This is the perfect recipe to get us into the mood for summer! Mojo verde is a fresh zesty green sauce usually served with roasted vegetables or seafood in and around southern Spain, it pairs well with the crispy clams in this recipe and compliments the rich flavour of Iberico pork. We served ours with some rosemary and garlic goat’s cheese fritters and an ice cold beer – also worked well with a watermelon and rose sangria! Enjoy in the sunshine in the garden!
Ingredients (Serves 2)
- 2 Iberico Pork Chops
- 6 small slices of Morcilla (a Spanish blood sausage, you can also use black pudding)
- 6 small slices of Chorizo
- Large handful of baby spinach
- Small knob of butter
- Lemon wedges to garnish and squeeze over
For the Clams:
- 200g fresh or brined clams
- Vegetable oil (for frying the clams)
- 1 egg white, whisked
- 2 tbsp cornflour
For the Mojo Verde (Green Sauce):
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 large handfuls of fresh coriander
- A good pinch of ground cumin
- A good pinch of freshly ground salt and black peppercorns
- Healthy glug of Extra Virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1 lime
- Generous splash of sherry vinegar
Method
- Start by making the Mojo Verde, this is a very rustic sauce so don’t be too stressed about making it perfect, chop all the ingredients up and blitz all the ingredients. There are no rules so you can add or takeaway ingredients if you prefer a sharp and zesty dressing.
- Next move onto to the clams, we used a combination of lightly whisked egg white and corn flour to make the crispy batter in a small bowl. We used brined clams for this recipe which can be bought in jars and make the whole process a lot easier, but you can also use fresh and order in from Cranleigh Fish to be delivered to the butchery!
- Pre heat your griddle pan and season the pork chop. Ideally you are looking for a heavy crust on the chop with loads of colour. Iberico is a dense meat and the marbling will take a little longer to render than usual, we cooked ours for 6 mins each side and left to rest for the same time.
- Whilst the pork is cooking, dip the clams into the batter then drop them into the hot oil and crisp for around 2 mins. Again, don’t be too worried about times here, trust your instincts and look for a golden brown colour. Once crisp, remove and drain on some kitchen towel, season with a pinch of sea salt, a dusting of smoked paprika and a good squeeze of fresh lemon.
- After resting the pork chop, drop the chorizo and Morcilla slices into the same pan and move around catching the edges until the oils begin to ooze into the pan, which indicates they are now ready.
- Last but not least, quickly sauté the spinach in a ferociously hot pan with a match box sized knob of butter, this will cook quickly and wilt down, don’t take your eye off the pan!
- To serve, place the steaming hot spinach on the plate, pop the Pork chop on top and spoon over a mix of crispy clams, Morcilla and chorizo. Dress with some Mojo Verde and enjoy!