Rich and warming braised sausages

September 29, 2014September 7, 2022 Belinda

I adore sausages and of all meat, sausages and bacon are the ones I would miss the most if I ever became vegetarian. This is a hearty, flavorful and warming braise, great for those Fall and Winter evenings and all it needs is some good mashed potato to soak up the juices.

Serves 4

2 tbsp sunflower or olive oil
12 of your favorite pork sausages
6 rashers bacon, rinds removed and cut into 1 inch lengths
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 to 1 tsp smoked paprika
1 x 14oz can chopped San Marzano tomatoes
10 fl oz chicken stock
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dark brown sugar (Muscovado is great)
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 fl oz red or white wine
1 x 14oz can butter beans or another type of bean you like, drained and rinsed
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large non stick frying pan and fry the sausages gently for 10 mins, turning every now and then until nicely browned all over. Transfer to a large saucepan or a flameproof baking dish and set aside.
Fry the bacon pieces in the frying pan until they begin to brown and crisp then add to the sausages
Place the onions in the frying pan and fry over a medium heat for 5 minutes until they begin to soften, stirring often. You should have enough fat in the pan, but if not, add the other tbsp of oil.
Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more until the onions turn a pale-golden color, stirring frequently.
Sprinkle over the smoked paprika and cook together for a few seconds longer.
Stir in the tomatoes, chicken stock, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and herbs.
Pour over the wine and bring to a simmer.
Tip carefully into the pan with the sausages and bacon and return to a simmer, then reduce the heat, cover the pan loosely with a lid or aluminum foil and leave to simmer very gently for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring from time to time.
Alternatively, you can cook it in the oven at 350 F for 45 minutes.

Easy Asian pork in lettuce cups

September 23, 2014February 8, 2016 Belinda

I love wrapping food in lettuce cups and usually I use ground turkey or chicken, but this recipe is with strips cut from a pork tenderloin, marinated and cooked. It’s such a fun dish to serve as a starter and let everyone fill their own lettuce cups.

Serves 2 or 4 but can be easily augmented.

The marinade
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp dry sherry
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark (toasted) sesame oil
1 tbsp Asian chile sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 4 green onions, white and green parts chopped

The other ingredients
1lb fresh pork tenderloin, silver skin removed
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 head iceberg lettuce (I actually buy 2, incase the leaves tear as I’m separating them)
2 tbsp peanut or safflower oil
1/2 cup hoisin sauce

To prepare the marinade, in a large bowl combine all the ingredients and mix well. Cut the pork into matchstick pieces, add to the marinade and stir to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.
Preheat the oven to 325F. Spread the pine nuts on a small baking sheets and roast until they turn golden, about 8 minutes.
Gently separate the lettuce leaves to use as cups. Cut the larger leaves in half. The lettuce leaves can be refrigerated until you’re ready to cook the meat.

Place a wok or saute pan over high heat and when it’s hot, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the pork, stir and toss for 3 minutes until it loses it’s pink color. Stir in the pine nuts.
Transfer to warmed dinner plates and serve at once, accompanied by the lettuce cups and hoisin sauce.
To assemble, place a small amount of hoisin sauce in each lettuce cup, add some pork and eat in your hand

Asian flavors · Gluten Free · Meat

Easy Thai pork satay

June 18, 2014February 8, 2016 Belinda

As you probably know by now, I am an Asian food freak, especially anything with coconut and lemongrass.
This is so tasty and tender with super flavors and is pretty simple to to throw on the bbq. Ideally a charcoal fire would be better, but if you have a gas bbq that is fine.

Makes about 10 skewers
1 cup coconut milk
3 tbsp chopped fresh lemongrass (outer leaves pulled away, and only the tender inner stalks used)
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp chopped galangal or fresh ginger if you don’t have galangal
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 & 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin (I roast my own)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1lb pork fillet, cut into 1/4″ thick sliced (silverskin removed)

Puree 1/2 cup coconut milk, the lemongrass, coconut oil, galangal/ginger, sugar, turmeric, coriander, salt, cumin and cayenne in a food processor.
Toss the paste and pork slices in a bowl, coating well and chill for 4 hours or more.
Thread 3 slices pork each on to 10 skewers, spoon the remainder of the coconut milk onto the meat and grill, turning until charred, about 7 minutes.

