Pork cheeks with miso – shiitake velouté

A luxurious Sunday lunch recipe full of umami flavors. Many thanks to Martin Baránek from the Entrée restaurant in Olomouc for this amazing dish.

Roasted Pork Cheeks

Ingredients:

• Pork cheeks – 2 kg
• Onion – 0.5 kg
• Garlic – 50 g
• Thyme – 4 g
• Ginger – 60 g
• Dried shiitake – 50 g
• Ground nutmeg – 2 g
• Ground black pepper – 1 g
• Sugar – 5 g
• Salt – 10 g
• White port wine – 300 ml
• Pea tamari – 100 ml
• Water – 500 ml

Method:

1. Clean the pork cheeks and set the trimmings aside
2. Season the cleaned cheeks with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg
3. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes
4. Preheat the oven to 260°C and roast the cheeks for about 15 minutes to brown
5. Brown the trimmings in the same way, but keep them separate from the main cheeks
6. In a pot, sauté halved onions and roughly chopped ginger in oil until golden brown
7. Set aside the browned onion and ginger
8. In the same pot, pour in the port wine and reduce to a glaze
9. Add thyme, dried shiitake, sugar, tamari, and 500 ml of water and bring to a boil
10. In a roasting pan, place the browned trimmings, onion, and ginger on one side and pour over the glaze. Place the browned cheeks on the other side. Keep them separate to avoid fishing them out of the pan later.
11. Roast in the oven using a steam/roast combination at 140°C for 3 hours in a covered roasting dish
12. You can use foil to help steam the cheeks and prevent the sauce from evaporating
13. Once done, set the cheeks aside and keep the juices and trimmings for finishing the sauce

Miso–Shiitake Velouté

Ingredients:

• Onion – 0.5 kg
• Butter – 100 g
• Heavy cream (31%) – 0.3 l
• Miso (choose your favorite) – 80 g
• Water – 1 l
• Roasting juices from the cheeks

Method:

• Sauté the onion in butter until golden brown
• Add the reserved roasting juices and 1 liter of water
• Let it simmer slowly for about an hour
• Strain the liquid — you should have 1 liter. If not, reduce further
• Add miso and cream to the reduction and blend until smooth
• Strain again

Serve with roasted Jerusalem artichokes and mushrooms.

For a top-notch finish, don’t hesitate to drizzle with truffle oil or hazelnut oil.

Enjoy!