Noah * Paleo Pork & Crispy Herbed Vegetables

So remember how last week I mentioned that Max has a twin brother? Well, despite the fact that they both share a penchant for late-night Mexican food and Sencha green tea, they are, in fact, entirely different people. See?

Noah and Max

Like Max, Noah is a great cook. Unlike Max, Noah is a personal trainer at one of the best fitness clubs in Chicago, and he will kick your butt in the gym. Have you heard of High Intensity Training (HIT)? It goes something like this: 1) show up for your workout breathing normally and walking on two legs, 2) leave said workout crawling on hands and knees, body shaking, head spinning, vision blurred.

I mean, that’s what I hear.

So, since Noah likes to stay busy kicking people’s butts (his own included), he needs to stay properly fueled. After years of research and experimentation, he now considers himself a disciple of the Paleo philosophy on diet. Read: no cake, no french fries.

It’s a lifestyle low in carbohydrates, but unlike Atkins, it encourages a high consumption of vegetables and distinguishes between proteins like bacon (with preservatives, nitrates, and lots of saturated fat) and proteins like wild-caught salmon (with their heart-healthy Omega 3’s). The focus is more on health than simply how much you weigh. It’s meant to mimic the diet of our ancestors and give our  bodies the foods they were (presumably) designed to eat.

So what does a typical meal look like for Noah? Dinner usually begins with a “giant raw salad.” From there, he’ll move onto a cooked protein like this roasted pork — crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. When it comes to seasoning, he likes to keep it simple with some salt, pepper and a showering of Italian herbs.

As for the vegetables, well — they’re almost a work of art. Chopped green kale pillows a layer of purple-red onions, while julienne-cut carrots form a vibrant orange circle on top. Sprinkled with herbs and splattered with olive oil, the carrots curl up a bit and grow crispy as they cook. The outer layers of the onion bunches become sweeter, while the inner layers retain more of their distinctive onion tang. The kale is alternately crispy, crunchy and soft.

And, whether or not you practice Paleo, it is all delicious.

Three Quick Questions…and Noah’s Answers

It’s your last meal. What do you have?

It would probably be something really unhealthy. If I’m indulging, I love a fully loaded hamburger with lots of cheese and maybe sautéed mushrooms. The Americans, you know — they were on to something when they started souping up the burgers.

Your kitchen is burning down. What’s the one thing you grab?

Easily my Le Creuset red dutch oven. I use it for pretty much everything: sauces, roasting, sautéing.

Do you have a favorite cookbook?

Yes. It’s called the Meat Book, by River Cottage. These two guys run this cottage in England that’s part of, like, a farm cooperative. They grow their own produce and raise their own livestock and pretty much take food from the farm to the table and make these books. And one of them is the Meat Book. The Meat Book is where I learned most of my methods for roasting, frying, slow-cooking, fast-cooking, how to handle steak differently from roasts, how poultry differs from pork or beef, everything. They don’t overcomplicate their dishes at all, and they’re huge on using the supplied fat from meat itself to flavor the dishes.