• Recipes
• Second course
• Pork second courses
• Balsamic glazed pork with grains and greens

When you don't have a lot of money to spend on a meal - to make something a feast, you need to put in some more time. This meal is cheap but it requires an investment of time to make it a feast! As an omnivore, I have a hard time imagining a true feast without a meat element. Pork shoulder is one of the most inexpensive delicious cuts of meat and fits the bill of a cheap feast perfectly. Another important way we can all save money and improve our health and our environment is to rethink the role of meat in our meals. Meat is delicious but it doesn't need to occupy most of our plates. Make it perfect and let it shine as a co-star along side some delicious greens and grains. I love the way Suzanne Goin takes a beautifully cooked protein and nestles it into a bed of vegetables and grains. And that is a perfect technique to serve a cheap feast. My pork shoulder is glazed with a sweet-tangy balsamic glaze. To counter that sweetness I wanted a nice bitter green - here, broccoli rabe that is tamed slightly with some garlic and nestled into a bed of toasty farro. I get my farro in the bulk bins so it is pretty cheap - but to make it even more economical, I mixed the farro with some long grain brown rice. Cheaper and a beautiful textural contrast. Into the grains are little studs of balsamic beets and on top is some crunchy toasted walnuts. Not counting pantry staples (olive oil, balsamic, bay leaves, salt, pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes, sugar, brown sugar) this feast worked out to a little over $5 per person. Not too shabby. This dish has a lot of components but you can make most of them ahead of time - another good thing for a feast.

Oct. 1, 2021, 11:48 a.m.

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