Tag: Pork

Do-ahead · Meat

Slow cooked, apple-mustard pulled pork

Belinda

So tasty, so sloooowly cooked and falling off the bone…

Serves 6
Cooks for 8 hours plus overnight salting

7 oz sea salt
10 1/2 oz light muscovado sugar
4lb piece of shoulder of pork
3oz whole grain mustard
4 fl oz maple syrup
2 tbsp English mustard powder or English mustard like Colmans. (Available in US stores)

Mix the sea salt and 2/3 of the sugar in a large food bag, add the pork and coat it well. (If you don’t have a food bag, rub over the pork and coat it well)
Leave in the fridge overnight

The next day, remove the pork and wipe down the meat with kitchen paper.
Heat the oven to 275 F.
Mix the remaining sugar, the maple syrup, mustards and some ground pepper.
Rub half the mixture over the pork and sit it on a rack in a roasting pan.

Roast for 6 hours.
Spoon the remaining maple mixture over the pork and roast for 1 hour more

Rest the meat for 30 mins on a plate loosely covered with foil.
To serve, tear the pork into big, fat chunks and, after skimming the surface, spoon over any juices from the tin

Meat

Roasted sausages with grapes and chestnuts

Belinda

Now Fall is coming, I think of roasted and baked dishes, especially this one with the woodsy flavor of the roasted chestnuts and sticky sweetness of the grapes along with the divine sausages. Some simple mashed potato would suffice here.

Serves 4

8 good quality pork sausages
7 oz cooked vacuum packed chestnuts
10 oz Portobello mushrooms, cut into thick chunks
9 oz sweet seedless grapes
1 large onion, cut into half moon shaped wedges
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 whole garlic bulb, all the cloves separated but not peeled
10 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 good sprigs rosemary
2 bay leaves
10 fl oz red wine
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 F

Put everything except the red wine into a broad, shallow ovenproof dish.
Turn the ingredients over so that they get coated in the olive oil. Using a wooden spoon, crush about half of the grapes so they release their juices into the pan.
Put into the oven and roast for 25 minutes.
Put in the red wine, mix well and cook for another 25 minutes or so. You can turn the sausages halfway through the cooking so they get colored on both sides.
The sausages and vegetables will cook and brown beautifully and the wine will reduce, leaving you with a gorgeous dark and bubbling dish.

 

Gluten Free · Meat

Pork tenderloin with gorgonzola thyme sauce

Belinda
I love pork tenderloins as they are so easy to cook and carve, they are very low fat and take all sorts of bold flavors. This is a gorgeous sauce and again simple but decadent.
Screen shot 2014-08-30 at 2.32.42 PM

Serves 4

3 pork tenderloins (about 3 lbs in total)
salt and pepper to taste
vegetable oil for the frying pan
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
1/4 lb Gorgonzola cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp minced fresh chives
3/4 tsp minced fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Season the pork liberally with salt and pepper after removing the silverskin.

Merely wipe a heavy cast iron frying an with vegetable oil and heat over high heat. Add the pork and brown on all sides. remove from the pan to a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 mins until cooked through but still a bit pink.

In a small saucepan, reduce the wine over a moderate heat to 1 tbsp. Add the cream and reduce by half.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the gorgonzola, fresh thyme and butter into the sauce, whisking constantly until incorporated. Season to taste and add the chives.

To serve:

Slice the tenderloin into 1/2 inch slices and place on heated plates. Surround with the sauce and serve immediately

 

Asian flavors · Meat

Pork fillet, asparagus and baby corn stir-fry

Belinda

Pork fillet is so lean, even leaner than chicken breast and is such a versatile piece of meat. A pork fillet usually comes in one piece weighing about 1lb 3oz, so it’s the perfect thing to have in the freezer.
This is lovely just served with some steamed rice.

