Pork Pockets with rice, kale & parmesan

Having spent much leisure and working time in the South of France, especially in Provence and around the Cote d'Azur area, it is hardly surprising that the cuisine of this region has greatly influenced my own cooking.

The Cote d'Azur area was under the governance of Italians for many years and it was only in the mid 1860's that Nice finally became part of France after the second Italian War of Independence.

The influence of this country in such close proximity not only affected the culture and architecture of the region but also the cuisine, and even today the Italian influence can be seen in many of this regions 'traditional' dishes.

A dish unique to the area of Menton, formerly part of the Republic of Genoa, is a whole stuffed loin of veal.  I would say it's pretty impossible to get veal in the local butchers now due to the prohibitive cost, and to it being viewed as politically incorrect to eat veal.......or so I've been told!

But not to be outdone I have adapted the basics of the dish and have substituted pork loin in place of the veal.....and I was able to throw a little Irishness into the mix too in the form of kale, one of our nations favorite cabbages......yes the Irish are ahead of their time, we loved kale before it became the new 'super-food'!

To make this dish you will need a good deep casserole pot with a tight fitting lid of a deep roasting dish which you should be able to cover tightly with tin foil.

For Stuffed Pork Pockets - to feed 4 people

for the stuffing:

80 g uncooked rice

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 big handful of prepared curly kale

1 large clove garlic crushed

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

1 egg beaten

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

4 boneless pork loin chops...make sure they're a good inch thick

wooden cocktail sticks

2 medium white onions

200 g leek

200 g peeled carrots

400 g peeled potatoes, cut into quarters

2 glasses dry white wine
500 mls water

For the casserole pot / roasting tray:

• cut the onion and leek in thick slices and place in the pot
• add the peeled carrots leaving them whole or in large chunks.....this is the bed for the pork pockets to lay on.

making the stuffing:

• cook the rice as normal with the turmeric until just done, drain and leave aside
• trim and clean the kale, remove any hard stalks and place in a saucepan or deep bowl
• boil a kettle and pour the boiling water over the kale, leave for 30 seconds, drain immediately and cool under cold running water....this in chefs terms is called blanching and refreshing!
• drain the kale well then squeeze out an excess water by hand, 
• chop the kale into smaller strips and place in a large bowl, add the rice, parmesan, crushed garlic, olive oil and basil
• mix everything together well then add the beaten egg and mix again

filling the pockets:

• take each pork chop, lay it flat on a board and pierce it horizontally cutting a slit along one side to form a pocket
• spoon the stuffing into each pocket then using wooden cocktail sticks, close the open end of the pocket...see picture... continue until all your pork pockets are filled
• place the pockets onto the bed of vegetables in your casserole dish/roasting pan
• add the white wine and water
• cover and place in a pre-heated oven at 160oC and cook for approx 1 hour,
• remove from the oven, gently lift the pockets out and place them on a tray
• add the potatoes to the pot/tray, cover once more and return to the oven.
• drizzle the pockets with a little olive oil and place them back into the oven for another 25-30 mins.......by the time the potatoes are cooked the pork pockets will be nicely browned!

Serve each pocket cut in half with the colorful stuffing showing, add some of the potatoes, vegetables and a little of the cooking liquor to each bowl.

I like to drizzle a little home made basil oil over the top of this dish....to make basil oil, take some extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, a little sea salt and black pepper then purée using a hand blender or food processor until the basil is finely chopped and you have a lovely fresh green oil!

Some nice chewy rustic style bread goes well with this and is nice for dipping into the liquid,

I think it's best not to thicken the cooking liquor as a gravy, I tried and it just seems to detract from the delicious natural flavors......bon appetit!