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1
Place a rack in the center or upper third of the oven and preheat to 425.
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2
Slice the pork loin crosswise into six equal pieces.
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3
Trim fat if theres a lot, but leave a thin layer, for moisture and flavor.
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4
Nick the fat and skin around each cutlet so it wont twist and tighten the meat during cooking.
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5
Pound each piece with a mallet (or the flat bottom of a heavy pan) to tenderize and flatten to 1/2-inch thickness.
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6
Rinse and dry the tomato (or tomatoes).
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7
Cut out the core neatly and slice off this top 1/2 inch of each tomato, where the core was, and about 1/2 inch of the curving bottom.
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8
Cut these pieces into 1/2-inch chunks for the pan sauce.
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9
Now slice the center of the tomato into 1/2-inch-thick rounds.
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10
Repeat with the second tomato if necessary so you have one beautiful round to top each cutlet.
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11
Put the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in the skillet, and set over medium-low heat.
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12
Strew the sage leaves around the pan and cook them slowly for a minute or two as the butter melts and starts to sizzle.
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13
Salt the pork pieces, dredge them in the flour, then arrange all six in the pan.
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14
Cook for about 2 minutes, then turn them over and let them brown slowly while you make the gratinate and the sauce as follows:
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15
Pick out the cooked sage leaves and lay two on each cutlet.
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16
Season each with pinches of salt and grinds of fresh pepper.
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17
Place a thick tomato round on each cutlet and sprinkle with salt.
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18
Raise the heat, and drop in the remaining butter, in pieces.
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19
Spread the small chunks of tomatoes (and juices) in hot spots and let them start to cook for a minute.
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20
Pour in the 1/2 cup of wine and 1/2 cup of vegetable broth; shake the pan and raise the heat.
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21
Add more wine or water if the sauce level is too low.
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22
Finally, sprinkle 2 tablespoons or so of grated cheese on each cutlet.
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23
Follow the instructions in the main recipe for zucchini and chicken.
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24
One of the mistakes I see many cooks making is automatically reaching for a can of chicken broth whenever a recipe calls for a bit of stock or a sauce needs an additional 1/3 cup of liquid.
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25
But the strong flavors of a brothand the saltiness of canned broth in particularcan often change the flavor direction from where you want to go.
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26
And its an unnecessarily expensive and sometimes wasteful habit, if you only use a bit of the can and discard the rest.
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27
Instead, I encourage you to adopt one of my favorite thrifty kitchen practices: making your own simple vegetable broth when you are cooking, using it as a multi-purpose moistening agent for a host of dishes.
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28
All you need for this clean-flavored and cost-free liquid are a saucepan, a few cups of water, a cup or two of fresh vegetable pieces, and a few sprigs of herbs.
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29
Just rinse off all the flavorful trimmings from vegetables you are prepping, and throw them in the pot with water to cover by an inch or two, with a bit of salt and maybe a dash of olive oil.
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30
Cook 1/2 hour or more, until the liquid is reduced by a third and the flavor is extracted, then strain and use in sauces, roasts, a gratinate, or to steam vegetables.
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31
Put the remainder in the refrigerator or freezer so its there when you want itand you wont need that can of stock.
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32
Any combination of the following will give you a good broth:
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33
Chunks of onion, with peel
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34
Trimmed leaves of leek or scallion, cut up
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35
Chunks or peelings of carrot
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36
Chunks or peelings of celery
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37
2 or 3 cloves of garlic with peel, smashed
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38
Several sprigs and stems of parsley
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39
Stalks and leaves of basil, oregano, marjoram, sage, or other herbs
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40
Optional flavor enhancers:
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41
Pinch of peperoncino
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42
Strips of lemon peel
