Sous Vide Pork Chop with Mushroom Risotto and Asparagus Bouquet

Once upon a time, I hardly cooked pork chop at home as it always turned out dry and tough. With the sous vide machine, this is no longer a problem in this household. Last Saturday, I made this tender and delish sous vide pork chop for our dinner. Just as good was the bacon-wrapped asparagus. The mushroom risotto provided the carbs and extra protein.

I opted for the bone-in cut as the bone would add extra flavour to the meat. Like the standard sous vide method, cooking was simple - add marinade, seal in bags, sous vide, brown and serve.

Recently, I bought this packet of dried porcini but it had been lying in the fridge, almost forgotten. I thought it was a good opportunity to use it for cooking mushroom risotto to go with the pork chop. Porcini mushrooms have a chewy texture and a strong nutty-woodsy, sweet, and meaty taste. Just like sun-dried tomatoes, porcini mushroom's flavors are actually enhanced when the mushrooms are dried. Only a handful of these will give grace to an elegant risotto, pasta or soup.

Needed some greens for the dish. What could be more beautiful than a bouquet of fresh baby asparagus wrapped in streaky bacon? While making this, I kept thinking of the hand bouquet that I presented to my love on our wedding day twelve years ago. :)

This is a fairly simple recipe. Most cooking is done by the sous vide machine. Only the risotto needs constant stirring and adding broth, the slow and painful way. But worth every minute!

Whether you are cooking to feed or impress, this is it!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

Sous Vide Pork Chop

4 bone-in pork chop (about inch thick)

Marinade (You can use any spices or sauce that you like)

1 pc inch-thick ginger

4-6 cloves garlic

2 long sprigs rosemary (just the leaves)

1 tsp freshly grounded black pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp mixed spice powder

1/2 tsp lemongrass powder

1/2 tsp fennel powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp olive oil

juice from half lemon

Asparagus bouquet

40-60 stalks baby asparagus (cleaned and dried)

4 slices streaky bacon

olive oil

sea salt

freshly grounded black pepper from mill

Mushroom Rissotto (Adapted from BBC Food)

1 tbsp dried porcini mushrooms

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

225g/8oz chestnut mushrooms, sliced

350g/12oz arborio rice

150ml/¼ pint dry white wine

1.2 litres/2 pints hot vegetable stock

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

25g/1oz butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated parmesan, to serve

Method

Pork Chop

Blend all the marinade ingredient in a food processor to form a paste.

Wash and pat dry the pork chops. Spread the marinade paste on the both sides of the meat and vacuum pack with butter in sous vide bags.

Cook meat in Sous Vide machine at 60C for 2.5 hours.

Remove from bags. Pat dry and sear the meat both sides in a very hot pan with some olive oil until brown, about a minute each.

Asparagus Bouquet

Place asparagus in a mixing bowl. Drizzle olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Toss.

Divide the asparagus into 4 bouquets of about 10-15 stalks each.

Wrap each bundle with a piece of bacon.

Bake in oven at 200C for 15 minutes. Alternatively, place bundles on hot grill and cover. Cook 10 to 12 minutes until bacon is crisp and asparagus bundles are tender.

Mushroom Risotto (Adapted from BBC Food)

Soak the porcini mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain well. 

Heat the oil in a large, heavy based saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Fry over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Add the chestnut mushrooms and fry for a further 2-3 minutes, until browned.

Stir in the rice and coat in the oil. Pour in the wine and simmer, stirring, until the liquid has been absorbed. Add a ladleful of the stock and simmer, stirring again, until the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding the stock in this way, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is plump and tender.

Roughly chop the soaked porcini mushrooms and stir into the risotto, along with the parsley, butter and salt and pepper. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

Plating and Assembly

Divide risotto into 4 portions and scoop each portion into a large pasta plate.

Place the browned sous vide pork chop on the rice and topped with a bouquet of grilled asparagus.

Serve immediately.