Members’ Journal
A Tuscan Pork Platter Steals the Spotlight
Mary’s Blue Hour Bistro
Published
Rich tomato-olive pork, sweet-edged roasted cabbage and an inspired blue cheese substitution turned a simple dinner into a Mediterranean-style feast.
Note from Mary: This dinner was spectacular — and a surprise. I had a pound of roasted pork loin I had cooked two days before. So we were having leftovers, right? Wrong!! This dish, served ostentatiously on a platter, was rich, delicious, and stunning. Humble cabbage and humble leftover pork, paired with rich blue cheese yogurt sauce and subtly spiced tomato sauce with olives — somehow, this platter became greater than the sum of its parts. I can't wait to make this for company.
Emboldened by our success, we dared to get out the ice cream maker and make this strawberry gelato custard I had prepped earlier in the day. It was sweetener-free so I didn't know how it would turn out. But it was wonderful!
Here's how Big Daddy describes the evening:
At Mary’s Blue Hour Bistro, a pound of roasted pork loin returned to the table as the centerpiece of a lavish platter. Slices of pork were gently warmed in a thick tomato sauce sharpened with olives and lemon, then arranged with oven-roasted cabbage, fresh herbs and lemon wedges.
The evening did require one small course correction: the cabbage should have gone into the oven before the sauce began, and reversing that order put dinner about 15 minutes behind schedule. The results made the delay irrelevant. Roasting transformed the cabbage into something unexpectedly special—soft and sweet within, with dark, crisp, ruffled edges.
There was another improvisation beneath it all. With too little feta on hand, crumbled blue cheese stepped in, lending the platter an especially rich, tangy foundation. As served, the abundant main course looked right at home beneath the Bistro’s colorful lights, with a candle glowing beside the platter.
Success encouraged an encore: strawberry custard gelato prepared earlier in the day was brought forward for dessert. It was supposed to be on the table the next night — but we couldn't wait! Delicate and subtly sweet, it arrived in an antique orange 1960s cocktail glass under a bright pink strawberry sauce—a fittingly elegant finish to a spectacular dinner.
Tonight’s Menu
Tuscan pork loin with lemon, olives and tomato sauce over a creamy blue cheese base
Oven-charred lemon-oregano cabbage
Strawberry custard gelato with strawberry sauce
Open the Recipe Card
# Tuscan Pork with Lemon, Olives & Whipped Feta
**Heat:** Medium, then medium-low · **Time:** 13–17 min, plus **Check** pork-warming time
## Ingredients
### Pork & Sauce
– 1 lb roasted pork loin, sliced ¼-inch thick
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– ½ medium onion, thinly sliced
– 3 garlic cloves, minced
– 1 cup canned tomatoes, crushed
– ½ tsp dried oregano
– ½ tsp smoked or sweet paprika
– Pinch red-pepper flakes
– ½ cup olives, preferably Kalamata, halved
– Zest and juice of ½ lemon
– Salt and black pepper
### Whipped Feta
– 4 oz feta
– ¼ cup full-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– 1 tsp lemon juice
## Steps
1. **Whip the feta.**
Blend or mash feta, yogurt, olive oil, and lemon juice until creamy.
Spread across a serving platter.
2. **Soften the onion.**
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat.
Cook onion **5–7 minutes**, until soft and lightly golden.
3. **Bloom the seasonings.**
Add garlic, oregano, paprika, and red-pepper flakes.
Stir for **30 seconds**.
4. **Simmer the sauce.**
Add tomatoes and olives.
Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for **8–10 minutes**,
until thick and glossy.
5. **Add lemon.**
Stir in the lemon zest and half of the juice from the ½ lemon.
Taste and season with salt, pepper, and more brightness as desired.
6. **Warm the pork.**
Nestle the sliced roasted pork into the sauce.
**Check:** The supplied directions end here; warming time, final
temperature, remaining lemon juice, and serving instructions are unspecified.
## Watch For
– Onion should be soft and lightly golden.
– Stir garlic and spices for only **30 seconds**.
– Sauce is ready when **thick and glossy**.
– Warm the pork gently; do not assume a time or doneness temperature not provided.