Lettuce Wraps with Curried Coconut Rice, Grilled Pork Tenderloin, and Savory Chocolate Sauce

Creator: Gary Exner, Colorado
Servings: about 18
Adventure Ingredients: Curry, Pomegranate, Sea Salt

For the rice:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely diced white onion
• 1 finely diced red Fresno pepper
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1 tablespoon World Spice Pakistani or Caribbean curry powder*
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
• 1 14-ounce can low sodium chicken stock

* Take the time to seek out a high quality curry powder from companies like World Spice Merchants (www.worldspice.com) or Penzeys (www.penzeys.com). You’re using the best quality chocolate, so seek out and use the best quality spices.

For the pork:

• 2 pork tenderloins (about 1 to 1½ pounds each)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to season the pork

For the chocolate sauce:

• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate juice
• 2 oz Scharffen Berger® 70% Cacao Bittersweet Dark Chocolate
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup water

For the lettuce and garnish:

• 1 head Boston or other soft lettuce separated into leaves
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 2 Fresno peppers, julienned
• 1 bunch cilantro, stems removed

Rice:

Heat olive oil in a two-quart covered saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and Fresno pepper and sauté 1 to 2 minutes until onion is fragrant. Stir in rice and sauté until rice is slightly translucent. Add curry powder, cayenne and salt. Stir for another minute or two until spices are slightly toasted and very fragrant. Add coconut milk and stock. Stir to combine, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer covered for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed.

Pork:

Rub tenderloins with olive oil, season as desired with salt and pepper. Grill until internal temperature is somewhere between 145 and 150 degrees (at this temperature, the pork will be slightly pink in the center). Cover and let rest 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Chocolate Sauce:

Heat the vinegar and pomegranate juice in a small (8-inch) nonstick frying pan over medium-low heat. When hot, add chocolate and butter and stir until melted. Add salt, pepper and water. Stir to combine and hold over very low heat until ready to serve. Thin with additional water if needed prior to serving.

Presentation:

Arrange lettuce leaves, carrots, peppers and cilantro on a large platter; arrange thinly sliced pork on a plate; place curried rice into a medium-sized bowl and pour chocolate sauce into a small bowl. To assemble, place rice, pork and garnishes in a lettuce leaf. Drizzle with chocolate sauce and roll up burrito style.

This dish can also be served as an entrée, for 6 to 8 people.