This dish was actually too flavorful for me. There were strong flavors throughout that seemed to compete with each other, rather than play off of each other and complement the dish as a whole. The pork was definitely the best part, and I think would taste great (better?) on it’s own. Salty, Sweet, Fishy, and Spicy.

This makes two servings, but depending on your portion size, two people could share one dish.

• 1 pound pork shoulder or loin
• 1/2 package of rice vermicelli
• 1/2 head of butter lettuce, torn into small pieces
• ~1/4-1/2 bunch of mint, tor

For the marinade:

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2.5 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

For the nuoc cham (sauce):

• 1/8 cup sugar
• Juice of 1/2 lemon (~1 tbsp lemon juice)
• 1/6 cup fish sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 carrot, thinly sliced or julienned
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoons chili paste or rooster sauce

Place pork in the freezer until it firms slightly, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove the pork from the freezer, thinly slice and place in a large ziploc bag. In a small bowl, mix the ingredients for the marinade. Pour marinade into the bag with the pork and seal, removing as much air as possible. Place in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for one hour to overnight. In a small bowl, mix the ingredients for the sauce. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Right before grilling, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the vermicelli noodles and cook until tender, about 2 to 4 minutes (4 minutes is too long!). Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process, set aside. Remove the pork from the fridge. Grill or cook in wok (whichever you prefer) until cooked through. To assemble, place noodles in bowl or on a plate, then top with the grilled pork, lettuce and mint. Drizzle with the sauce and enjoy!

This pasta salad is healthy, easy, cheap, and delicious! It also gave me an opportunity to try to make tomato roses! The portions in this recipe make enough pasta for a week, so feel free to halve the pasta. I wouldn’t halve the tomatos, though if you don’t make tomato roses, there will be enough tomato to go around.

• 1 pound pasta (farfalle,fiori, etc)
• 4 plum or stem tomatoes, cut into 1 inch dice
• 20 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
• 1 lemon’s juice or 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and ground pepper to taste
• Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt, and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold water to cool down. Put the pasta in a large serving bowl and add the tomatoes, basil, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Toss well and garnish with fresh basil leaves. I’ve heard pasta salad tastes better the day before, so feel free to make the day before. We also chose to add some goat cheese and hard-boiled egg whites.

More pictures in the full entry.

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Note for next time: do not use pre-made pizza crust for the flat bread; use either included recipe, naan, or matzo.
This recipe really introduced me to goat cheese! I love the rich texture and flavor of goat cheese in this dish, and also like the spring onion bulbs that baked with the sausage. Mmmm!

Bread (optional, skip to third paragraph if not making)

• 3/4 cup warm water (about 110°F)
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 packet instant dry yeast
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Topping

• 1-1/2 pounds mushrooms, shiitake and button (or your favorite variety or a mix), sliced or roughly chopped
• 2 spring onion bulbs, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 or 3 sausages (~5-7 ounces)
• 3-4 ounces crumbled soft goat cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Whisk together the warm water and honey in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and gently stir to combine. Let sit about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle 1 cup of flour into the water and stir to combine, forming a thick, sticky batter. Add the olive oil and salt, and then gradually add the remaining flour, stirring to incorporate as much of the flour as you can. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for about 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and let it rise for 1 hour. Punch it down and let it rise 1 hour more.

While the pizza dough rises, prepare the topping. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the mushrooms with the spring onion, olive oil and malt vinegar in a baking dish or a pie plate. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the sausage meat from the casing and distribute it in small pieces across the top of the mushrooms. Transfer the dish to the oven and roast until the mushrooms are tender and the sausage is cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes.

Heat the grill to medium-high (gas or charcoal). Divide the pizza dough into 4 pieces and roll each very thin. Brush both sides of each piece with olive oil and place directly on the hot grates of the grill. Grill each side about 3 minutes. Divide the mushrooms and sausage amongst the four pizzas. Sprinkle with goat cheese and chives. Leave the pizzas on the grates, turn off the grill and close the cover. Let the pizzas sit an additional 2 minutes, just until the cheese has softened, before serving.

May 19th, 2009