Rosemary and Cherry Pork Shoulder With Lemon Green Beans, Emmenthaler Cauliflower, and Rhubarb Compote

Clayton’s been bugging me to use his rhubarb, and he brought up these lovely stalks for me to incorporate into today’s dinner. I<a href="/6L7QNTJV"> chop</a> these babies into 1″ pieces.

I dump them into a large saucepan with my honey, sugar, and about a half cup of water — and a dash of <a href="/DPSVTKVY">salt </a>for good <a href="/PPPKH5Q4">measure.</a> I set this to boil.

The sugars start to <a href="/64W3NS5R">melt,</a> the stalks to break down, and the <a href="/PMQVQDJ8">flavors </a>to <a href="/S6W4FR7F">blend.</a> I drop the<a href="/XZFHRHHF"> heat</a> to its lowest setting…

Add 1/2 of my <a href="/RF7SRX43">dried </a>cherries, <a href="/7S3QCKWK">mixing </a>well to submerge them in the <a href="/GFSF4J5F">simmering </a>liquids…

After a few more moments, I add a few sprigs of rosemary to impart an earthy richness to the tart sweetness, and I let this whole mess <a href="/GFSF4J5F">simmer </a>for 20 minutes until most of the liquids have boiled off.

I transfer the compote to a small bowl, and set into my fridge to <a href="/FK6MC4B6">chill </a>until service. I could have done this yesterday, too, and it will hold for a week or so. Clayton’s gonna try it as the jelly component of his PB&Js this week.

While my compote is <a href="/6CS5LN84">stewing,</a> I prep my pork. This lovely shoulder will be<a href="/XSQB5XPJ"> stuffed</a> with onion, rosemary, and<a href="/6L7QNTJV"> chopped</a> cherries — which will pick up the<a href="/PMQVQDJ8"> flavors</a> in the compote compliment later.

I dice 1/2 my white onion, <a href="/RSDQ7YW8">peel </a>some more sprigs of rosemary off the stem, and gather the rest of my <a href="/6L7QNTJV">chopped </a>cherries. After sprinkling the underside of my shoulder (into which I ended up<a href="/XZBDDD5G"> cutting</a> another pocket, to<a href="/XSQB5XPJ"> stuff</a> more<a href="/XSQB5XPJ"> stuff</a>) with<a href="/DPSVTKVY"> salt</a> and pepper (generously), I pack as much of my onions, rosemary, and cherries into the<a href="/8M4FMXQ6"> fold</a> as I<a href="/TPWNYF5L"> can</a> …

Before I <a href="/LTNN8R88">roll </a>up my shoulder and tie it off tightly into a bundle with butcher’s twine. Lots of my<a href="/XSQB5XPJ"> stuffing</a> falls out. But just enough stays in, too.

I sprinkle the outside of my <a href="/P5CFVDV7">roast </a>with <a href="/DPSVTKVY">salt </a>and pepper before laying my bundle on a rack set over a foiled over cookie sheet. This yummy pig packet goes into a 350 degree oven for the next 2.5 hours, and it fills the house with the most amazing aroma – sweet and succulent and meaty and fruity, oh my.

See? My pork is temping at 180 degrees (fully cooked), and my skin is<a href="/D434P8MH"> browned</a> and just beginning to crisp. To make it crisp even more, and to finish off th<a href="/P5CFVDV7">e roas</a>t, I raise the temp to 425 degrees, poke the surface all over with a fork (to release the underlayer of fat), and I stick this back in the oven. Here comes the cracklin’!

Next up is my hericot vert. I have two of these bean slicers, and they are wonderful. I’ve used them before, here, here, and here, fo<a href="/Z8TD4L63">r starter</a>s. I wanted to buy a few of these tools the other day, one each for my mom, my sister, my friend Tom, but the only place in town I know to get them — this lovely little kitch<a href="/36R8LV5G">en sto</a>re in Concord, MA, The Concord Shop – was sold out. On the other hand, I went to a Williams and Sonoma, thinking of course they’d have them, only to be rather superciliously put down by the clerk there (really? you’re a retail salesman in Tampa, Florida dude — you’re not in Paris), saying that he’d never heard of them. Humph. His loss — my table’s gain. You snip off the twig tip with the little blade at the end (which I s<a href="/XZBDDD5G">ort </a>of cut off in this picture, sorry), and then run the beans through — shaving the strings off — the vertical slicer to split each pod lengthwise.

