Pork Cutlets with Berry Sauce

& Potato Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Sauce:

2 ½-3 cups berries, fresh or frozen, I use Huckleberries, blueberries or red currants

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup red wine

1/3 cup sherry or wine vinegar

Pork Cutlets:

4 boneless pork loin chops, trimmed, 6-8 ounces each or, 2 pork tenderloins, trimmed

Salt and white pepper or fine black pepper

1 cup AP flour

1 t each ground ginger and thyme

¼ t allspice

4 eggs, beat with fork in shallow dish   

1 ½ cups fine breadcrumbs

½ cup panko

About 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grate it  

2 T each fresh parsley and thyme, finely chopped

About 2 t freshly grated lemon zest

4-5 tablespoons olive oil or innocuous oil such as canola

Potato Salad:

1 ½-2 pounds halved baby yellow or white potatoes or quartered small potatoes

Salt

12-16 ounces, ¾-1 pound thin broccolini chopped or thin green beans cut into thirds

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halve them

A handful of basil, torn

Dressing:

2 small or 1 large clove garlic, crushed

1 shallot, coarsely chopped

1 t chili flakes or hot sauce

Juice of ½ small lemon

3 T tomato vinegar or red wine vinegar

About ½ cup EVOO  

5-6 leaves of basil, torn

Salt to taste

Directions:

For sauce combine all ingredients in small pot and bring to low boil, reduce heat to keep at low rolling simmer and cook 20 minutes to thicken and reduce.

Pound pork chops to about 3/8 inch thick or cut each tenderloin into 4 portions on a bit of a bias and pound with mallet to form 8 thin oven medallions or about the same thickness.

Season pork with salt and white pepper or fine black pepper. 

Pour flour onto shallow dish and season with ginger, thyme and allspice.

Place beaten eggs in shallow dish next to that and the breadcrumbs and panko seasoned with nutmeg, fresh herbs and zest in third dish. 

Meanwhile, prep potatoes, broccolini or green beans and tomatoes and place potatoes in pot and cover with water, bring to boil.  Once boiling add salt and cook to tender 12-15 minutes, add broccolini or green beans in last 2-3 minutes when potatoes are almost done.  Drain and place in large bowl with basil and tomatoes. 

Place ingredients for dressing except EVOO in food processor and pulse a few times then stream in the oil, adjust seasoning.  Add to potatoes and toss.   

Heat oil in large shallow skillet over medium to just above medium heat.  When hot coat chops or medallions in flour egg and breadcrumb mixture and fry to golden 2-13 minutes on each side.  Drain on rack or paper towels and transfer on foil lined baking sheet to low oven to keep warm and crisp.  Keep warm in low oven if not serving immediately.

Serve pork chops or crispy cutlets topped with sauce and the potato salad along side.