Braised Pork Loin with Figs and Pears

This recipe takes some time since the pork loin is marinated but worth the effort and wait. The gravy is lick the plate good! Now I’m thinking I should add fruit puree to all my gravies. Yum, yum. Braising cooks food slowly so be sure that the loin is well seared (browned) before cooking so that it doesn’t lose all its juices. And since I love figs and pears, and I know they go well together, I thought how about braising them with the loin. This recipe would also work with a turkey breast or apples instead of pears.

At least 4 hours before the cooking starts, put in a gallon food storage bag:

1/4 cup seasoned vinegar or apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt (or herbamare)

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dried thyme

6-8 dried figs

Add:

1 1/2-2 1/2 pound pork loin

Seal and let sit in the refrigerator at least 4 hours. If you are using a chicken, duck, or turkey breast, you can put this directly into the cooking vessel – either a roasting/baking dish with a cover, or the bowl of a slow cooker.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees if the loin is going in the oven. I cooked mine on the stove top in a medium size Dutch oven. Remove the pork loin (or turkey breast) from the marinade. Dry thoroughly and rub with:

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons ground cumin

In a 10″ skillet or one large enough to hold the loin, heat:

2 tablespoons olive oil

Turn the oil down to medium heat and add the loin (or turkey breast). Sear (brown) on all sides. Remove the meat and add to the skillet:

1 medium onion chopped

1/2 bag of baby carrots, cut into bite size pieces

1 large or 2 small (I used one small sweet and one small white) potatoes

2 teaspoons minced garlic

Sauté the vegetables for about 5 minutes. Add:

figs from the marinade (or 6-8 other fresh or dried figs)

Add the meat back into the cooking vessel along with:

1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken or turkey stock

Cover the pot or dish and cook over low heat (simmer) until the meat reaches 145 degrees for pork or 165-170 for poultry. On the stovetop in the Dutch oven, my just under 2 pound pork loin took just over an hour. When the meat is cooked, remove the meat and vegetables and add to the stock:

1 diced medium pear (peeled or not doesn’t matter)

If the meat was cooked in the oven, pour the stock into a small saucepot before adding the pear. Turn up the heat to medium and cook, covered, until the pear is soft. Add:

A slurry made with 1/2 cup turkey or chicken stock whisked with 2 tablespoons all purpose gluten free flour

Stir until the gravy thickens and the pear pieces are integrated into the gravy, this should only take a couple of minutes. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes so that the flour cooks completely. Slice the pork loin (or other meat) and place on a platter surrounded by the vegetables and figs. Pour some of the gravy over the pork and serve.

Carob Fig “Truffles” (dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan)

I made filled chocolates for over fifty years until a few years ago when I realized that no one in my family or circle of friends could eat them anymore for one reason or another. So now I cover different flavored Oreos with chocolate for my grandson and my great-nieces. I have a friend, however, who asked me to please find a recipe for a candy that she can eat that’s healthy but still decadent enough to call candy. Here’s what I came up with. Don’t like figs? Not a problem, use dates (don’t soak them) or prunes instead. If you use dates, the mixture will be much sweeter. If the figs or prunes aren’t sweet enough for your family’s taste buds, add a few dates to sweeten it up.

You’ll need:

12 ounces of dried figs (or you can use fig paste or jam made with fresh figs in season; no need to soak those)
1/4 to 1/3 cup protein powder
1/4 cup carob powder (if you can have chocolate, feel free to use cocoa)
1/4 cup tahini (or if you can have it any nut butter will work)
zest of 1/2 an orange
juice from 1/2 orange (around 2 tablespoons)
pinch of salt
hemp hulls, coconut flakes, carob or cocoa powder, toasted sesame seeds, for rolling the truffles in
Remove the stems from the figs and put in a bowl, cover with hot water and let soak for around an hour. Drain and put in a food processor along with the protein powder (start with 1/4 cup), carob powder, tahini, zest and juice, and salt. Blend until smooth. If mixture is too wet, add the remaining protein powder.

Scoop out tablespoons full and with wet hands, roll them into balls (I had a small bowl of water next to where I was working so that I could wet my hands as needed). We want these the size for one to two bites so if a tablespoon is a little big, reduce the amount for each ball. I would say I used around 2 teaspoons per ball. Place them on parchment or waxed paper as you roll them out. It should make between 16 and 24 balls. Roll each ball in your choice of hemp hulls, coconut flakes, carob or cocoa powder, or toasted sesame seeds. Refrigerator for up to a week.

I found these very dense and rich so I could only eat 2 at a time. And, of course, oh so delicious and gooey. A great substitute for candy with all that sugar. Sweet and gooey without any sugar except the one naturally found in the fruit.

Variations:

12 ounces of prunes instead of figs — these don’t need to be soaked
12 ounces of dried mango — cut into small pieces before soaking and don’t add any additional liquid to the food processor
12 ounces of dried sweet dark cherries — again, no need to soak these but may need a few tablespoons of water to loosen the mixture (I covered these with chocolate ganache)
12 ounces of dried dates, pitted of course — don’t soak them but again they may need a few tablespoons of water if too thick
12 ounces of dried apricots — soak and again, don’t add any liquid to the mixture (I rolled these in ground almonds)

Figgy Hemp Cream (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, vegan)

When I lived in western Massachusetts and had to go to the Albany, New York area to give a lecture or do an NPR program, I would always stop at the local co-op and get a pint of goat’s milk black mountain fig ice cream. So good, creamy, figgy, and not too sweet. This recipe comes very close to that goodness. And it is very adaptable; feel free to use the type of fruit you like the best in place of the figs, peaches, applesauce, bananas would all work great.

Add to a blender:

1 medium to large ripe avocado
1/4 cup chopped dates
2 cups fresh or stewed figs
1 cup hemp milk
2 scoops protein powder

Blend until well mixed and the dates are incorporated. Pour into an ice cream freezer or put in individual serving containers, or ice cube trays to freeze.

TIP: Don’t care for avocado? Use avocado oil instead, it has little flavor but makes a very creamy dessert. Use 1/4 cup of oil in place of the avocado pulp.

Chocolate Figgy Hemp Cream (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, sugar-free, vegan)

This is a very easy recipe to make if you have a blender or Vitamix. And it turns out not only delicious but silky smooth and creamy. Also, its adaptable to several other types of desserts — chocolate cream pie, fudgesicles (if you have a mold or even ice cube tray with wooden sticks), or pudding.

Put in your blender:

1 ripe avocado (or 1/4 cup avocado oil – the oil has less avocado flavor so doesn’t add any taste to the dessert)
1 cup of mashed figs*
1/2 cup chopped dates (or 4 whole medjool dates)**
1/4 cup cocoa powder or carob powder
2 large scoops of protein powder
2 cups hemp milk***
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Blend until smooth. At this point, you can divide the mixture into pudding cups, fill ice cube trays, or place it in an ice cream freezer. If you make ice cream with it, I suggest that when its ready, put the ice cream into small containers since if you freeze it in a larger container, like I did, you’ll have a very solid block of hemp cream that needs to be thawed before you can use it. If you’re making a chocolate cream pie, pre-bake a ready made gluten-free crust and cool it before you add the pudding to the pie crust.

*You could also use 4 ripe figs, or 1 cup of stewed prunes.

**Whole Foods carries chopped dates with oat flour.

*** Coconut milk or soy milk will also work in this recipe.