Heya guys! It’s been a bit since I’ve posted. I have a very good excuse though, I just uprooted my whole life and moved from Southern California to Southern Colorado. If you have ever moved before you know it’s a seemingly never-ending pile of things to do and things that cost money. Try it with 6 animals in your U-Haul! But I finally made it! I did it! I am here. I’m a Colorado girl now!
I have been here about two weeks now and I have spent most of it exploring and trying all the new, exciting restaurants I could find. There’s a lot here. It’s going to take me a year or so. But after days and days of eating a lot of not very healthy food, my body demanded to be taken to the nearest Whole Foods Market. It took a long time to get my kitchen in order but it is now ready for culinary experimentation.
That being said, this recipe isn’t exactly my healthiest…though it’s all organic, non-processed, non-GMO ingredients. But I just had to make something inspired by my new home. And one of the first things I noticed here is that most places you go, they have Colorado style green chili. Usually with pork. You can get it on burgers, you can get it on fries, you can get it on your hash browns! And it’s so so SO good. I was deciding whether or not I wanted to make this dish with meat, or make it vegetarian. But then I saw this super pretty grass-fed pork loin at Whole Foods and that special spark lit up in my brain…
This loin is just under one pound. I ended up having leftovers. Which were delicious. So the first thing I did was roast this bad boy, after stuffing it with chopped garlic, lime juice, salt, pepper, drizzled with olive oil and THEN topped with this awesome spice mix my mom got me (hi mom!). It’s a brand called Penzey’s spices (they have a website Penzeys.com) and I used the BBQ 3000 flavor. They are super fun, check them out, I love the Cajun spice too!
After popping this baby in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour (you can use a meat thermometer, I just eye it, I know i’m bad!)…it should look a little something like this and be tender and easy to slice thin…
*Drools all over myself* Ok moving on. Once the pork is cooked you can sauté your onions and sliced Poblano peppers and get them nice and soft. I grated the Cotija cheese while that sizzled.
Now, I used the Whole Foods pre-made dough. Because I love it. And it’s easy. Though making a dough from scratch is actually super easy. I recommend this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/20171/quick-and-easy-pizza-crust/
Then it’s the fun part! Assembling! You can layer things your own way but if you want to do exactly what I did, follow the directions. I think it came out pretty fab. After topping the cooked pizza with hella cilantro I heated up the pork juices from the baking pan and a little bit of white wine and drizzled it over the top. It really made it…man. Like…I want to make it again today, ughhhh…
Ingredients
Pork Loin
1 pound organic, grass-fed pork loin
5 cloves garlic, chopped
Olive Oil (to drizzle)
Salt/Pepper/Optional BBQ seasoning
1/2 lime
Other Toppings
2 cups hand shredded Cotija cheese
2 large Poblano peppers, halved into thick slices
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper
1 cup cilantro
1/4 cup white wine
Pre-made or homemade pizza dough of choice
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350.
In a prepared baking pan cut 1 inch slices into the pork loin and stuff with chopped garlic. Squeeze the lime juice of the loin and add the spices. Lastly, drizzle some olive oil over the top. Take a sheet of aluminum foil and *loosely* place on top of meat. Place on top shelf of oven, closest to the heat and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for an additional 25 minutes or until the center is cooked through.
Remove from oven, cut into slices and set aside.
In a large skillet add some olive oil and heat. Add onions and sauté until they start to soften. Add the sliced Poblano peppers and sauté on medium-high heat until they soften and start to brown. Add salt/pepper if desired. Remove from heat and set aside.
Reset oven to 400. Roll out pizza dough with a floured rolling pin or by hand after wetting hands with warm water and place on a pizza pan.
Drizzle prepared dough with olive oil. Scoop out about half of the sautéed onions and distribute over the pizza dough. Next top with about 3/4ths of the Cojita cheese. Next, lay the Poblano slices around the pizza in a circle, with the ends meeting in the middle. Spread the sliced pork loin around an open spaces. Top with the rest of the cheese and onions. Sprinkle more BBQ seasoning if desired.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.
While the pizza cools, add the wine and leftover pork juices from the roasting pan to a small skillet. Simmer on low.
Top pizza with fresh cilantro. Drizzle juice/wine mixture over the top.
STUFF. YOUR. FACE. Bonus: you can add any leftover pork/chiles into your breakfast scramble the next morning.
xoxoxo
KA
kitchenaudacity 