Asian flavors · Do-ahead · Meat · Soup

Asian spicy ground pork (or turkey) and green soup

May 27, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda1 Comment

So soothing, cleansing, light and tasty. Oh, and easy too! I found this in an old Bon Appetite magazine and adapted it slightly.

Serves 2
1/2 lb ground pork (or turkey)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp finely grated and peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cumin seeds, coarsely chopped (I roast mine for more flavor)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 bunch mustard greens, or kale, beet greens or other greens, torn (about 4 cups)
4 to 6 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp Thai fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
8 oz wide rice noodles

Mix the ground pork, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, red pepper flakes and cumin in a medium bowl.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the pork mixture, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat with a fork, until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the broth and bring to the boil; reduce the heat and simmer until the flavors meld, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the torn greens, scallions, soy sauce and fish sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are tender, 5 to 8 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and divide the noodles between the bowls and ladle the soup over

Appetizers · Asian flavors · Do-ahead · Meat

Thai ginger lettuce wraps

March 30, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda

Thai ginger pork lettuce wraps

This is a really easy dish to make and can be such fun to serve with a big platter of sturdy small lettuce leaves and a big bowl of the spicy, gorgeous Thai ginger pork.
Stick it in the center of the table, whether for starters or a main course and everyone can help themselves. It certainly cuts out the formality of dining with guests. Very low carb and inexpensive to make too

Serves 3 – 4 but can be easily doubled.
3/4 lb ground pork (you can use dark meat turkey, if you don’t eat pork)
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce
1 tbsp Asian fish sauce
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp grapeseed oil, or canola oil
One 8 oz can whole water chestnuts, drained and diced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
24 Boston Bibb lettuce leaves, baby romaine lettuce leaves or a small lettuce leaf strong enough to hold the meat filling.

In a medium bowl, combine the ground meat with the bell pepper, garlic, ginger, chili sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil and 1 tbsp of the grapeseed oil. Mix well.
In a large skillet or wok, heat the remaining 1 tsp oil until shimmering.
Add the ground meat mixture and stir fry over high heat, breaking up, until it is cooked through and starting to brown, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the water chestnuts, scallions, oyster sauce and cilantro and remove from the heat.
Spoon the ground meat mixture into bowls. Stack the lettuce leaves on plates.
To eat, spoon the meat onto the lettuce leaf, roll up and eat!

Fish · Grains · Meat

Creole jambalaya

February 14, 2014February 8, 2016 Belinda

Gorgeous and so flavorful.

Serves 6
12 oz ground pork
1 tbsp olive oil
5 oz Spanish chorizo, diced
1 onion, finely diced
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 red pepper, finely diced
1 green pepper, finely diced
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
7 fl oz white wine
14 or 15 oz can of chopped tomatoes
1 3/4 pints chicken stock, and more if required
12 oz brown basmati rice
4 oz shelled raw prawns, tails left on if you like
3 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
4 scallions, sliced
sour cream, optional

Season the ground pork and roll it into bite sized meatballs.
Heat a large pan, add a dash of oil and brown the meatballs for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the diced chorizo, onion, garlic and peppers to the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the bay leaves, turmeric, paprika and cumin and stir for 1 minutes more before pouring in the white wine and tomatoes.
Meanwhile, heat the stock separately.

Add the rice to the pan and stir well. Pour the stock into the rice and meatball, and bring to a simmer.
Cover the pan with a lid and cook over the lowest heat for 30 to 35 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
Add more stock if it is getting too dry.

Stir in the prawns and cook for 4 to 4 minutes or until they turn pink.
Before serving, stir in the parsley and scallions, then season to taste.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream, if you like.

Asian flavors · Gluten Free · Meat · Pasta · Soup

Asian spicy pork and greens soup

February 6, 2014February 8, 2016 Belinda

Soothing, healthy and comforting soup.

