potato pieces and boil for about 10 minutes. Add the parsnip pieces to the potatoes and boil another 5-10 minutes or until both are soft when poked with a fork. Fish out the potato and parsnip pieces with a strainer and allow the water to return to a boil.

Separate the stems from the kale leaves and wash the leaves thoroughly. Add the kale leaves to the boiling water and let boil for about 5 minutes, until slightly wilted. Drain and transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water. Allow to cool. When the kale is cool enough to touch, grab fist-fulls of it and squeeze out as much water as possible. Lay it out on paper towels and press firmly to dry. Bring the kale together into a tight bunch on a cutting board then chop finely.

Heat 1 Tbsp. of olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add 3 cloves of the garlic and the pepper flakes; saute briefly, 30 seconds or so, then add the chopped kale. Cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is cooked and any moisture has been evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, beat 1 egg in a large bowl. Using a potato ricer, squeeze the cooked parsnips and potatoes into the bowl with the egg (or alternatively, mash the parsnips and potatoes in a separate bowl and then add to the egg). Add the kale, remaining garlic, grated parmesan, and grated nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly—hands work best for this!

Beat the other egg in a small bowl and place the breadcrumbs in another bowl.
Divide the potato/kale mixture into four even balls. Working one at a time, press one ball into a flattened disc in the palm of your hand, about 4 inches in diameter. Dip it into the egg, then roll it in the breadcrumbs to cover. Set on a piece of waxed paper and repeat with the remaining kale cakes.

Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. of butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When oil is hot (just beginning to smoke), add two kale cakes to the pan, pressing lightly with the back of a spatula to make them a bit thinner. Fry about 3 minutes a side. Remove to a plate, then heat remaining oil/butter and fry remaining two cakes.

"Low-Key" Salmon

So now that we all know how to pronounce the word, there are a few things that need to be known about the locally run Loki Fish Co. For starters, their fish is freakin' awesome. So fresh and delicious, even for Seattle standards. At the market it comes either frozen, smoked, or canned. I've tried all three and any form it comes in is delicious. I've really enjoyed the canned salmon in the past; its pastel-pink flesh packed in oil is light and flaky with that indescribable "umami" flavor. This time, however, I went with a frozen piece from one of their coolers.

But what really makes Loki Fish stand out is their approach to fishing. The owner Pete Knutson, who runs the business with his sons, fishes along the coast of Southeast Alaska and the Puget Sound. Because it is such a small organization, the fish are apparently handled with the care never seen on those giant fishing vessels. After being caught, they are immediately processed, frozen, then flown to Seattle within 48 hours after arriving at harbor. So while technically their fish is sold "frozen" rather than "fresh", it is probably much "fresher" than most fish you might buy from a larger operation. They claim that they can have their fish on ice within 45 minutes of being caught, while a large-scale fishing boat might take 2 to 3 days to do that! Gross! But another benefit of running a smaller fishing business is that it can be done in a sustainable way. They are able to fish year after year in the same places because they are fishing respectfully rather than greedily--taking only what is needed instead of depleting the source entirely. For that reason, we can all breath easy knowing that we are eating salmon to help save the environment!

I didn't want to do too much with my hunk of salmon because I know how fragile and subtle it can be. I made a little "pouch" out of tin foil, topped it with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and chopped chives, then baked the whole thing at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes. The results were amazing. So moist and tender with not the least hint of fishiness. But the best news is that Loki fish is available not only at local Farmer's Markets, but also at restaurants and some grocery stores like PCC. So whether you want to save the world or just enjoy some good fish, find Loki fish if you can.

Goat

Part of the reason I love going to the Farmer's Market so much is because of the things I find there that are unheard of elsewhere--truffles, purslane, sea beans, mangalitsa, to name a few. But I'm beginning to feel a bit guilty (and carnivorous!) when I realize that nearly all of my new finds in recent expeditions have been meat. After all, isn't it kind of ironic to be buying big hunks of meat at a traditional mecca of vegetarians? Well, whatever. I am loading up on lots of veggies (mostly lettuce and kale this time of year), but the products that have really stood out lately are meat. This time it was goat.For some reason, goat has never caught on here in the U.S. I've enjoyed it in Mexico in the form of the soul-warming stew birria and at a local Caribbean restaurant as a spice-laden curry. But have you ever seen it at your local grocery store or on the menu at a non-ethnic restaurant? I can't think of a time when I have, but after my experience with the goat meat I bought from the owners of Toboton Gourmet Goat Meat, I'm beginning to wonder what's wrong with U.S. consumers. The leg roast that I bought was excellent; succulent, tender, and very juicy. It was somewhat similar to pork (just trying to compare it to something familiar), but with a much firmer texture and less fat throughout. It is also remarkably good for you. The information leaflet that came with my purchase boasts that goat is the healthiest of all meats, even besting chicken in the low fat and cholesterol race. All the more reason not to feel guilty, right?

Unlike my mangalitsa experience, this purveyor provided me with lots of great ideas on how to cook the goat meat. I followed her suggestion to coat the outside with a spice rub (some chile powder, cumin, sugar, salt and pepper) and wrap the entire roast in foil as a way to lock in the moisture. I placed the roast in a 275 degree oven and let is roast for about two and a half hours. Trying to go with the sort of Southwest theme from the spice rub, I served the thinly sliced meat atop these corn "cakes" that I tried to make-up. They were totally uninspiring (much drier than I had hoped for), but the meat was delicious. And by using the remainder of the roast in sandwiches or burritos for lunches the rest of the week, the $20 I spent on the roast seems like quite a deal.