Grilled Pork Chops

With Billy Brandolini

Now that you will be grilling it is time to expand your repertoire. What makes this recipe so special may be the side dish, which is roasted linguica and fingerling potatoes with shallots and flavored with smoked paprika.

Of course when you grill pork chops you want to start the grilling for a minute over the high heat, just until you get your good grill markings. After this, move the chop to the side and allow it to cook more slowly over indirect heat. If you keep it on the high heat it will burn and dry out.

Linguica is often just called Portuguese sausage. It is highly spiced and is made with pork, garlic, onion and spices such as paprika. It is also known as linguica or linguisa. The sausage has a mildly spicy flavor created by a smoking process which makes the sausage flavorful and tender. The main ingredient of linguiça is pork butt, which is cut into pieces and mixed with spices. Pork butt is more lean, resulting in a sausage with a meaty flavor. Common spices in linguiça include oregano, paprika, garlic, pepper, and cumin.

Ingredients

4 pork chops
1 package Gaspars Linguica – sliced widthwise into ¼ in rounds
2 cups fingerling potatoes- sliced widthwise into ¼ inch rounds
1 shallot- diced
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
1. Season pork chops with olive oil, 1 table spoon of smoked paprika and salt and pepper to taste and grill to desired temperature.
2. Toss potatoes, Linguica, diced shallot and 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika in a bowl with desired amount of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Place the ingredients on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes or until fingerlings become fully cooked.
4. Preheat grill to medium high heat. Grill the Pork for on each side until reached desired temperature.

Serve out equal portions of the Linguica roasted fingerlings and serve with grilled pork chop.

Recipe courtesy of Billy Brandolini, Ceia Kitchen & Bar, 2011.

Ceia?s top chef hails from Haverhill Massachusetts where he grew up in a family that has spawned more than one successful executive chef. ?Chef Brando? as he is called, trained at Le Cordon Bleu, the internationally prestigious culinary arts program, before ambitiously beginning his career under the personal tutelage of famed French transplant Chef Jean-Pierre at Riviera Restaurant. Ceia is not his first turn at a popular Newburyport eatery, having been Sous Chef at Ten Center Street where his culinary talent and innovation caught the attention of then manager cum Ceia restaurateur, Nancy Batista-Caswell. Most recently he cooked alongside his brother at Seaglass Restaurant in Salisbury. Already the culinary versatility and creativity of Chef Brando has received an impressive wave of published praised by veteran restaurant critics, foodie bloggers and the dining citizenry. A People?s Best Chef nod and event bookings are keeping him busy amidst creating standout seasonal menus that rotate every two months. From his spectacular Banana Brule with Clove Meringue to his delicate handmade pastas like the free-formed Agnolini with Lobster, Spring Peas and Quail Yolk Bearnaise, each day presents a new fresh sustainable seafood catch, neighboring farms organic harvests, local cheeses and all natural meats. These are the colors of Chef Brando?s culinary palette-- authentic foods prepared with worldly flair, so that every bite you enjoy is reminiscent of a memorable vacation meal or treasured generational family recipe. A passionate naturist, Chef Brando?s commitment to replenishing land ensures that anything you didn't finish goes back to nourish local farmland. Don?t expect Chef Brando to hide in our kitchen. He likes to be the host of the party and at Ceia you are his guest. It will not be uncommon for him to arrive to your table to join briefly in your discussion, answer any questions about your menu selection or to tell you about upcoming Ceia events he?s planning. He understands how important fabulous restaurants are to Newburyport?s appeal as a vibrant New England tourist destination and bi-state business community and has already begun to accept invitations to Boston-area charity and food events.