Serves 4

1 clove garlic
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 tsp ground white pepper
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 pork fillet (1lb 3oz or thereabouts) thinly sliced
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 tsp sesame oil
6 fresh shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
6oz whole baby corn, drained
4- 6 spears of asparagus, cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths on the diagonal
2 tbsp oyster sauce

Place the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, pepper and rice wine in  bowl and mix together well.
Add all the pork and stir until it is well coated in the marinade.
Heat a wok over high heat, add half the oils and swirl to coat the sides of the wok.
Add half the pork mixture and stir fry for about 2 minutes or until the pork changes color.
Remove the pork from the wok.
Repeat with the remaining oils and pork mixture.
Add the mushrooms, corn and asparagus to the wok and stir fry for 2 minutes.
Return the pork and any juices to the wok and stir in the oyster sauce.
Cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes or until it has evenly heated through.
Divide among four bowls poured over hot rice.

Gluten Free · Grains · Meat · Poultry

Easy chicken and pork paella

Belinda

This is much less difficult than a normal paella and very pungent.  Paellas are not stirred right to the bottom of the pan during cooking in the hope that a thin crust of crispy rice will form.
This is considered one of the best parts of the paella and for this reason it is a good idea to use a non stick frying pan.

Serves 6

1/4 cup olive oil
1 large red pepper (capsicum), seeded and cut into 1/2” strips
1 1/4 lbs chicken thigh fillets, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 lb Spanish chorizo sausage, cut into 1/2 “ slices
1/2 lb mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 1/2 lbs tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 lb green beans, cut into 3/4” lengths
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
1/4 tsp saffron threads dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water
2 cups short grain rice
3 cups hot chicken stock
6 lemon wedges

Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan or paella pan over medium heat.
Add the red pepper and cook for 6 minutes or until softened. Remove from the pan.
Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 10 minutes or until brown on all sides. Remove.
Add the sausage to the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until golden on all sides.  Remove
Add the mushrooms, garlic and lemon zest and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato and red pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the tomato is soft.
Add the beans, rosemary, parsley, saffron mixture, rice, chicken and the sausage.
Stir briefly and add the hot stock. Do not stir.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove from the heat, cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Serve with lemon wedges.

Meat

Baked Italian sausages with potatoes and rosemary

Belinda

Easy, satisfying and warming. You can also add some bite-sized pieces of chicken thigh to this recipe.

Serves 4

6 Italian sausages
1 1/2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and sliced thick
1 1/2 tsp paprika
2 large rosemary stalks
6 unpeeled cloves garlic
sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 thick slices Ciabatta bread
3 fl oz olive oil
1 handful Italian parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 F
Slice the sausages into 1 inch pieces and place in the roasting pan.
Add the potato slices, paprika, rosemary, garlic cloves, sea salt and pepper
Tear the ciabatta into bite sized pieces and add to the roasting tray
Drizzle the oil over everything, season well and gently toss to combine
Place in the oven and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 40 minutes or until the potatoes are  tender and the sausages and bread are golden brown.
Top with the chopped Italian parsley and serve with a green salad

 

Meat · Pasta

Pasta with spicy sausage, fresh basil and Dijon mustard

Belinda

This is a Nigel Slater recipe which is fabulous, rich and unctious! I can feel the Southern Californian weather just start to nod towards Fall and that is my favorite season here.

This recipe is for 2 but you can easily double or treble it.

4 spicy Italian sausages
olive oil
4 handfuls (about 1/2 lb) of dried pasta. (any tube or shell shape that catches the sauce)
1 glass of white wine
dried chile flakes, a pinch or two
a small handful of chopped fresh basil, plus a few leaves for garnish
a tbsp of Dijon mustard, smooth or grainy
8 fl oz heavy cream

Put a large pan of water on to boil for the pasta.

Split the sausages open and take out the filling. Warm a little olive oil in a frying pan, just enough to lubricate the bottom.
Discard the sausage skin, crumble the meat into the hot pan and fry till sizzling and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Salt the water generously and add the pasta.

Pour the wine into the sausage pan and let it bubble a little, scraping up all the sticky sausage goo on the bottom of the pan. Stir in the chile flakes, season and add the chopped basil.
Add the mustard and pour in the cream and bring slowly to a simmer. Cook for a minutes or two, stirring now and again.

