This Ain't No Bangers and Mash

I've owned this Jamie Oliver cookbook, Jamie's Kitchen, for a good six months now. Since my purchase, it's been perched upon my countertop just looking pretty. I've skimmed the recipes a few times and thought that the vast majority of them were either too complicated or the ingredients too obscure. I decided that this weekend, I would give Jamie a second chance.

I once again skimmed the book, flipping past all the haddock, cod and lamb recipes, only to stumble upon something that seemed easy and relatively straight forward: Pork Cutlets with Asparagus. What I liked most about this recipe was using a griddle rather than the grill. Stored deep in a crowded cabinet and only pulled out for pancakes, our griddle is rarely used, so it was a nice change of pace.

I spread a mixture of thyme, garlic and olive oil over the pork cutlets and then pounded them to about a quarter inch thickness. I got the griddle nice and hot and quickly seared the asparagus, squash and zucchini with a little olive oil, then did the same thing with the cutlets.

After the squash, zucchini, asparagus and cutlets were all cooked, I tossed everything in a white wine and mint vinaigrette, garnished it with feta and fresh mint leaves, and voila - dinner was served.

Eric and I didn't even bother with our own plates, we just ate right off the serving platter. The flavors were all so bright and fresh - the crisp mint flavor, the salty feta and the lemony thyme on the cutlets all went so well together. The recipe is also a versatile one - I think any kind of meat could be used, and you could certainly substitute the vegetables. So I must say I was very pleased with Jamie's recipe, and I regret not diving into the cookbook sooner.