1/2 lb ground pork
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed
3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cumin seeds, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 bunch mustard greens, torn (about 4 cups)
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
8 oz wide rice noodles
Also nice to try it with;
beet greens, kale or turnip greens

Mix the pork, garlic, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, red pepper flakes and cumin in a medium bowl.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the pork mixture; season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring and breaking up with a spoon until browned and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the broth and bring to the boil; reduce the heat and simmer until the flavors meld, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add mustard greens, scallions, soy sauce and fish sauce and cook, stirring occasionally until the greens are tender, 5 to 8 minutes, season with salt and black pepper.
Meanwhile cook the rice noodles according to the package directions and drain.
Divide the noodles among the bowls and ladle the soup over

Meat · Pasta

Pasta chorizo carbonara

January 3, 2014February 8, 2016 Belinda

A little cross culture and all the better for it too! Well worth a try.

Serves 2 but can easily be doubled

6 oz spaghetti, linguini or other long pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
6 oz chorizo, crumbled, or the bought cooked one, cut into small dice
2 large egg yolks
4 fl oz heavy cream
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Add the pasta to a large pan of well salted boiling water and cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet. Add the chorizo and fry briskly for about 10 minutes, until crisp and cooked through.

Whisk the egg yolks and cream together and season lightly. (since the chorizo is already seasoned quite well)

When the pasta is done, drain it thoroughly and immediately return it to the hot saucepan.
Tip in the cooked chorizo, followed by the egg mixture.
Use 2 forks to mix the eggy cream into the hot pasta.
It will cook in the heat of the pasta, coating each strand in a light creamy sauce.

Serve straight away, with a final twist of black pepper on top

Asian flavors · Curry · Gluten Free · Meat

Thai pork and peanut curry

December 31, 2013September 13, 2018 Belinda

This is the last recipe for 2013! Happy New Year to you all and thank you so much for signing up to the blog.

This was the top BBC Good Food recipe for 2013 and is well worth doing.

Serves 4

Use a fragrant hot red curry base (available in Asian markets) as the base to this curry dish with baby sweet corn, cilantro and soy sauce.

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bunch scallions (spring onions) sliced
a small bunch fresh cilantro, stalks finely chopped, leaves picked
1 lb pork tenderloin, sliced
4 tbsp Thai red curry paste
4 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
a 14 fl oz can of coconut milk (you can use light coconut milk too)
1/2 a 14 oz tin of baby corn, drained
juice of 1 lime
steamed Jasmine rice, to serve

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or flameproof Dutch oven.
Add the scallions and cilantro stalks and cook for 1 minute. Add the pork slices and cook for 5 mins until starting to brown.
Stir in the curry paste and peanut butter.
After 30 seconds, add the sugar, soy sauce and coconut milk, plus 1/2 can water.
Mix well, put a lid on and leave to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the lid, add the baby corn and increase the heat.
Bubble for 3 minutes until the corn is heated through and the sauce has thickened a little.
Stir in the lime juice and check the seasoning.

* It can now be frozen for up to 2 months at this point

To cook from frozen, thoroughly defrost, then heat in a pan on the hob until the curry is hot all the way through.
Serve scattered with the cilantro leaves and steamy hot Jasmine rice

Meat

Sweet chili roasted sausages and butternut squash

October 19, 2013February 8, 2016 Belinda

These all-in-one-pan roasts are divine and fast. Great for working people to throw together at the end of a hard day and you have a delicious meal. This dish is incredibly simple but just a little different because of the sweet chili sauce and cilantro.

Serves 4

8 good pork sausages (I use sweet Italian)
2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 small/medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks
2 small red onions, peeled and quartered
12 cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small handful cilantro, leaves picked and chopped

Heat the oven to 400 F.

Put the sausages in a bowl with the sweet chili sauce and shake around until they are fully coated with the sauce. Tip them into a large roasting pan.

Toss the butternut squash and red onion in with the sausages.

Nestle the cherry tomatoes around the dish and then drizzle the lot with the olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper and roast for about 30 minutes, or until the sausages are golden brown and the vegetables tender.

Scatter with the chopped cilantro and serve in the center of the table with crusty bread to mop up the juices