The use of pineapple and pork as a seasoning intrigued me. Coming off of stewed peas seasoned with chorizo, my expectations were pretty high. I got the ‘Nduja at a local Italian specialty store, Formaggio Kitchen, which I’d recommend if you live in the area. This dish was fine, but not up to the standard of the veg and fish dishes in Mezcla, which I think I’ll focus on for the next couple recipes.

Cooking & Tasting Notes: be sure to use a shallow pan (as opposed to a dutch oven), otherwise there is no way to crisp the skin. I tried broiling my dutch oven and forgot about it and the skin still did not crisp much, whereas the shallow Earthenware pan crisped according to the written instructions. I marinated the chicken in the ‘nduja-chipotle paste for about 4 hours so it could at least brine. The dish is significantly under-salted as written, I’d recommend doubling the salt in the paste and adjusting to taste part-way through the bake. The pineapple didn’t really blacken or caramelize at all. Next time, I would pull half of the pineapple and caramelize it, and the other half I could maybe even try pickling in lime juice and habanero? It is important that at least half of the pineapple be cooked in the juices with the chicken to lend their flavor, so some troubleshooting would be needed. Finally, I served this with rice, but I’d recommend experimenting with bread or another starch, as well as a green vegetable on the side.

Joe’s Rating: 6.5
Difficulty: 5.5