A tray with pork cutlets and quinoa
Photography, Søren Staun Petersen

Pork Cutlets With Spiced Rhubarb Quinoa

Discover rhubarb's savoury side.

Try just one bite of this quinoa dish – subtly sweet, tart and warm – and you’ll be asking yourself why you haven’t been making it this way all along. Rhubarb is the low-key star here, but pork fried in reserved bacon fat is a special treat.

A tray with pork cutlets and quinoa

Pork Cutlets With Spiced Rhubarb Quinoa

Søren Staun Petersen's recipe for crispy pork cutlets and bacon served on a bed of rhubarb quinoa.

Ingredients

Quinoa

  • 2 small red onions finely chopped
  • 4 stalks rhubarb finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • cup quinoa
  • cups water
  • cup 35% whipping cream
  • 1 orange zested and juiced
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • salt and pepper

Pork Cutlets

  • 5 old-fashioned smoked bacon strips
  • 4 boneless pork chops
  • 1-2 tbsp butter for frying
  • salt and pepper

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush 2-litre casserole dish with oil or softened butter.
  • Combine onions, rhubarb and garlic in large bowl. Add quinoa, water, whipping cream, orange zest, orange juice, sugar, ginger, nutmeg and salt and pepper, stirring to combine. Scrape into prepared casserole dish; spread evenly and bake for 30 minutes.
  • In skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, flipping regularly, until almost crispy, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer bacon to plate, reserving fat in pan.
  • Heat skillet over medium heat. Cook pork chops in reserved fat and butter, seasoning with salt and pepper, about 30 seconds per side.
  • Arrange bacon and pork chops in quinoa and continue to bake for 10 minutes, adding more water if quinoa is dry.

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A book cover in a light frame

Recipes excerpted from Rhubarb by Søren Staun Petersen (translated from Danish by Natalie Pitu), adapted for ELLE Gourmet. Copyright © 2018 Søren Staun Petersen. English translation © 2022 Natalie Pitu. Reproduced by arrangement with TouchWood Editions. All rights reserved.
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