Music Selection: Antiphony – Solstice Carol

How to celebrate winter solstice? Have you tried wild boar… you should. If you do, don’t skip the fruit sauce. It is the perfect combination for a chilly night and days that start to get longer.

Ingredients:

8 wild boar chops (or pork chops if you can’t find boar)

1 lemon

6 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme

½ cup olive oil

1/3 cup blanched almonds, slivered

¼ cup chopped dried apricots

¼ cup of mixed dried cherries and blueberries

¼ cup chopped dried apple

½ cup tawny port

2 Tbsp sherry

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

2 Tbsp honey

Directions:

In a Ziploc bag, mix olive oil, minced garlic and thyme. Cut the lemon and squeeze all of its juice into the bag, and leave lemon in the bag, too. Place the boar in the bag and let marinate for at least 1 hour.

In the meantime, in a small sauce pan, mix the port, sherry, vinegar and honey on low heat. Add in the dried fruit and let simmer for a few minutes. Just before serving, add in the almonds.

Heat a BBQ to 350 degrees.

Remove boar from Ziploc and pat dry. Either BBQ for about 3 minutes each side, until done or in a hot pan with olive oil, sear the boar until done.

Serve the boar with the fruit and sauce on top. It is delicious with sides of nachynka cornmeal / grits, braised mushrooms, and sauteed green beans. Don’t forget the mead and cider! cheers!