Gratinated pork steaks on celery and onion vegetables in fennel and pear sauce with raisin and cinnamon bulgur

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 280 g pork loin steak(s)
• 80 g blue cheese, spicy
• 15 g almond sticks
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp oil for frying
• 200 g celery
• 160 g onion(s), red
• 1 pear(s), very ripe and soft
• 250 ml vegetable stock
• 50 ml dry white wine
• 2 tsp fennel seeds, ground
• Butter for frying
• salt and pepper
• 100 g bulgur
• 240 ml water
• 30 g raisins
• ½ tsp, crushed cinnamon powder
• Salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

Wash the celery and slice thinly. Peel and dice the onions. Carefully peel the ripe, soft pear, remove the core, and cut the flesh into small pieces. Slice the blue cheese. Heat butter in a pan and sauté the celery and onions for about 4 minutes. Add the pear pieces and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Deglaze with white wine and top up with vegetable stock. Simmer over medium to high heat for about 10 minutes, crushing any remaining pear pieces towards the end so that the pear puree creates a creamy sauce. Only now add the ground fennel seeds to preserve their flavor. Finally, season the vegetables with pepper and salt, if desired. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C (fan oven). Lightly toast the almond slivers in a dry pan over medium heat. While the almonds are roasting, flatten the meat a little if necessary. It shouldn’t be too thin, otherwise it will be too dry. Season the steaks generously on both sides with pepper and salt as usual. Remove the almonds from the pan and set aside. Heat the oil in a pan and brown the steaks on one side over high heat for about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Leave the other side of the meat raw for now. Spread the vegetables in a baking dish and place the steaks raw-side down on top of the vegetables. Place the blue cheese on the cooked side. Bake everything in a 200°C fan oven for about 10 minutes, until the cheese melts nicely. While the meat is baking, bring the water for the bulgur to a boil along with the raisins, cinnamon, and salt. Sprinkle in the bulgur and, with the lid on, let it swell over low heat according to the package instructions. When serving, lift the meat off the vegetables and arrange the vegetables on a plate. Add the meat back on top and sprinkle with the toasted almonds. Serve with the bulgur. Note: The meat will cook thoroughly in the oven on top of the vegetables, but will still be moist and will have roasted flavors from the roasted side. Tips: The pear should be very ripe and soft, otherwise it won’t fall apart in the oven. If you don’t have pears that soft, you can puree the flesh before adding it to the vegetables, or use canned pears and add a little white wine vinegar if necessary, as canned pears are usually sweetened. You should preheat the oven, otherwise the short time specified won’t be enough to melt the cheese and cook the meat through. The vegetables will still have a slight crunch at the end. If you want them softer, cook them in the pan a little longer beforehand and add a little more stock so the sauce doesn’t overcook.