Pork roast w/ fig wild rice stuffing - Sides?

[luciaannek]

Hi all!
My family is planning on serving a crown roast of pork with wilde rice and fig stuffing as our Christmas centerpiece.

We've always done beef, and we're serving a much larger group than usual, so we're a little lost for side dishes. We'll serve popovers, but we're wondering about vegetables. We want something crisp (green beans came up but don't seem super special/elegant) and something a little more cooked (squash puree? root veg gratin?). Let me know if you have suggestions!

The other, less major question in a fatty element for the stuffing. We want to do dried figs reconstituted in red wine, wild rice and caramelized onions. We also want a fatty/salty/pungent element in there. Gorgonzola cheese and pancetta both came up, but both got shot down as there are people who don't eat them. Any other ideas? Goat cheese seems a little too tart, but maybe some other cheese? Smoked mozz? Met me know if you have ideas.

Thanks!

[FrankJBN]

This dish screams for roast shredded (or not) brussels sprouts with bacon, onion and a pinch of crushed red pepper.

Green beans or greens beans amondine doesn't seem to make it.

[luciaannek]

ooh good call. I've made mike symon's deep fried sprouts so maybe use the dressing from that but roast them.

[juli5122]

What about sausage in the stuffing? I blanched the green beans and then did a zingy vinagrette. Served them chilled with toasted walnuts and a crumbling of blue cheese and it was so nice to have that crisp cold item with the heavier dishes. Also for sweetness and color maybe the glazed carrots or the sweet potato puree that nomadchowwoman suggested would be tasty.

[nomadchowwoman]

Puree of squash or mashed sweet potatoes or glazed carrots would all go well with the pork.
I'd want brussels sprouts--roasted at high heat to both caramelize and retain some crunch. Asparagus are out of season, but my family would still love them. Or you could go with a fresh spinach salad.
I personally wouldn't want cheese in wild rice stuffing (yours sounds divine as is), but maybe some nuts (pistachios, pine nuts, walnuts, pecans--all sound good with the figs). Too bad you have pancetta objectors: toasty little nubs of pancetta sounds great in that mix.

[suburban_mom]

Brussels sprouts and winter squash are what popped into my head when I first read your post.

[Terrie H.]

I agree that I wouldn't want cheese in the rice stuffing, and I also thought of pistachios right away. I really have to try a fig and wild rice dish soon, because it sounds delicious.

[luciaannek]

ooh nuts is a great idea. i can't believe i didn't think of that!

[foodieX2]

While not "super special and end elegant" I thing green beans (haricot vert) almondine with fried shallots could be very nice. Bright green and with a nice crunch.

I also think simple roasted root veggies would be nice. Beets, yams, butternut squash. parsnips, carrots, onions and garlic tossed with olive oil and roasted until tender and caramelized. Sprinkle with fresh thyme.

[luciaannek]

yeah i thought of green beans almondine. we do that a lot for weeknight dinners... maybe if we browned the butter or added some pomegranate seeds or something that would sufficiently fancy them up.