Potato soup starts hearty, seasonal meal.

Byline: The $10 Gourmet by Jim Boyd The Register-Guard

JOSEPH LANGFORD, executive chef at Turtles Bar and Grill, devised a hot and hearty, seasonal menu as he shopped at Safeway for this week's edition of The $10 Gourmet.

"I wasn't really positive of what I was going to make as the protein," he said. "I think as soon as I got the protein, I knew where I was going from there. I was trying to do the seasonal, with apples and chutney and cabbage and everything."

The recipes he presents are for a rosemary potato soup and a main course of pork loin braised with red cabbage and served with red pear chutney. Actually, a bowl of the flavorful soup could be a meal in itself.

Turtles, 2690 Willamette St., is known for its bountiful portions of traditional American foods. Langford, who plans the nightly specials, has been the chef there for a year and a half. He worked previously at the Sixth Street Bar and Grill and at the Oregon Electric Station after moving to Eugene from Oklahoma four years ago.

Using his Safeway card to get the sale price, Langford paid "only $2.84 for two nice-sized pork sirloin chops - rather nice size, actually."

However, his total out-of-pocket cost for the meal came in over budget at $13.19. The budget-busting items included a large head of red cabbage that was only half used (there were no smaller ones), a package of spiced apple cider mix that was partly used, and a package of fresh rosemary that would be free if picked from the garden.

The $10 Gourmet is a biweekly feature designed to allow professional chefs to give menu suggestions to home cooks. The chef is asked to prepare a meal for two that costs $10 or less, not including small amounts of kitchen staples. Langford's staples included salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, vinegar, olive oil and butter.

Langford's recipes follow:

Rosemary Potato Soup

1 teaspoon olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 can chicken broth

1 quart milk

3 russet potatoes, cut into small dice

1/4 yellow onion, finely diced

Salt and pepper, to taste

3 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped

Heat olive oil in saucepan and add garlic. Saute until soft. Add chicken broth, milk, potatoes, onion, salt and pepper and the rosemary. Simmer on low 1 hour or until potatoes have disintegrated and the soup has thickened.

Red Pear Chutney

1 red pear, unpeeled, seeds removed and sliced

1/2 yellow onion, sliced

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1 pinch cinnamon

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients with 2 cups water in a saucepan. Slowly simmer the mixture for 45 minutes until pear is soft and liquid is fully reduced (simmered away).

Braised Pork Loin

1/4 teaspoon olive oil

2 boneless pork chops

2 pinches salt

2 pinches pepper

1/2 head red cabbage

1/4 yellow onion, diced

3/4 can chicken broth

3 cups apple cider (bottled or made from mix)

1/4 teaspoon vinegar

1 tablespoon butter

Heat olive oil in braising pan. Dust pork steaks with salt and pepper and brown in pan. When browned, remove pork and add cabbage, onion, chicken broth, apple cider and vinegar. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and add back the pork. Cook pork to at least 145 degrees (well done), about 7 minutes. Add butter to the cabbage just before serving.

SETTLING THE BILL

2 boneless pork chops: $2.84

1 red cabbage: $2.46

1 box spiced apple cider mix: $1.59

1 red Bartlett pear: $1.49

1 package fresh rosemary: $1.48

1 quart milk: $1.15

3 russet potatoes: $1

1 can chicken broth: 66 cents

1 head garlic: 34 cents

1 yellow onion: 18 cents

Total: $13.19

CAPTION(S):

DESSERT NICOLE DeVITO / The Register-Guard Joseph Langford's meal includes rosemary potato soup and pork loin braised with red cabbage and served with red pear chutney NICOLE DeVITO / The Register-Guard Joseph Langford prepares a meal for The $10 Gourmet.