Over the years we happily succumbed to the old Irish tradition of Saint Patrick’s Day with corned beef and cabbage and green beer. By Sunday morning the leprechauns must have woven their mischievous magic on us because we were in the mood for tender pork instead of the traditional beef and thought about making a Pork and Cabbage with Riesling. We hoped it would taste as good as we remembered from our German kitchen where grandma often made her family favorite pork and cabbage with dumplings “Kassler mit Kraut und Knödel.”
You could smell the smoky and tangy notes of this dish the moment you entered her house and it made us incredibly hungry for dinner even if we just had lunch. She slow cooked the meat and kraut then served it with a little sweet Riesling from the Mosel Saar Ruwer region, the cradle of German Riesling. Mmm… it was so good! Don’t memories taste good?
This time we could hold the Heat wave responsible for not wanting to warm up the house too much with slow cooking, but still wanting to savor the slow braised taste of the cabbage. Let’s just say that we did not plan this pork and cabbage dish this way and were quite pleased with the tasty results. If grandma would know we cooked the meat around 25 minutes in the oven she would say “this is not a real Pork and Cabbage.” To make it more special we marinated the seasoned meat in olive oil and garlic over night so that the flavors can infuse the tender pork. During cooking we already knew this meal would be quite delicious even for a leprechaun. The pork had a slightly garlicky flavor and the cabbage and potatoes were so tender they melted in your mouth, yet still retained a little crispness to please the palate.
This hearty dish can be enjoyed with beer or a crisp white wine and we paired ours with a Riesling that had the aromas of Spring. A few days before, on Thursday, we drove to the California wine country to watch the vines bud break, breathe in the drier inland air, and last but not least to pick up a few bottles of wine, among them a Gainey Riesling from the Home Ranch Vineyard in Santa Ynez. As far as Central Coast Riesling goes Gainey is one of our favorites with notes of stone fruit and honeysuckle and a mellow mouth feel. The well-balanced acidity complimented the tangy cabbage.
There was a heat wave predicted for this weekend and we thought that a chilled Riesling would come in handy with dinner on one of those smoldering days. In the last week we had some lovely meals outdoors on the patio, under the umbrella during the day, and in the evening with the sun slanting low in the horizon watching as the sunset colors playing upon the clouds drifting over the ocean.
Our Thursday visit to the wineries was balm to the soul as we looked over the rows of vineyards each in it’s own Spring blossoming pace depending on the micro climate. The warm air gently welcomed us when we stopped to photograph cows and deer along the way. We are very fortunate to be so close to such a picturesque wine country. There are over 100 tasting rooms nestled along gently rolling hills studded with ancient oak trees and neat rows of beautiful vines that lend this romantic landscape a comforting order. Lovely grassy areas sprinkled with wildflowers perfect for a picnic and greeting spring in wine country style. Perhaps upon our next visit we will take a picnic basket and do just that!
So now that we had the perfect wine selected, we enjoyed the not quite traditional St. Patrick’s Day dinner of Pork and Cabbage with Riesling. We may not have found the pot of gold tonight, but this meal certainly makes you feel like you found the end of a tasty rainbow.
Pork and Cabbage with Riesling
Ingredients
- 2 1 -11/2 Lb Pork Tenderloin
- 1 Tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper - freshly ground
- 4 Garlic Cloves - chopped
- 2 Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 4 Slice of Bacon - cut into 1/4 inch pieces
- 1 Onion - chopped
- 1 Tbsp Coconut Sugar
- 2 Tsp Caraway Seeds
- 1 Large Cabbage - quartered and sliced
- 1 cup Riesling or White Wine
- 1/2 cup Organic Chicken Stock
- 2 medium Sweet Potatoes - peeled and cut into cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Place the pork into a glass pan and season well salt and pepper. Add the garlic and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight in the fridge. Let the meat rest at room temperature for 1 hour before cooking.
- Heat the rest of the olive oil over medium high in a large cast iron pan or sauté pan and fry the bacon until it becomes brown and crisp. With a spatula transfer to a plate and set a side.
- In the same pot brown the pork tenderloins for about 2 -3 minutes on each side. Remove meat from pan and set aside.
- Sauté the onions in the same pan for about 3 minutes or until they become translucent. Then add caraway seeds, coconut sugar, and wine and scrape the goodness from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the sliced cabbage and continue to cook for a few more minutes by stirring occasionally. Add the sweet potatoes and combine all really well.
- Place the meat on the bed of cabbage and roast in the oven for 25 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches of 145 degrees F. Turn the meat a few times.
- Transfer meat to a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving. Slice pork tenderloin into 1/2 inch slices and serve over the cabbage with the cooking juice drizzled over and with a thin slice of French baguette or crusty whole wheat country bread.
Nutrition
Food & Wine Pairing: Gainey Vineyard Riesling, Santa Ynez Valley California with floral and stone fruit aromas and a hint of pear.
