This hearty dish, courtesy of Fine Cooking magazine, would be a lovely dish to make to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.  Tender chickpeas tossed with cooked savory cabbage and onions, topped with succulent pork medallions that are wrapped in prosciutto and covered with melted Fontina cheese. Your first reaction is ‘yum!’, right? I happened to have dried chickpeas (or ceci beans as they are known in Italy) but using drained and rinsed canned chickpeas is a quicker alternative.  If you plan on using dried beans, 1) soak them overnight in water to rehydrate them 2) drain them the next day, and then sauté them in olive oil for 3 minutes 3) then cover the beans with vegetable stock and simmer until tender.  Then you are ready to proceed with the recipe as written.  I love the idea of slicing a pork tenderloin into medallions; such a creative and utterly delicious way to enjoy pork!

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/pork-medallions-chickpeas-cabbage.aspx)

Tagged: cabbage, ceci beans, chickpeas, entree, Fine Cooking magazine, fontina cheese, Irish, pork, pork medallions, pork tenderloin, prosciutto, savoy cabbage, St. Patrick's Day