This really is simplicity at it’s best. I cannot take complete credit for this one however. Dani and I were watching TV one night, and the British version of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares comes on. I hope I don’t loose some readers here, but this is SO much better than his new US version. The US version is more about drama, spending money, and shock tactics. Don’t get me wrong, the UK version is borderline over-dramatic in places, but it is still based around Ramsay and his simple food principles. Somewhat like the difference between the UK and US versions of “The Office”. The US version is bigger budget, more produced, not as real – and just plain not as funny. Ramsay’s principles from restaurant to restaurant really don’t change. He takes either a menu with far too many items on, over-complicated food, or bad service, and just simplifies things. Most menu’s are slashed in half. The food is simplified. The service is worked on – people sharpen up. Typically he makes places focus on clean, simple local ingredients. The result is always far better food, increased profits (apparently), and low and behold Ramsay has saved the day. What I like about this bloke is his passion for simple clean local food. He really instills passion in people about quality food, and that is a really good thing.

So he was working with a bunch of over the top French chef’s in Scotland. The menu wasn’t long, but the dishes were really over the top. Main courses often had 12 different things on the plate, which really is pretty crazy. The guys could cook, they really could, but it was over-complicated food, especially for the locals that visited the place (and if you ask me, 12 things on a plate is well over the top). So, what did he do? He trimmed down the food. He made the Frenches concentrate on local ingredients, with simple flavors. And the food looked so much better. The head chef wanted awards, and this food would have done it. Shame when an ex Michelin star  judge visited to give his views, the head chef had put some of his over complicated food on the menu. Anyhow. One of the dishes that Ramsay put on the menu there was pork belly, kale, with a caramelized onion puree. Obviously, no menu was given on the show, but I thought I would have a go myself.

First was a big substiiute.. Pork tenderloin for pork belly. This was really just because I couldn’t get to a farmers market to buy some pork belly. Pork belly is great – very fatty, but great. You don’t need a lot, and typically it is a cheap cut of meat. Cooked right, it can be a real decadent treat though. I cut the tenderloin into medallions, and just simply pan-fried those in some olive oil. The toughest thing to make here is the onion puree – and well, my version here really isn’t too hard! Details are below

 Pork Tenderloin, Kale, Caramelized Onion puree

1lb of pork tenderlion

1 head of kale

1 large onion

1 clove of garlic

1 sprig of thyme

2 glasses of dry white wine

1 cup of chicken stock

butter (grass fed, organic)

olive oil

Start by peeling and slicing the onion into medium slices. In a medium sized pan (stainless steel if you have it) over a medium heat slowly cook the onion in a little olive oil. If the pan dries up, add a little more oil. When it is just starting to brown, add the garlic. Cook this until the onion is a great rich brown color. We don’t want to burn it, just go a really rich brown. Remove the leaves from the sprig of tyme, and throw in with the onion. Add 1 glass of white wine, and crank up the heat. Let this cook down, until about half the wine is reduced, and the alcohol smell is removed. Pour this into a food processor, and process until smooth. Put this into a small saucepan, and pour in the next glass of wine, and a little chicken stock. Crank up the heat, and get this boiling. Again, let the alcohol smell go. All we are doing here is adding a bit more liquid to the onion, to make it a little thinner. Now pass this through a fine sieve. Put this back into the small saucepan (clean out the saucepan first), and keep this warm over a low heat.

Slice up the kale into thin strips. Trim the pork tenderloin of fat, and cut this acrossways into 2″ slices. In a stainless (or anodized) pan add a little oil, and get it hot. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of your tenderloin medallions. Put these flat side down into the hot pan. You are going to want to cook these about 4 minutes a side. After 4 minutes, flip the meat to cook the other side. Not sure if it is cooked? Cut into one, you want pretty much all of the pink color just gone from the center of the meat. Be careful not to overcook – pork gets really tough when it is overcooked. When the pork is cooked, remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

In the pan in which you caramelized the onions, add a little hot water, and put it over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the kale, and cook this until wilted and slightly soft – about 5 minutes.

When the kale is done, place half the kale on a plate, and top with half the tenderloin. Strain the onion sauce through an extra-fine sieve, to completely remove any solids. Pour this around the kale and pork tenderloin.

The onion puree is really great, it has a really rich, warm onion flavor. If I didn’t nab the idea of this from Ramsay, I would definitely be adding it to the book!