GABBY COOKS – porcupines & mushroom sauce

There are no quills in this dish about which to be concerned.  It’s just simple, down-home cooking that combines pork, rice, and mushrooms in a one pot, stove top meal.  For many years pork was the bad boy in the health-conscious diet.  Those ribs, chops, sausages, and bacon were attributed with ailments from cardio-vascular disease to bad skin.  Baby, times have changed.

We don’t eat pork 5 nights a week nor do we have BLTs  at every lunch.  But, in moderation, chops, ribs, cutlets, sausages are a wonderful alternative to beef and chicken.  Remember – pork is the other white meat.

Here are some pork facts:

• pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus)
• it is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide
• pig husbandry dates back to 5000 B.C.
• pork is the most popular meat in Eastern and Southeastern Asia
• Asia cuisines prize it for its fat content and texture
• it is forbidden by Jewish, Muslim, and Rastafarian dietary law for religious reasons

A three and one-half ounce serving of lean pork contains the following nutritional value:

• 13.92 grams fat
• 27.32 grams protein
• 36% DV of Vitamin B-6
• 29% DV of Vitamin B-12
• 35% DV phosphorous
• 25% DV zinc

Add this meat to the wholesome goodness of mushrooms and rice – voila – heaven in a Dutch cooker.

here are the ingredients

 

 

1. 1 cup cooked white rice
2. 1 LB ground pork
3. 2 cloves chopped garlic
4. 1 egg
5. 1 tsp dried basil or 1 TBS chopped fresh basil
6. 1 tsp dried parsley or 1 TBS chopped fresh parsley
7. salt and pepper
8. 2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
9. 1 cup chicken broth
10. 2 TBS flour
11. 2 TBS butter
12. 2 TBS oil, olive or canola

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook the rice according to directions
2. In a mixing bowl combine the pork, garlic, herbs, salt & pepper, egg and mix well
3. Reserve a small portion of the herbs to add to the mushroom sauce
4. Add the cooked rice which has cooled and mix well
5. Shape in balls just like meatballs, place on plate and chill for an hour
6. After an hour’s chill, heat the oil in a Dutch oven or heavy pot with a lid
7. Brown the porcupines in the oil
8. Remove them from the pot
9. Add the butter to the pot and another TBS oil
10. Add the mushrooms and stir to coat evenly with melted butter and oil
11. After about 3 minutes sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms
12. Cook the flour to a light brown, don’t burn it, stirring as it cooks
13. Add the chicken broth and stir to mix with the mushrooms
14. Stir constantly until the broth thickens into a creamy sauce
15. Add the reserved pinch of basil and parsley
16. Return the porcupines, cover and simmer about 1/2 hour

This dish is complete in itself, but sometimes I like to serve it in a bowl over hot noodles.