last year i inadvertently ordered two boneless pork shoulders and have been trying to work out what to do with them as part of my freezer-defrosting project.

one has been called into service for the latin-themed party we’re having at the weekend. i used a fennel, garlic and herb (rosemary, sage and lemon thyme) rub that i found on sidewalk shoes. i then cooked the pork, which was just under 2kg in weight, at 170c for 3 hours, adding a glass of water to the tray and covering tightly with foil so the meat would stay moist. when the meat was cooked i whacked the heat up to max and cooked the top layer of fat for an extra 15 minutes to create a wonderful slab of crackling.

the pork has been shredded, will be dressed with the juices from the bottom of the tray, and used to top tacos along with various other bits. i can’t wait!

chilli is something which i’ve enjoyed trying different versions of – beef and pork chilli with tomatoes and beef chilli without tomatoes (i preferred the version without but that is probably due to lots of other refinements i made with that recipe), white chilli (a much-loved and regularly-cooked vegetarian bean chilli from simon rimmer) and now, green chilli.

this jamie oliver recipe caught my eye due to the way jamie describes the dish:

“this green chilli is so delicious, simple to make and a total pleasure to eat. in england, we’re sort of brainwashed into thinking of chilli as just being chilli con carne, but this is completely different and i absolutely love it. i think it’s cleaner, braver and fresher than your average chilli.”

his description about it being “cleaner, braver and fresher” was the appealing factor – this is what i love about the white chilli.

the resulting dish wasn’t as wonderful as i’d hoped – i think it needs more herbs and i’d try to cook the peppers for less time so they retain a bit more of their flavour and bite (perhaps add them just before the tomatoes go in). i didn’t have any pork mince in so i chopped my own and i don’t think this did the dish any favours either – next time i will use mince and see how it compares. the recipe does have the makings of something delicious but, if you try it, tweak things about a bit. i’ll update this post if i work out a definitive version!

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last summer i made an ottolenghi recipe for a rack of lamb marinated with honey and coriander. the marinade was amazingly good - fresh, flavoursome and with many layers of flavours. at the time i promised myself i would try using it in different ways. finally i have managed to do so.

the marinade is exactly the same but this time i used it with chunks of pork tenderloin which were then threaded onto skewers and grilled for 3-4 minutes on each side. i used two tenderloins which resulted in 8 kebabs, one of which was ample per person when paired with some couscous (to which i added lemon juice/zest, finely chopped shallots and red chilli plus a handful of mint and coriander leaves), vegetables (slow-cooked courgettes or best broccoli) and a herby yoghurt dressing (finely chopped mint, parsley and coriander plus lemon zest and seasoning).

i am determined to try this marinade with seafood version next.