With my sister back in town for the summer, I’ve been enjoying some overdue sisterly bonding time, as well as delighting in having a co-chef in the kitchen who enjoys good food and being engaged in its preparation as much as I do. I cannot express my gratitude in having not just one, but two siblings with whom I can laugh, share, confide, converse (and eat!) with the unfettered (and flawed) authenticity we reserve for those closest to our hearts.
Childhood Reminiscences
Our first cooking adventure together this summer revolved around Mexican food. It was partly a nostalgic reminiscence of the myriad salsa-and-guacamole dinners that punctuated our childhoods, and partly a realization from my part that the jar of nearly-expired crème fraiche in my fridge could be utilized in lieu of Mexican crema. I thus proposed to use it as an accompaniment to a braised meat dish, and one or two fresh vegetable dishes or salsas. A mild upgrade from the packaged spice mixes and store-bought salsas that had once played an important, if understated, part in holding together the family ties between three growing children and their recently divorced father.
My sister and I spent a lovely afternoon chatting and chopping, as the smell of beef simmering in chipotle adobo, tequila and lime filled the kitchen. Our truly delectable meal ended hilariously when we realised that after all that fuss, the crème fraiche, the raison d’être of the meal, still lay unopened in the fridge, forgotten.
Riffing on another childhood memory — this time of a pasta salad we loved to make together, the theme of our second cooking afternoon was not a cuisine, but an ingredient. Marjoram. That underused herb usually described in relation to its more ubiquitous and pungent cousin, oregano.
Marjoram and oregano share the same genus classification, but whereas the flavour of oregano is strong, pungent and spicy, marjoram is more delicate, floral and woodsy. I will talk more about marjoram and its merit in salads in my next post, but for now, let’s skip to the main course.
Illustration of marjoram (Origanum majorana), oregano (Origanum vulgare) and creeping thyme (Thymus Serpyllum) from Friedrich Losch’s Kräuterbuch: Unsere Heilpflanzen in Wort und Bild (circa 1905)
Sprucing it up: Woodland Inspiration
Looking for new ways to experiment with marjoram, I came across a recipe for stewed pork in Marcella Hazan’s classic Italian cookbook, the aptly named Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Her description of the dish, as a “chorus of fragrances from the forest and the herb garden” drew me in. It called not only for fresh marjoram, but also for dried porcini mushrooms and juniper berries, two ingredients I have seldom encountered in my tasting history, save for the bone-chilling aridity of a gulp of cheap gin (not my favourite gustatory memory).
Illustration of various European conifers with medicinal properties, including the edible juniper (Juniperus communis) on the top left, from Friedrich Losch’s Kräuterbuch: Unsere Heilpflanzen in Wort und Bild (circa 1905)
I made a few changes as I saw fit. The original recipe called for white wine and red wine vinegar, but I decided to pick just one colour, and that red was the way to go. I increased the proportion of porcini mushrooms, (because more mushroom is never a bad thing), and added toasted pine nuts and fresh marjoram leaves as a garnish, to bolster the floral aroma of the herb, which partially gets lost through cooking. Finally, I chose to cook the pork shoulder in larger pieces than the recipe called for, and then to shred them, à la pulled pork.
Porcini, juniper and marjoram. I didn’t know what to expect from this unexpected trio. Fortunately, unlike all those memes on the Internet, the reality was much better my expectation. The red wine and porcini add an incredible depth of flavour to an already rich and flavourful cut of meat, while the juniper and marjoram add refreshing accents. Oh, And the texture! Each bite is saturated with rich, meaty juices, and the pork simply melts away in your mouth.
Are you convinced yet? Cosa stiamo aspettando? Cuciniamo!
Joëlle
Serves 6-8
A luscious pork recipe from Northern Italy, and drenched in red wine and full of wild, forest flavours.
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Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs. pork shoulder
- Sea salt or Himalayan salt (to salt the pork)
- 1 tbsp cooking fat (I used tallow)
- 1 cooking onion
- 1 cup red wine
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 30 juniper berries, crushed in a mortar
- 75g (2.5 oz) dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 tbsp anchovy paste
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp fresh marjoram leaves
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
- Pine nuts, toasted
- Fresh marjoram leaves
Instructions
- Generously salt pork shoulder, preferably hours before cooking. Store in the fridge until about 1 hour before cooking.
- Rehydrate porcini mushrooms by placing them in a bowl with a cup of warm water. Once reconstituted, cut into bite-size pieces (if the pieces are too large). Reserve the soaking liquid.
- Set your Instant Pot to Saute mode.
- When the Instant Pot is hot, add cooking fat and spread it around the bottom of the liner.
- Brown pork shoulder on all sides (about 5-6 minutes per side). Set browned meat aside on a cutting board.
- Add the onion to the pot and cook for a for a few minutes, stirring, until they are soft and golden.
- Deglaze the pot with red wine, and press Cancel on the Instant Pot to turn off Saute mode.
- Cut pork shoulder into large cubes (roughly 6cm³) and add them back to the pot, along with the porcini, reserved soaking liquid, red wine vinegar, anchovy paste, crushed juniper berries, bay leaves, marjoram (fresh and dried) and black pepper.
- Twist the Instant Pot lid on. Making sure the Steam Release Handle is turned to the Sealing position, set the Pressure Cook program to cook for 30 minutes on high pressure, with natural release (for at least 15 minutes).
- When the pressure has been fully released from the Instant Pot, remove the lid and transfer the chunks of pork to a large mixing bowl with a slotted spoon.
- Shred the pork into bite-sized pieces with two forks and place them in a serving dish. Pour the braising stew over the shredded pork, garnish with pine nuts and marjoram leaves and serve.
Notes
Adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.
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References
Hazan, M., & Kretschmann, K. (2017). Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Hussey, A. M. (1847). Illustrations of British mycology: Containing figures and descriptions of the funguses of interest and novelty indigenous to Britain. London: Reeve, Brothers.
Losch, F. (1905?). Kräuterbuch: Unsere Heilpflanzen in Wort und Bild. Esslingen: J.F. Schreiber.
