Rustic "Wedding" Marinated Pork Salad with Onions

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make this rustic "wedding" salad? Gather all your ingredients. Choose lean, boneless pork without sinew. If the meat is frozen, thaw it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator — never in warm water or the microwave, which would ruin its texture and flavor.

2. Step 2:

   

   Pour water into a pot and add the pork (washed in cold water). Bring to a boil over medium heat and add a little salt. Lower the heat and simmer 35–40 minutes, skimming off the foam. The meat should be cooked through but still firm — don't overcook it, or it won't slice cleanly. Cool it in the broth, or put it in a bag, tie it off, and let it cool completely so it doesn't dry out. Cut it into strips about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick.

3. Step 3:

   

   Put the sliced meat in a bowl and add the onion, cut into thin rings.

4. Step 4:

   

   For the marinade, combine the cold boiled water and vinegar, then add the sugar. Use any vinegar you like; I prefer grape (wine) vinegar.

5. Step 5:

   

   Add the salt to the marinade. Use coarse salt — it's easy to over-salt with fine salt.

6. Step 6:

   

   Pour the vegetable oil into the marinade. It should be refined oil, or it will overpower the other flavors; plain or olive oil both work well. Add a little chili pepper if you like.

7. Step 7:

   

   Pour the marinade over the meat and onion and mix. Cover and refrigerate for 10 hours, stirring occasionally.

8. Step 8:

   

   Chop the parsley and stir it in. You could add it at the start of marinating, but the herbs won't look as fresh, so I prefer to add it just before serving. Transfer the salad to a plate and garnish. Plain onion rings are typical, but they'd make the salad look a bit drab — so I topped mine with red onion rings and a few cranberries, which complemented it beautifully.

9. Step 9:

   

   Enjoy!