Low-carb gratinated pork steak on green pepper and celery vegetables with porcini mushrooms and smoked onions

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 2 pork loin steaks, 200 g each
• 100g Camembert(s)
• 1 tsp oil for frying
• e.g. salt and pepper
• 3 bell peppers, green
• 3 stalk(s) Celery
• 3 garlic cloves
• 20 g dried porcini mushrooms
• 400 ml water for soaking
• 30 ml cream
• 2 tsp mustard, medium hot
• 2 tsp miso paste, light
• 2 tsp thyme, dried
• 2 tsp olive oil
• e.g. salt and pepper
• 1 onion(s), red
• 1 tsp flour
• ½ tsp smoked paprika powder
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 10 g butter

Instructions

Working time approx. 35 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 35 minutes

Rinse the dried porcini mushrooms and let them soak in the cold soaking water for at least 30 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and let them drain. Do not discard the soaking water, but filter it through a sieve lined with kitchen paper. Wash the bell peppers, remove the stems, seeds, and white inner pith, and cut into strips. Wash the celery and cut into thin pieces. Peel the garlic and press or finely chop. Peel the onion and cut into wedges. Slice the Camembert. Sauté the mushrooms in a pan in half the olive oil for about 2-3 minutes. Add the bell peppers, garlic, and celery with the remaining oil and sauté for about 4 minutes more. Deglaze with the filtered soaking water from the mushrooms. Add the thyme and mustard, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for about 12 minutes. Pour in the cream and stir in the miso paste until dissolved. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the vegetables and sauce in a baking dish. Preheat the oven to 200°C (top/bottom heat). Flatten the meat slightly if necessary, but it should still be about finger-thick. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the oil in a pan until very hot and sear the meat on one side for about 2 minutes. Immediately remove the meat from the pan and place it raw-side down on top of the vegetables in the baking dish. Cover the seared side of the meat with the Camembert slices. Bake the meat and vegetables on the middle rack of the preheated oven for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is nicely melted. Meanwhile, mix the flour and smoked paprika in a bowl and toss the onion wedges in it. Add the butter to the pan with the meat and let it foam briefly. Add the floured onion wedges and cook over low heat for about 4-5 minutes until crispy. Towards the end, add the pine nuts and roast them until they have taken on some color from the paprika. To serve, briefly lift the gratinated meat, divide the vegetables between the plates, and place the meat back on top. Garnish with the fried smoked onions and pine nuts. Notes: Do not flatten or slice the meat too thinly so it doesn’t dry out. Roasted on just one side, it has a lovely roasted flavor and the cheese on top won’t dry out in the oven. The other side will cook through on top of the vegetables and stay moist. Be sure to preheat the oven to ensure there is enough heat in the short time. It’s best to use Camembert with a high fat content; it melts faster and is creamier. If you don’t have a light miso paste, you can use soy sauce for the salt content in a pinch. This will make the sauce a little darker, however. This dish does not include any other side dishes. If you want to be really strict about carbohydrates, omit the flour from the onions or use a low-carb alternative. Green peppers match celery better in terms of color, but they also have a bit more bitterness than ripe red peppers.