Tuscan Pork Chops w/Mushrooms & Polenta...Grazie

Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Polenta
A very typical Tuscan winter recipe!
Ingredients for two people:
- 2 pork chops
- 200 grams of tomato pulp
- 40 grams of dried mushrooms
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- half liter of red wine
- 2 cloves
- 2 juniper berries
- 1 tps of pink and black pepper
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Prepare the marinade the night before to flavor the meat. Use a glass container where the meat will result completely covered by the wine. Arrange the spices and the meat alternating layers, then cover with red wine. Seal with cover or plastic film then set to rest in the refrigerator overnight. The following day soak the mushrooms in warm water, then wash and chop the onion and carrot and set them in a large pan with oil to stir fry them over low heat. Now remove the pork chops from the marinade then drain them and beat the meat to soften it. Set the pork chops in the pan with the onion and carrot and brown on both sides to close the meat pores and prevent the juices to come out while cooking. Now add the tomato pulp and mix in, then add the filtered marinade. Cover and cook over very low heat for a couple of hours, turning the meat a couple of times. When the sauce has thickened, add the dried mushrooms and cook for another ten minutes. Season with salt and serve hot with a side dish of polenta (corn meal) with beans.
Polenta with Beans Recipe
- 500 grams of corn meal
- 1 pinch of salt
- 5 liters of water
- 300 grams of cooked beans
- one glass of milk
In a large pot, preferably of copper, boil the water. The doses are important, to determine the consistency of polenta. As soon as the water boils, add the salt and wait until it returns to a rolling boil. Add the corn meal vigorously beating the water with a large whisk to avoid lumps, then continue to stir, first with the whisk, then with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes until the water stops splashing. Now you only need patience and a good cooking glove to stir always in the same direction at a steady pace for another 45 minutes. The right consistency will be reached once you see that a small crust of corn meal forms on the rim of the pot and polenta tends to fall detach from the sides. 10 minutes before the end of cooking add the cooked and drained kidney beans, stirring gently. Softened the polenta with hot milk, where you have previously dissolved the salt and serve. A tip for cleaning the pan easily is to put set it below a stream of very cold water as soon as you are done emptying it. The thermal shock will detach the polenta crusts immediately.