Hi J & C, this pork dish is extremely good. Very appetizing kind of dish, I sure need extra rice for this. :))
Very impressive presentation and display. Thanks for sharing your very well taken pictures.
Have a lovely day ahead,regards.
This looks so lovely and tasty. I am doing an “eat from your pantry” challenge for April and am sooo hoping I find a cabbage in the back of the fridge!
What a fabulous idea I Wilkerson! We should all do that to freshen up our supplies, and hope there is a little cabbage hiding for your enjoyment 🙂
J+C
Looks awesome! Have to show my wife this great pork and cabbage recipe.
Thank you Justin, and enjoy your cabbage dinner with your wife:)
J+C
Ladies: I always have a great experience visiting both of you here. You are living the sweet life: Superb food and great adventures. Kudos for the pics, Judith and Corina…They are simply gorgeous!
You are so kind Denise! We are very thankful for all the beauty that surrounds us. Hope you have a wonderful week 🙂
J+C
Yep, it was fun at your winery. Also I loved the change up from the traditional corned beef and cabbage. Pork is probably my favorite meat. So I am prejudiced. Very nicely presented when you served it also. I am enjoying your blog
Thank you Carol and hope you will try pork and cabbage soon too 🙂
J+C
The photos are just beautiful and I am so happy to have found your gorgeous blog with so many unique recipes! The cabbage looks just right!
Thank you Samantha and we are glad you enjoy our recipes ideas! Every time we cook cabbage we are transported back to our kitchen in Germany:)
Cheers,
J+C
You will have spring weather soon too in your beautiful city, Eva! Just can imagine Toronto filled with spring flowers and balmy air 🙂 Winter and spring is very special in Southern California because the temperatures can rise higher then in summer. Enjoy your lovely cabbage and Bon Appétit!
J+C
That does sound and look incredibly delicious. Lucky you for having a heat wave, in Toronto it’s still rather nippy but fortunately we’ve hit the plus side of zero celcius so the snow is melting slowly but surely. I have some delightful cabbage in the pantry so I’ll put this recipe on my list of ‘to make’ next week as we just had pork tenderloin last night.
Breathtaking photos! Looks like a perfect dish for early-spring. Comforting, but not too heavy.
So kind of you Mary Frances! Indeed this dish was so much lighter then any other version we made before.
J+C
This dish looks so delicious and once again all your pictures look beautiful. I love pork and cabbage.
Thank you so much Kathy, and hope you enjoy pork and cabbage with Riesling perhaps soon!
J+C
It sounds divine! And I love the use of Riesling with this dish. It is a wine making quite a revival here 🙂
Glad you like Riesling too Tandy! It is such a pleasure to be in vineyard specially in the spring time. Enjoy your week:)
J+C
I think this might be one of the most delicious-looking St. Patrick’s day meals I’ve seen! You really can’t go wrong with slow-roasted meat, but I love that your grandma was the inspiration for this dish. You definitely can’t go wrong there! Enjoy that Californian sunshine!
Oh thank you Helen! Hope you are having a delicious time in Greece and enjoy the sunshine there too. Our Mom/Grandma used to make the very best cabbage and hope with practice we will get there as well.
Cheers,
J+C
What a lovely post, from the story of your winery visit to the promise of a delicious pot of (not-so-traditional) gold at the end of the rainbow! As always your pictures transport me to an entirely different and wonderful place! 😀
Thank you so much Shelly! We are so glad you enjoyed our little trip to the winery. Spring is the most magical time in the vineyards. The fresh green grass dotted with vibrant wild flowers is a decadent feast for the eyes and we have a hard time to leave all that beauty and serenity behind 🙂
J+C
Love riesling, so I’d be down with any dish with it!
Riesling is really versatile with food and hope you will try this recipe!
J+C
Yum, this sounds incredible!
Oh thank you so much Norma!
J+C
HL=huge like, young ladies! 🙂 Thanx for dropping by my playground, I’m really pleased and honored! Glad to discover your super-blog… you’ll find some food thru mine, as well:
* * *
My very best, tons of inspiration and friendly hugs from Toulouse, France, “old Europe”… cheers! : ) P.S. I love and miss your city… 😉 We lived in the US for 5 years and we did visit as much as possible…
yummy bonus: 🙂 – if you have some spare time, of course…
It was a pleasure to visit you Mélanie! We miss Europe too and our recipes are reflecting our heritage as well. We visited France many times and our memories are filled with delicious dishes ans charming restaurants.
Merci beaucoup:)
J+C
That looks so good, wish I had that for dinner on St Patricks Day! I went for the regular old corned beef and cabbage, like idea of the lighter version though.
Hi Ted! We do like the “regular” corned beef and cabbage too but this year somehow wished for a different flavor. Enjoy the recipe.
J+C