Grilled veggies, millet, greens, cocoa chili dressing

May 22, 2015 By in dinner, Vegetables, summer, Main: Pork Tags: , , , , , , , 96 Comments

Grilled red peppers, yellow squash, zucchini and pork shoulder chops on a bed of greens and millet is topped with a dressing concocted of olive oil, grilled red pepper, cocoa powder,worcester sauce, honey and a dash of lemon. You can add as much heat as desired. This recipe is based on the one I found in the June issue of Yoga Journal (a favorite of mine) and I think it’s a great one for this holiday weekend.

summer veggies, cocoa chili dressing-6I think it would be just as lovely as it was written in Yoga Journal with grilled corn, black beans and a mesclun mix. But I opted for pork (just bought a LOT of local pork) and our garden greens which at the moment are tender young kale and spinach. I made the millet the night before and warmed it up with some broth- a little water and salt would do just fine.

summer veggies, cocoa chili dressing-3These shoulder chops are big and meaty so I only grilled two and cut them in strips to cut down on the meat portion (sorry Ollie). I used this very flavorful Mesquite smoked salt, from Saltworks in Seattle, that I love and yes do sell at Chez Chloe. It’s not online at my store yet so call if you want some and I’ll hook you up!

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I drizzled a little olive oil onto the chops and sprinkled with the El Dorado, the mesquite smoked salt, on both sides. I grilled the chops at about 400° on our gas grill. The veggies were tossed as well with a little olive oil and Saltworks fine Himalayan pink salt.
summer veggies, cocoa chili dressing I work hard at temp control and ideally go for marks without scorching. Who doesn’t right?summer veggies, cocoa chili dressing-2The dressing (check out link to Yoga Journal) is a blend of a little water,  ½ cup of skinned, just roasted red pepper, honey, worcester sauce, unsweetened cocoa powder, mild pepper and cayenne if desired… I used ½ dried chili pepper from last year’s garden. What I felt the dressing needed was a little pick me up. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice brightened it up with a dash of salt. My dried pepper was also one spicy little bitch. Enough that when I took the top off it in the afternoon and proceeded to touch my lips, they burned for a good while. It took me about a half hour to put two and two together. Like the after burn of stinging nettles.
summer veggies, cocoa chili dressing-6
I piled on the greens and dressed them with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon. Topped it with seasoned millet, added the veggies and pork, topped with the chili dressing and garnished with a little cilantro that happened to be in the fridge. Avocado would be a nice addition as well.
So while I do think it is a wee bit early in this neck of the woods here in Western WA to be pulling summer vegetables from your own garden, they are pretty readily available and I think it would be a great dish for this holiday weekend. Hence, my haste in actually writing two posts in one week:)
 Have a lovely long weekend and be sure to share time and good food with great friends!

96 responses

  5. We’ve cut way back on meat and increased the veg too. it just seems like the right thing to do. I would be VERY happy with this dish and that dressing sounds wonderful!

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  12. Reblogged this on Tana Daily Telegraph and commented:
    Certainly, you can’t go wrong with pork shoulders. It’s my preferred meat when I think of grilling. Mostly because it’s white meat as opposed to red meat. And your choice of veggies is just as remarkable. Thanks for sharing this recipe; a good day to try it out, indeed.

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  20. This dish sounds amazing “pork shoulder chop” not a cut I have very often at all Especially a chop like this… normally I would just braise the whole shoulder and shred the meat down like this dish tho

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  22. Wow!! This meal made me drool. Not only is the presentation lovely, but the ingredients look very healthy and satisfying. I love how easy it looks to make and I can’t wait to try this! Thank you for sharing 🙂

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  35. Oh yum. Great post- I’m going to try this next week! My spinach and arugula is growing nicely and I think this is a perfect recipe to have them in. I also have lots of pork and some millet that I haven’t tried yet! This recipe sings to me 😉

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  60. This is so good.. healthy and fast to prepare.. Suitable for student who wanna have healthy food prepared at short period of time with less complicating ingredients. 🙂

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  79. Reblogged this on My Happy Place and commented:
    Yum sure looks good. I wish I could grill (I have some friends that ROCK at grilling) but sadly I stink at grilling AND I live on the third floor in an apartment complex with no public grills or areas to grill. Sad times!

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  92. So inspired! I tried planting strawberries but didn’t plan too well not to mention the excruciating heat. Maybe I should convince landlord to turn the flower bed into vegetable bed. You make me want to grow

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  93. YUM. Just yum. I have to try this dressing, I never would’ve thought to make a cocoa chilli mix (though it does make perfect sense, as I’ve added cocoa/chocolate to mole and to chili con carne on a number of occasions). Yay for local pork too 😉

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