Pork & Avocado Balsamic Salad

Introduction

Today I am in charge of the children. This normally means mess and toys everywhere, no housework and 'experimental' lunches. Today was no exception.

With one child deposited in school & the other worn out from helping me build a den under the table, we decided we were hungry and in need of more than Bourbon cremes & fig rolls.

Looking in the fridge and cupboard reminded me that I had to go shopping in the afternoon so lunch was either a simple cheese butty or something made using ingenuity, experience and luck.

I did notice an avocado looking lonely, then there was three pork shoulder steaks that I hadn't decided what to do with (slow cooked with lentils probably). I knew we had a few salad bits so something along the lines of bacon/avocado salad should be easy. Right?

Turns out it was.

Ingredients

1 x pork shoulder steak
1 avocado
1 stick celery
About 10 cherry toms
Half a large carrot
About 5 cm cucumber
Few slices of cheese
1 tsp cranberry jelly
Balsamic vinegar
1-2 tsp sweet chilli dipping sauce
1 clove allspice
Salt
Pepper

Method

First prepare the pork. Cover in cling film and beat within an inch of its life or until it's thinner than about half cm.

Put a pan on a low heat and put in a generous splash of balsamic vinegar, the cranberry jelly, the sweet chilli sauce, the ground allspice & a pinch of pepper.

Mix well and let the jelly melt before adding the meat. Cover both sides with the liquid. Leave to cook slowly.

Prepare the salad. Slice the celery & cucumber into nice chunks. Quarter the toms, chop up the avocado & grate the carrot into a large bowl. Mix well.

Chop the cheese into matchsticks and put to one side.

When the pork is cooked, remove from the pan and put to one side. Deglaze the pan with about 1/4 cup of boiling water then reduce and thicken slightly.

Chop the meat into small pieces. Now mix the meat and sauce from the pan with the salad. Add the cheese and season with salt and enjoy with some nice bread.

Quick Chilli

Introduction

I used to be known for my chillies. Hot, full of veg, beans & flavour, I'd make them though the winter to keep warm. Or whenever someone in my student house came down with a cold, it became a competition to make the hottest, yet most flavoursome chilli as a cure.

Recently though, I've not made them. Perhaps having children tempers the heat in food and to me a chilli without heat just shouldn't be made.

A few things however lead to me making one today. Firstly was the success of my chilli plant. Well at least until the Rabbits discovered how to reach it.
Second was a delicious looking steak chilli recipe written by one of my fave food bloggers (She Cooks She Eats - well worth a read). After reading this I really began to crave a chilli.
Lastly, my wife developed a nasty cold on a night that the children were having tea with grandparents. This was the final straw, we were having chilli for tea!!

This version is the quick one. Totally in contrast with my usual style of slow cooking, and not a lentil in sight.

Ingredients


Onion
Celery
Garlic
Carrot
chopped roughly - this is a quick chilli - one day I'll post a posh chilli recipe


Chillies
the cornerstone of this recipe, should be hot enough to make you perspire but not overwhelm the flavour - for this I used a deseeded scotch bonnet and a couple of serenade chillies chopped roughly



3 tsp cumin
3 tsp paprika
500g minced lamb or beef
Pile of cherry tomatoes
not chopped, pierced



400g Passata
use more if you prefer it tomatoey
Couple of peppers
2 tins kidneys beans
Splash of red wine
Squeeze of marmite
Handful fresh coriander

Method


1. Fry off the onion, celery, carrot & garlic until the onion is clear
2. Stir in the chillies, cumin & paprika. Mix for a minute or two
3. Add the mince and stir well. Fry until the mince is well cooked
4. Add the tomatoes and stir for a couple of minutes
5. Add the passata and stir again.



5. Add the wine & marmite and keep stirring until the required thickness. Should be about 10 mins
6. In the meantime, put some rice on
7. Just before the rice is ready, mix in the kidney beans
7. Serve & garnish with coriander & cheese if you like


8. Later on, mix the leftover rice in to the cold leftover chilli & have a cheeky supper



Enjoy!

Vietnamese Curry

Introduction

I picked up some cheap pork shoulder steaks. Marbled with fat so ripe for cooking slowly or currying up. Right up my street in other words.

I had a look in my spice cupboard and a little look through my curry books. I'd picked up a little packet of Thai mix so the recipe that jumped out was a Vietnamese curry from my old fave Madhur Jaffrey.

This is a slightly modified version based on what I had in but it was the technique that interested me also.

I tend to either make a paste as a base to cook the meat & veg in, or make a powder which is added to meat before cooking. This recipe uses both a paste & a powder as a rub.

Either if these would make a fine curry but combine them and you will get a delicious flavoursome meal. Or three.


Ingredients

Rub

1 tsp Tumeric
1 tsp Fenugreek
3 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Coriander
1 tsp Salt
Mix together & put about 1/3 aside


Paste
4-6 Cloves Garlic
1 Lemongrass
1 1/2 inch of Galangal
If galangal not available use ginger
1 small white onion
or a few shallots
Chillies if allowed
1-2 tbsp water


Base & Veg
1 bay leaf
2 tsp cinnamon
2-3 Kaffir line leaves, crushed



2 small red onions
1 medium carrot
1 stick celery


Good handful cherry toms
Celeriac
1 courgette
Half cup mung beans
Half tin coconut milk


Method

1. Chop the meat into cubes and put in a sandwich bag


2. Pour in about 2/3 of the rub & massage well so the meat is completely covered. Leave to marinade for at least a hour, overnight if possible.


3. Make the paste by blending the garlic, galangal, lemongrass, onion & chilli with a tablespoon or two of water.

4. Chop the red onion, celery & carrot into smallish pieces

5. Fry in a little nut oil until the onion & celery are soft & clear

6. Add the bay, kafir & cinnamon. Mix for about a minute

7. Add the paste & mix well until it begins to darken. About 3 mins


8. Stir in the meat & again mix well. Cook for 5 or so mins, add a tbsp water if the pan looks dry

9. Chop the tomatoes in half and cut the celeriac & courgette into small cubes

10. Stir into the mix & cook for about 5-7 mins. Until the toms start to break down





11. Cover with boiling water & add the mung beans

12. Add the coconut milk, put the lid on & simmer for as long as possible. The lentils will only take about 20 mins to cook but you want them to break down and really thicken the sauce. I'd give it at least an hour, 2 or 3 if you can.

13. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice & garnish with coriander leaves & chopped chillies. Serve with chapatis or a nice naan.






Enjoy!