This one may look a little like our recent Thai Curry Casserole when it comes out of the oven, but it is a completely different meal. With a combination of tangy, sweet, and savory that is perfect for pork, this recipe is easy to put together and doesn’t take very long to get ready (making it another good choice for a weeknight). And you should have enough left over, unless you’re feeding a large group, to enjoy for lunch (or a post-workout meal) the next day as well.
- 2-1/2 lbs bone-in pastured pork steaks (3 or 4 good sized steaks)
- 1 head endive, roughly chopped (not to be confused with Belgian endive)
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes
- 3 shallot bulbs, peeled and cut into thick slices
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp local raw honey
- 4~5 sprigs fresh sage, roughly chopped (about 3 tbsp)
- 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp EVOO
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over both sides of the pork steaks. Heat a large deep frying pan on medium-high heat on the range and add the olive oil. Cook the steaks until golden brown on one side only (3~5 minutes), then transfer to a plate. Meanwhile, roughly chop the endive, peel and cube the squash, slice up the shallots, and chop the sage. Combine the honey, broth, and vinegar in a small prep bowl and whisk to combine.
Pour 1/4 cup of the combined liquid into the frying pan and simmer for a moment before adding the squash, sage, shallots, and endive. Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes until the endive has wilted, turning with tongs every minute or so.
Transfer the mixture from the frying pan to a 13×9 baking dish, mixing things well and spreading evenly in the pan. Place in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until the squash is just tender (poke with a fork and if it still is a little resistant, that’s perfect). Remove from the oven and nestle the pork into the pan, browned side up, so it sits in the bottom of the pan. You’ll have to push the squash mixture to one side, get a steak situated into the pan, then push the squash mixture back over it while working the next steak into the pan, and so forth. With all of the steaks in the pan (and partly to fully covered with squash and other goodies), pour the remaining liquid over the top and sprinkle the walnuts over it all.
Place back into the oven and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes until the pork is cooked through and the squash mixture has started to turn golden brown. This will finish the squash to a perfect tenderness as well.
Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. To serve, separate the steaks and cut into smaller cutlets if necessary (our steaks were about 14 oz each, so I cut them each into two smaller steaks for serving). Dish up the squash mixture along side, and spoon a little of the liquid from the bottom of the baking pan over everything. Dig in!
Purely Primal 
Yum, that looks great! What a creative preparation. I call that type of greens escarole, don’t know if that’s accurate.
If I recall correctly, escarole is a broad(er)-leafed variety, but that can also depend on the region you live. I have also both simply referred to as chicory. Sort of like how “yams” in parts of the US are actually a variety of sweet potato rather than true yams, I guess.
You’re probably right. Either way they sound delicious!
This question is not really related to the recipe, per se, but what type of cookware do you use? It looks like stainless steel, but what is the brand name, in particular? I’ve admired it as I’ve read through several of your recipes.
Thanks!
Sharon
Most of our pots and pans are Calphalon Tri-Ply Stainless…with a couple of Calphalon One pans in the mix (our square griddle and one 10″ fry pan with lid). The stainless are nice, but can be a challenge at times to avoid sticking (you need to use LOTS of fat). At some point, I would like to go back to cast iron for the fry pans and griddle, but it’s hard storing them without turning everything black!
Thanks for the info. We do use cast iron, and we store them in our oven. Does make for a lot of shuffling around when baking, for sure. I find we have to use a lot of fat when cooking with them as well. The challenge for me is the weight issue for the larger pieces. I can’t pick them up and transfer items one-handed on to a plate. However, it sure is nice being able to transfer food from stove-top to oven.
~Sharon
The tri-ply and other heavier stainless pans can be put straight in the oven as well, but don’t have much less weight than most cast iron pans either. My preference is for well-seasoned cast iron (which will still need a bit of fat, but does better than stainless that never seasons) for cooking frying or sauteing, and to use stainless for sauces or things with more liquid.