We all know how well dark chocolate goes with pork, right? For this reason, when I was developing my "Cooking with Chocolate" class, I decided to feature a pork stew as the meat-course of the evening. To have the best end result, I needed a cut of pork that would stay moist during braising and that didn't require that long to cook (time limitations are unfortunately paramount in hands-on cooking classes). I resorted then to my favorite cut: pork shoulder. I really love its balance of fatty richness and lean tender meat. I usually find it in the form of steaks and oftentimes, I simply love to pan sear them and then smother in strong extra virgin olive oil and zingy lemon juice or better even, lemon salt. A treat for those nights when I am too bored to cook anything more involved.
In the recipe I developed for the cooking class, I decided to use the earthy aroma of roasted cumin as the spice of choice to lace this stew. I chose peas to be the vegetable component since I wanted a little more sweetness in the final dish, beside they pair greatly with cumin.
The dish needed a little vibrancy though and so, to keep it simple but still flavorful, I decided to add some arugula to it. I really like the peppery and slight bitter notes of this leafy green, it really cuts through the richness of the stew.
Dark chocolate is a great ingredient for savory dishes and I really had fun coming up with recipes featuring it like the one I am proposing you today.