See? Each bean<a href="/3JDX2Q84"> slices</a> into four long, thin strips. I drop them int<a href="/W7VKDJHH">o boilin</a><a href="/DPSVTKVY">g salte</a>d water to cook through to jus<a href="/3L3754DG">t tende</a>r, drain them, and…

For a few minutes, right before service, I sautee them with 1tbs butter and lemon z<a href="/VK4NCZQ8">est i</a>n my hot w<a href="/HHMRLM85">ok.</a>

But before that, I prep my confetti cauliflower. I love this<a href="/S6W4FR7F"> blend</a>: white, purple, green, and orange<a href="/JM3QSJPV"> florets</a>. I just don’t want thei<a href="/HT4RHHGB">r color</a>s to bleed,…

So I decide to segregate the white bits from the multi-colored bits. This I reject as a way of life among people — but for cauliflower, which will happily comingle later, both on my<a href="/ZJ3WDM5Q"> plate</a> and in my belly, this initial<a href="/WRFN6T6X"> separation</a> is OK. I set my bamboo steamers over hot water and cook m<a href="/JM3QSJPV">y floret</a>s through to easily pierced with a long-tined fork.

As it <a href="/WPFKW7GH">steams,</a> I get together its cheese sauce – a simple combination of finely diced onion, <a href="/QMX3H88P">shredded </a>Emmenthaler cheese, butter and <a href="/R3P5MM3Z">cream.</a>

Starting with 2tbs butter, which I m<a href="/64W3NS5R">elt i</a>n my large skillet…

I add my diced onions …

And sautee them until just softened and fragrant.

I add about a 1/2 tbs of flour to the just-slightly-turning-golden-brown butter and <a href="/GFSF4J5F">simmering </a>onions, and <a href="/7S3QCKWK">mix </a>well to form a scented <a href="/N4RS8DP7">roux.</a> I then add my heavy<a href="/R3P5MM3Z"> cream</a> (about 1 cup),<a href="/GV3SK283"> whisk</a> well over high<a href="/XZFHRHHF"> heat</a> to just<a href="/FZB4VFPV"> foaming</a>, before I add my…

<a href="/QMX3H88P">Shredded </a>Emmenthaler cheese.

I <a href="/GV3SK283">whisk </a>this vigorously so that it all <a href="/64W3NS5R">melts </a>together and it comes to a <a href="/LXP6HLBF">thickening </a>boil. I toss my white cauliflowe<a href="/JM3QSJPV">r floret</a>s with this sauce, the<a href="/4NXSJQ3D">n pres</a>s them into buttered ramekins which I place in my hot oven for about 10 minutes, reserving 1/4 of th<a href="/64W3NS5R">e melte</a>d cheese, with which I toss m<a href="/HT4RHHGB">y colore</a>d cauliflower. At the last moment, once my cheese sauce h<a href="/RNT367Z2">as bak</a>ed a<a href="/D434P8MH">nd brown</a>ed, I’ll stud t<a href="/R34ZSY3M">he to</a>ps of my casseroles with the purple, green, and oran<a href="/JM3QSJPV">ge flore</a>ts to set the who<a href="/QQVZX64Y">le di</a>sh awash wi<a href="/HT4RHHGB">th col</a>or.

My <a href="/P5CFVDV7">roast </a>is <a href="/3L3754DG">tender </a>and perfectly cooked, with the skin nicely charred and crispy from the last few minutes of <a href="/XZFHRHHF">heat.</a> I<a href="/ZLCWTPKL"> carve</a> into it, reveling in the thick veins of cherry rosemary running through its center.

Sweetly savory <a href="/3L3754DG">tender </a><a href="/P5CFVDV7">roasted </a>pork <a href="/7CGY8RP7">dressed </a>with cherry rhubarb compote and sprigs of rosemary, <a href="/Y6MVNCHX">served </a>alongside of nest of fresh citrusy green beans and an ethereal Emmenthaler <a href="/RNT367Z2">baked </a>cauliflower. The<a href="/HT4RHHGB"> colors</a> compete for my glances, and the<a href="/PMQVQDJ8"> flavors</a> compete for my<a href="/WDCS6JL5"> tastes</a>; the cherries are rich in the center of the pork and tart in the<a href="/LTSH5D6W"> crush</a> of rhubarb; the haricot vert are light and green while the Brassica oleracea is sensuous and<a href="/WPFKW7GH"> steaming</a>. This is a dinner of complicated delights – supper and sweet all packed onto on<a href="/ZJ3WDM5Q">e plat</a>e. Delicious!