Simple Sweet Rosemary Rubbed Pork

(so simple, it only needs one photograph)

Laura: an epic introduction Part 2.

Taste (like everything in a post-modern world) is really (really) subjective. When you consume a lot of food media, like Jessica and I, you need a filter to unconsciously sort all those lovely, tasty descriptors. Some words make me immediately salivate: creamy, crisp, browning, garlic-y, smokey, pulled, spice, butter, salty-sweet, braised butter and buttery will sell me before my eyes hit the actual ingredient list. Other 'headline' grabbers, well, aren't too exciting. Herbs for instance. Before I tried this Porkchop recipe I never completely bought into the 'few fresh ingredients = life-altering taste'. Usually such recipes demand a specific ingredient, market-fresh, in season, organic, and well expensive or else IT WILL NOT WORK, DON'T EVEN TRY, GO AWAY.

Now, I love the market as much as any other Western-middle-creative-class gal but fuck folks, I need to eat seven days a week. In my 'local area' Sainsbury's is posh (and even then it will run out of such things as lettuce on a regular basis). I rent an ill-equipped shared kitchen in a foreign country with a poor culinary heritage. I do not have proper anything. I need my recipes to work hard and deliver when conditions are not perfect.

(Ok so London may not be Ethiopia, but it took me four hours to find pretzels last weekend - I am only exaggerating a little bit).

Right, where were we? Oh yes. Rosemary Pork. Now you get your rosemary, pork, brown sugar, salt. Mush those things together. Grill. That is the recipe. There. I mean I will write it out with steps and things later on but that's it. Let it marinate overnight for a treat, but if you just got home from work and need something nownownow go for it. This dish is hard to make disappointing.

And the flavours? Simple, delicate and ridiculously ridiculously delicious. The sugar and salt form an addictive briney-sweet crust while the rosemary gives the whole bite a garden-fresh hit of herbs. While this fresh dish is perfect for a summer grill, its lack of truly seasonal ingredients means it brings a little backyard sunshine to the darkest winter days (unlike say, a tomato dish that just reminds you how good life is in July).

Sweet Rosemary Rub Pork
(adapted from thekitchn... I like more of a 'crust' on my chops so I doubled their rub. Feel free to adjust to your taste).

- 4 pork steaks

- 2 teaspoons olive oil for the pan
- 2 tablespoon rosemary
- 
2 tablespoon brown sugar

- 3 teaspoons salt

- 1.5 teaspoon pepper
- 
0.5 teaspoon cumin

Mix herbs/spices in a small separate bowl before rubbing into the pork. Let the pork sit in the rub for as long as you can stand it (overnight if you are organized). If you've left it in the fridge, take the pork out and let it warm up a piece. Cold meat + hot grill will make your dinner curl up and cook unevenly (servicey!).

Grill or cook on a grill-pan for 5 minutes a side, until cooked. Let the pork rest under foil for a few minutes then serve with pan juices or anything else that will give your pork a bit of loving.