Black Trumpet Coffee Crusted Pork, Nutmeg Poached Eggplant Puree

I'm going to make a bold statement, something I avoid saying to anyone, let alone the internets.  This dish may be the most satisfying, tasty recipe I have created for this website to date.

At a cooking demo recently, I told you how I loved this crusting/wrapping technique for roasting meats.  I decided to create a crust for a roasted pork loin with the goal of focusing on very bold and earthy flavors.  The combination I used was a blend of dried, ground black trumpet mushrooms, ground roasted coffee, curry and a touch of nutmeg.  This crust is out of this world.  The flavors are the perfect blend that, when roasted, create a fragrant, earthy counterpoint to pork that left us in awe (corny but true).

The next piece of this dish is a decadent poached eggplant puree.  I simmered some half and half with nutmeg and slowly poached the eggplant in the liquid until soft.  After straining and pureeing, I had a sweet, earthy, creamy compliment to the pork.  The combination of nutmeg and eggplant may be my obsession for 2006. I finished this dish with a crumbling of finely ground pistachios for texture.

I beg you to make this dish and let me know what you think.  It's really that good. 

Full recipe with photos after the jump.

Recipe serves two people.

Ingredient Shopping List

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 lemon
1 tblsp unsalted butter
1 cup half and half
fresh ground nutmeg
1 medium eggplant
1 packet of dried black trumpet mushrooms
handful of roasted coffee beans (grind it yourself if you can)
jar of curry
1 1/4 lb pork loin

Make the Crust, Wrap the Pork

The trick here to create the crust is to season the pork with crust and wrap it plastic wrap for at least a half hour to 1 hour for refrigeration time.  This lets the crust set up and become one with the pork.  This is crucial for best results.

Ground about 1/2 a packet of dried black trumpets in a coffee grinder, about 1/4 cup total and add to a bowl.  Ground a handful of coffee beans, add about 3 tblsps to the bowl.  Add a teaspoon of curry and about two pinches of nutmeg.  Season liberally with kosher salt and black pepper.

Place the pork on a piece of plastic wrap.  Cover both sides of the pork, as well as the ends, with the crust ingredients. Cover liberally.  Wrap the pork tightly, like a sausage.  Let sit in fridge for ideally an hour.

(click on picts for larger sizes)

Make the Poached Eggplant Puree

Peel the eggplant skin with a veggie peeler.   Chop lengthwise into pieces about 3 inches long, about 3 cups total.

Add about 1 1/2 cups of half and half to a pot.  Add about two pinches of nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a simmer then add the eggplant. The eggplant should be covered in the liquid.  If not, add some more half and half. (Don't worry, you are not eating all of this cream.)

Simmer on low heat, barely simmering, until the eggplant become soft and tender.   This should take about 15 minutes at low heat.  You don't want this to start boiling.

Take the eggplant out with a slotted spoon and add to the food processor.   Season again with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Puree until fine.  Taste and set aside.

Roast the Pork

Preheat oven to 300.

The key here is to sear the meat for just a brief time on each side to just seal the crust.  We are not trying to get a golden brown crust while searing, as this will burn the crust while in the oven.

Place a pan on high heat and add a thin layer of olive oil. Sear each side of the pork for about 1 minute tops.

Place the pan in the oven and let cook at 300 for about 25-30 minutes.  Check the pork after about 20 minutes as all ovens are different.  Take the pork out and let it rest for 10 minutes for the juices to settle, remember that it continues to cook at this point as well.

While waiting, grind or finely chop a handful of pistachios for garnish.

Slice the pork.

(click on picts for larger sizes)

Finish the Dish

Rewarm your eggplant.  Place a few tablespoons on your plate.  Fan slices of pork around the eggplant.  Sprinkle with pistachios and serve right away.

Comments

[tami]

this looks *incredible*. i may try this in the coming week. thanks for posting! :)

btw..i added a link from my blog to yours. i hope you don't mind.

- t*

[joe]

hi tami, great! look forward to checking your site out as well.

[Kat]

I am drooling...it looks really great! too bad the aromas can't come across the internet!! :)

[Kimberly Kerns]

I made this and it was fantastic ... though unfortunately my half and half did get to the boil point for a few seconds - but it was still delicious.

SO - I would very much like to make this for some friends of mine -but unfortunately one of them is extremely allergic to coffee. Any suggestions for a substitution that could work for the coffee in the crust?

Thanks for the recipe - it is great!

[joe]

hey kim,

the main point of the coffee is to add another earthy note to the rub. so if deleting, i would consider 2 tablespoons of bittersweet cocoa powder and maybe a tbl spoon of a chili powder of some sort. note that the addition of cocoa means that you can sear this for only a minute or two per side or the cocoa will burn. you'll just need to spend more time with it in the oven.

thanks for the feedback...i love to hear everyone's thoughts after they try something out.

[joe]

future readers: i would be remiss if i did not mention that i usually brine the pork loin a day in advance whenever i can. very well worth the effort....

[mek]

Making this recipe right now! What draws me to your style of cooking is the incredible ease of it. This is no harder than pork chops and mashed potatoes, and hell, I can even make it with stuff I already have lying around. And it'll blow people away nonetheless.

[LynneM]

This looks like something I need to try. I can't tell if you are using a pork tenderloin or a loin roast.

[Sally]

Since you asked for feedback, I thought I should add mine :-)

Made this for dinner tonight, with a slight change - I did not have trumpet mushrooms, so I used dried shiitake instead.

Excellent! This is going to be a regular dish at our table - I am sure one can play around with variations in the rub, but this mushroom/coffee/curry - will be hard to top.

It is very complex, not too spicy, just perfect

THanks for posting it. Next time I'll try it with the eggplant puree.

[joshua]

the answer to the above question - definitely pork tenderloin. i would cook instead at 400 degrees for 15 minutes for medium rare.

j

[Maryna]

I am trying this rub on porkbelly.
After slow roasting/braise the pork (low het for about 7 hours in chicken stock).
Rub extra on the fatty part and sear on a cast iron skillet.
Delish!!

[Jerry]

This was great. After the rub was combined, I thought the coffee might overwhelm the pork, but after searing and baking, it melded with the other flavors perfectly. Outstanding. The egplant was funky as well -- had sort of a cream of asparagus taste to it.

Here's a Q: Should the eggplant have nutmeg in it? The headline of the post indicates as such, but the recipe does not. (I didn't add it...)

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