When the pasta is tender, about 9 minutes after coming to a boil, drain and tip into the creamy sausage sauce.
Serve piping hot garnished with a few sprigs of fresh basil

Appetizers · Meat

Italian sausage and gorgonzola stuffed baby Portabella mushrooms

Belinda

Don’t say I didn’t warn you!  Anything to do with Italian sausage with that gorgeous fennel flavor has me, and the addition of Gorgonzola  (or St Agur Blue cheese) is just incredible.

Serves 10 to 16 people as an hors d’oeuvres

Preheat the oven to 350 F

1lb sweet Italian sausage
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
3/4 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 & 1/4 cups Mountain Gorgonzola (the creamy one) You can use a little less if preferred, but I like my flavors bold!
32 baby Portabello (Crimini) mushrooms
salt and pepper
a good handful fresh basil, shredded

Cook the sausage meat in a skillet, crumbling it with a fork until the pink is all gone.
While it’s cooking, take the stems out of the mushrooms and chop up the stems.
Add the crushed garlic and mushrooms stems to the sausage and cook for 1 minute and turn the heat to low.
Add the mascarpone cheese, breadcrumbs,  gorgonzola ad shredded basil.
Season with the salt and pepper to taste.

Stuff the mushrooms with the cooked filling and line up on a lined baking sheet.

Bake in  a preheated 350F  for about 20 to 25 minutes

There will most likely be filling left. you can eat it on bread or crackers!
 

 

Breakfast · Egg based · Gluten Free · Meat

Egg and chile chorizo with pork sauce

Belinda

A light brunch or lunch with a difference!  (Serves 4)

4 large organic eggs, at room temperature
1 lb ground pork
6 oz chorizo, diced small
2 tbsp Chinese chile oil
4 slices bacon, cut to the same size as the chorizo
3 sticks celery, diced small
3 shallots, sliced small
4 carrots, diced
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
a good handful of fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped  (coriander)
500 mls (16.9 fl oz) good chicken stock
oil for frying

To a hot skillet, add a couple of tbsp of oil and saute the celery, shallots and carrots over a low heat for 10 minutes until starting to soften.
Add the diced bacon and ground pork and cook, stirring, until the ground pork is browned.
Add the garlic and chile oil for a final minute.
Add the chicken stock, raise the heat until it is bubbling, and reduce the heat until low.
Leave to cook slowly while you prepare the eggs.

Take a smaller skillet and add water to about halfway up. Heat to simmering and turn down to very low.
Add the 4 eggs slowly and poach very gently until the white is just done and no more as they will keep cooking.

Serve the egg on tops of the pork with some scattered cilantro (coriander) over the dish.

 
 
 
 

Do-ahead · Meat

Easy Crockpot Carnitas

Belinda

I just love using my slow cooker and am always amazed at the moist, falling off the bone meat it produces.

Cook time  – 8 hours
Serves   10 to 12 people

4 – 5lbs pork shoulder
5 large cloves garlic
1 tbsp Kosher salt
1 tsp roasted ground cumin
1 tsp chile powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp chipotle hot sauce (optional)
juice of 2 large limes
1/2 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed, preferably)
12 oz beer
1/2 cup salsa (Not too chunky)

Place the pork shoulder in the slow cooker. Roughly chop the garlic and place in the slow cooker. You can also rub it into the meat to get as much flavor as possible)

Sprinkle the meat with salt, cumin, chile powder, black pepper, oregano, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Rub the seasonings onto the pork.

Add lime juice, orange juice, beer and salsa. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Shred meat with two forks directly in the slow cooker (or take out, shred and replace in the sauce)
It should fall apart easily.

Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the shredded meat on the cooking sheet and pour a few spoonfuls of the sauce over the top.
Broil for 5 to 10 minutes or until you get browned edges on the pork.
Serve on tortillas with fresh cilantro, avocado and lime juice