dandelion greens & pork saltimbocca

It was a long weekend. TCU football (GO FROGS!) all day on Saturday with a trip to the bar afterwards left me in a zombie-like state come Sunday. Even a two hour nap didn't do much for my energy level. But, like any good Sunday, I wanted to cook. And this Sunday was no exception. I was craving something light but still satisfying... I needed something to counterbalance the late night supreme pizza and $4 Andre (I love college).

After looking through Seven Fires, Francis Mallman's book and several blogs, I finally made a tasty but still light menu. Francis Mallman's book is full of delicious, rustic and creative food. It's all typically cooked outdoors on an incredible grill, but I live in an apartment, so a hot skillet had to suffice, and it sure did!

I used his recipe for pork saltimbocca. Cool fact! Saltimbocca literally means "jumps in your mouth," which suits the dish quite nicely. There's only a few ingredients, and it's packed full of flavor. I paired it with a light salad filled with dandelion greens, arugula, fennel bulb, pine nuts, parmesan and a lemon vinaigrette. It hit the spot and definitely counterbalanced that late night feast.

Vinaigrette

• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
• S&P

Mix the lemon juice with the parsley, slowly whisk in the olive oil to emulsify. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Salad, serves 4 as a side salad

• 2 handfuls of dandelion greens
• 2 handfuls of arugula
• 1/2 bulb of fennel, cored & thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp pine nuts
• parmesan shavings

Toss the salad with the lemon vinaigrette.

Pork Saltimbocca, serves 4

• 4   3/4" thick slices pork loin
• 4 slices of prosciutto
• 8 fresh sage leaves
• S&P

Season both sides with salt and pepper, don't go too heavily because the prosciutto is very salty. Top each pork slice with two sage leaves and place a piece of prosciutto on top. Wrap the edges around the pork. In a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat, cook the pork until the the prosciutto starts crisping. Flip and cook on medium high for another 3-5 minutes until the prosciutto is crispy, lower the heat to medium and cook for another 5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F. Remove from skillet, tent with foil and let rest for 10 minutes.