Serves 4 people Prep time (1 hour) Cooking time (1 hr)
1. Bake the potato for 45 minutes at 375F to start, then make the filling. SLice the leeks and saute until soft, with oil and seasoning (about 15 min on low heat) Let cool. In a bowl, mix together your Goats Cheese, thyme, quinoa, jam with seasoning, then add the cooled leeks. Place into a piping bag, leaving a couple tbsp of mixture aside for later. A piping bag makes filling the pork so much easier and less messy….then refrigerate.
2. Lay the Beautiful Pork Chops on a cutting board and take a thin bladed knife to make an incision parallel to the counter ( It should go the entire length of the chop. twist the knife around to make a cavity for the filling. Be careful not to poke through the other end or cut the sides open.. Remove the knife and do the same to the others.
3. Get the piping bag of filling from the fridge and let sit on the counter for 15 minutes to soften. When ready, cut the end off the bag making the end just slightly smaller than the hole in the pork chop. Stick the end of the bag into the opening of the meat and squeeze, making sure the filling gets packed in tight. Repeat for the other chops.
4. Brush slightly with oil and then eason both sides with your favorite BBQ spice. Place on BBQ on high heat to mark the meat. After 2 minutes, Rotate it 90 degrees to make the corss hatch marking. Let cook for another minute. Turn down bbq to low, flip the meat and let cook, approx 20 minutes.
5. Slice the tomatoes in half and place on baking sheet with the cut halves facing up. Season and drizzle with oil. Roast for approx 1 hour. Pull from oven after that time and let rest.
6. To make the jus, place beef stock, some fresh thyme, smokin good sauce and some of your favorite beer into a pot. Simmer and reduce by half or more so it thickens.
7. While this is happening, check the potatoes and when they are soft to the touch remove them from the oven. Laying them lengthwise, slice the top skin off, giving access to the fluffy part of the russet. Scoop the pulp out into a bowl, leaving a couple millimetres of potato in the skin, making it like a bowl. Add chives and seasoning to the scooped potatoes. In another pot add butter and garlic clove. Melt butter on medium heat. When it bubbles, let it go for a few extra minutes. It will start to smell slightly nutty and also turn amber in colour. This is brown butter which adds depth and flavour. Take a couple tbsps out and set aside for later. To the butter, then add the milk. When the butter/milk mixture is warm, add it to the bowl of potato filling and mashed to make it smooth and fluffy. Once thats done, scoop it all back into the empty potato shell/skins and broil for 5 minutes to brown the tops
8. Mix the reserved brown butter, some chopped chives and the quinoa flakes in a bowl. Add them to a pan and start to cook them over medium heat.. They should only turn golden brown but can burn very easily. This is a topping for the pork and to add some crunch to the meal.
While the meat and potatoes are resting, grill off the asparagus after coating it with oil and seasoning.
9. Serve by placing the potato, asparagus, tomatoes and pork on the plate. Add a spoonful of the cheese filling that was set aside to the top of the hot pork. It will start to melt. Also add the jus and the crispy Quinoa flakes to top it. Then enjoy.
For more information on Chef Scott Yates please visit : @chefscottycooks