Chef Matt Jennings

Matt Jennings is the Chef/Owner and self- proclaimed ‘Savant du Fromage’ of Farmstead and La Laiterie at Farmstead, in Providence, Rhode Island. Farmstead's very unique concept of adjoining their Artisan Cheese shop (Farmstead) to their wine bar & bistro (La Laiterie), has created an upscale but casual & intimate setting for cheeseplates, house charcuterie and a full bistrot style menu inspired by the seasons & the New England region. La Laiterie’s ever prominent ethos is “Honest, Seasonal, Handmade Food”™, and this is accomplished with help from New England’s best growers, cheesemakers, specialty purveyors, and Matt graduated from The New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont and worked as a Chef for 8 years before traveling abroad and falling in love with artisan, craft cheeses. Farmstead and La Laiterie have been featured in the pages of Saveur, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, The New York Times, Food Arts and more. Recently Jennings was selected to run a panel at the annual American Cheese Society Conference- this year in Burlington, Vermont- for new, aspiring cheese shop owners. An authority on American Artisan Cheese, Jennings travels extensively, in search for the best Artisan Cheeses, Specialty Products, boutique wines and craft beers for his store's shelves and his restaurant's tables.

Recipes by Chef Matt Jennings

La Laiterie's Cider Braised Pork Shank with Salsify & Sage ©

(serves 4 people)

 

4 Pork Shanks (ask your butcher to fabricate them for you, if you can't find them).

1 Onion, diced large

4 cloves of garlic, whole, peeled & chopped

2 shallots, peeled & chopped

3 salsify, peeled and chopped

1 Bulb of fennel, chopped

2 tablespoons of allspice

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

3 Sprigs of fresh thyme

2 sprigs of fresh sages

1 quart of Apple Cider

1 quart of vegetable or chicken stock

Butter (as needed)

Salt & Pepper to taste

 

1. Toss the shanks in a bowl with the combined allspice, cinnamon & a few tablespoons of salt/pepper to season.

  

2. Follow the procedures above- sear the shanks in a heated skilled with a few tablespoons of cooking oil.

   Make sure you get them nice and caramelized (brown), as this adds some serious depth of flavor to the

   end product.

 

3. Remove the shanks from the pan, and in the existing pan oil, add the garlic and shallot along with the

   onion. Sweat these out over a medium flame, to gently soften them. You do not need to brown them. When they

   start getting soft, add the chopped salsify, fennel, full sprigs of thyme and sage. Stir these ingredients to

   render the flavor out of them.

 

4. Next, pour in the cider and stock, and bring to a simmer, stirring the bottom of the pot gently with a

   wooden spoon to release the brown bits (or 'fond') from the bottom of the pan- this is great flavor!

  

5. Finally, place the shanks back in the skillet with the liquid and put the whole thing in the oven at 275

   degrees for 3 hours. Check after 3 hours to see how tender the shanks are. If they fall off the bone with a

   push of a fork, then remove them from the oven and let cool. After they have cooled, you can remove them

   from the braising liquid along with the herb stems, strain it and then puree it with a few tablespoons of butter to create your sauce.

 

6. Put the shanks back in the liquid, and refrigerate them up to one week. To re-heat, simply put them in

   a pot with some sauce and warm them in the oven. Yum!

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