Entries in meat (46)
finger lickin’ good: pork ribs with aniseed and garlic
oh dear, it seems that i’m going to have to write about another dish that has shown me that pork is not the bland and tasteless meat that i have previously accused it of being.
nigel slater is responsible for this and, as happened when i cooked his chickpea and pumpkin curry last week, i had the pleasure of eating food that sent me into raptures.
the dish in question is pork ribs with aniseed and garlic. or, more particularly, it is pork ribs which have been rubbed with chinese five spice and are then slow-roasted with a tomatoey sauce that has been spiked with ginger and garlic.
the result is meltingly tender pork, a piquant finger lickin’ good sauce, sticky fingers, sighs of delight, an ever-growing pile of gnawed-upon ribs, full bellies and smiling faces all round. we ate our ribs with bowls of jasmine rice (there is just enough of the tomatoey sauce to justify this) and barely cooked tenderstem broccoli.
i shall be making this recipe again very soon.
abby
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stuffed pork tenderloin
traditionally, pork and i have not been great friends. i love proper bacon and have learnt to cook pork belly to perfection. i also love various salamis, chorizo and hams. however, that has been the limit of my interest in pork.
until now that is. on a whim i bought a pork tenderloin and it has been sitting in my freezer for several weeks while i mumbled under my breath about the silliness of such a purchase. pork? dry and flavourless - what a waste of a meal!
on the advice of a friend i decided that the best approach would be to wrap it in pancetta and stuff it so that there was an extra layer of flavour. i used a caramelised onion, chorizo, lemon and spinach stuffing and it was fabulous. the pancetta did a fantastic job at keeping the pork moist and the lemony stuffing added a wonderful range and depth of flavour to the dish, which we ate with a spinach and chorizo pilaf.
i’m so pleased that i’ve learnt how to use a new cut of meat and am really looking forward to experimenting a little more with pork. decent crackling on a roast is probably the next thing i need to try... any foolproof tips welcome!
the lure of a new cook book…
it intrigues me how some cookery books cast a spell upon me when i’m flicking through them in a shop or at a friend’s house but, once they are mine, they stop singing their siren song.
this happened when i bought the moro cookbook, the first book by sam & sam clark. it sat on my bedside table for many months, being looked at regularly but never quite capturing my imagination sufficiently to cause me to try a recipe. but then, as if by magic, i was captured once again and all the dishes that had jumped off the page and begged to be cooked were jostling for position.
this chorizo and spinach paella was the first to make it onto my table and is one of the dishes that i make most often from the book. i now own all three moro books and have gone through this same process with each of them. well, not quite all - moro east remains resolutely silent. if you have any particular recommendations, do let me know, i’m not good at being patient
leek and bacon black eyed bean bake
one dish dinners, what a joy! a single pot or pan to wash up and a mountain of delicious tasty food to tuck into. risotto is often my first choice when i want something simple, not least as i find it very soothing to make – it must be all that stirring!
however, dishes which can be assembled and then put in the oven and forgotten about are also a great option, and this creamy beany, bacon and leek bake is a particularly good example. based on a recipe i saw over at a forkful of spaghetti, this dish is full of flavour and the balance of creamy, cheesy richness with the healthiness of beans and green freshness of the leek is just perfect.
taste & create: adobo sa gata
another month, another taste and create. arranged by nicole from for the love of food, who pairs up bloggers who then cook a recipe from each other’s blog.
this month i’ve been matched with gay, a scientist in the kitchen who lives in the philippines. obviously this meant i had to choose a recipe for filipino food from her blog!
there was lots to choose from but when she described adobo as “the most popular dish from the philippines … considered a national dish” i knew i’d found my recipe. adobo sa gata, which is a version of adobo that uses chicken and coconut milk, to be precise.
