Pork, potato, pesto

It was actually lamb but I like the alliteration so much that I‘ll pretend it’s pork.

Having fried up the chops and mashed up the potato it’s just drizzling pesto over the potato; since it was lamb a bit of mint in the pesto would have been interesting but I decided not to do that (since I had no mint at home).  Pesto on potato is not something I’d run into before; it works really well – and lots healthier than butter I imagine.

Saté Pork : Satay

I buy pork (and beef and chicken) in largish chunks, pre-cut it, bag it in meal-sized quantities and freeze it. The pre-cut bit is important to me for later usability. When I want a quick lunch I don’t want to have to thaw then trim and dice my meats. This was a stir-fry cut pack of pork.

Brown the meat real well. Not to the point where it’s simply “not red” but to where the meat has some caramelization on it; not just blah-gray. This requires a blazingly hot pan.

This pork (500 grams [1#] was marinated for a couple of hours in

• 2T olive oil
• 2T soya sauce
• 2T white wine vinegar
• 1t Habanero hot sauce (should have used more)

before flash-frying it.

Served with some peanut sauce (Indonesian/Dutch) and plain white rice. No recipe for the peanut sauce because I made it from a pack (for shame). The sauce was slightly disappointing so I’ll probably not do that again.

Beans : Fabas : Pork and Beans

Simple winter food (okay, it’s been more like 20-25 degrees C lately [that’s 70 or 80 F] but technically it’s winter) .

Soak the 250 gr [8 oz] of white beans overnight and drain away that first round of water.

Cover with water and add the sausage, black sausage and pork-fat-bacon (traditionally you might put an ear or a trotter in as well); no added salt.

Cook, simmering, until the beans are just starting to go soft – skim off any foam and maybe the oil/fats from the sausage as you go. Keep the lid off to reduce the liquid (but add water if needed while cooking to just cover the beans. Might take an hour at least (depends on the bean).

Add a spot of saffron and a cup of simple thick tomato sauce (tomato and onions, basically). Reduce to a saucy consistency.

Slice the meats before serving (remove the ear and trotter entirely and toss them [unless you’re a huge fan of gristle {some are}]).

This is what pork and beans was before Heinz got into the business.

See also an earlier post about Fabada Asturiana from 2005 with a properly written out recipe for something similar.

Albondigas de Iberica : Iberian Meatballs

With rice. These meatballs are made from the meat of Iberian pigs; the ones they use to make Iberian Ham (much better than Italian Prosciutto).

I hope I find the other phone-cam soon or I’m going to have to invest in some new equipment; the pictures with this substitute phone-cam suck.

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Albondigas de Iberica : Iberian Meatballs

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 T lard (real lard)
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 cup ham/beef broth
• 1/2 C dry white wine
• pepper
• 2 T olive oil
• 500 gr [1#] Iberian meatballs (oh my! they were bought ready made)
• 1/4 C dry white wine
• 2 T tomato sauce
• 1/2 C ham/beef broth

Procedure

1. Melt lard in a pan
2. Chop the veggies and garlic and toss into the hot lard
• Medium heat, to soften the onions and until just picking up some color
3. Add the wine (deglaze if needed and add the up of broth
• Until the carrots are really soft
4. Meanwhile, brown the meatballs in the olive oil
5. Remove the browned meatballs and deglaze with the 1/4 C white wine
6. Puree the carrot/onion mix with a stick blender
7. Put the sauce into the meatball pan, season with pepper
8. Add the tomato sauce, meatballs and the bayleaf
• If needed add some ham/beef broth to make sure they’re 3/4 covered and that the sauce isn’t too thick
9. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes (to cook the meatballs and blend flavours)

Done

Notes

1. Use lard. It really does add something to the flavour
2. I used artisanal, handmade, Iberian pork meatballs; faster than making them myself.
3. Stick-blend the sauce until it’s really fine. This could take a minute or two.
4. Served with rice: 2 parts rice to 2 parts ham/beef broth, 1 part wine and 1 part water
5. This kind of sauce can be used with all sorts of dishes (substitute fish broth for fish dishes or veggie broth for vegetarian dishes). The basic idea of a carrot/onion/tomato sauce is very versatile and it makes a great base to braise things in.

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Hog Roast

The local pub decided to roast a hog on the weekend.  Haven’t had one of these for years.

The cook, alas, elected to cater to the sensibilities if the visiting English clients and removed the head prior to spitting the pig.  Some of the best stuff is in there – brains for example – and the cheeks.

In any case, delicious.  Crackly skin and moist meat.

Recipe: Spit the animal; turn slowly over medium low flame; for 7 hours.

Vietnamese Pork

Another quick lunch.  Uses a wok - which is usually fun.  Since it was lunch there was no fancy plating - served it right out of the wok

Derived from my favorite curry book - Ultimate Curry Bible; Madhur Jaffrey

Vietnamese Pork

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 550 gr pork loin [1,25#] cut in 2x1x5 cm strips/chunks [1 x 1/2 x 2 inch]

Marinade

• 1 T soy sauce
• 2 t Fish sauce
• 1 t cornflour
• 1 stick lemongrass, minced fine
• 2 shallots, brunoise, fine [diced]
• 2 green chilies, brunoise, fine [diced]
• 1 habanero chilli, brunoise, fine [diced]
• pepper, black, fresh ground (a bunch)
• a dash sesame oil
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 t curry powder
  

  Cooking

• 3 T olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced fine (rings)

Procedure

1. Mix marinade ingredients with a fork
2. Place meat in marinade, coat well, for an hour or so (in my case 'twas 30 minutes)
3. When you're ready to go...  Oil into a wok
4. Fry up the onions over medium heat until just starting to brown
5. Crank the heat and add the meat and its marinade
6. Toss around from time to time (but leave it alone enough that the surfaces of the meat have a chance to brown a little)
7. Keep cooking until the pork is only just barely done

Done

Notes

1. You could use 50% more meat without changing the marinade ingredient amounts
2. Please don't overcook the pork - it ruins the whole thing.  Remember, pork does not have to be tough and dry.
3. This uses fish sauce, it's an important component
   • Buy a small bottle - you'll never use very much
   • Keep the bottle well capped and double bagged with a zip type plastic bag - - this stuff sticks up a cupboard like nothing else
   • Despite the almost vile smell it adds a nice flavour to the dish
4. I served it with brussels sprouts - it went with the currish flavour quite wel

Pork Fillets with Leeks and Mustard Sauce

This is from Friday. I'll try to remember what I actually did; it was pretty spontaneous - although based on a Pork Medallions with Leeks and Mustard Sauce from my ole favorite "Le Cordon Bleu: Quick & Light" . It's actually pretty simple, although appears to be lengthy, and has a couple of useful-to-know techniques in it.

Pork Fillets with Leeks and Mustard Sauce

Serves: 2 or 3

Ingredients

• 400 gr pork fillets [13 oz)
• 2 garlic cloves, smooshed
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 T sherry
• pinch sugar
  
• 1 leek (more wouldn't hurt)
• 150 gr mushrooms [5 oz] ('cause I didn't have enough leeks - and leeks can be boring)
• 3 T white wine, dry (box is fine)
• 1 T olive oil
• 1T butter
• sprig of parsley (decorative) (could be sage, but not thyme)

Mustard Sauce

• 2 shallots
• 1 T olive oil
• pinch sugar
• 2 T white wine vinegar
• ¼ C sherry
• 200 ml chicken stock (or beef) [6 oz]
• 1 T dijon mustard (whole grain would be recommended but I ate it all last week)
• salt
• black pepper, freshly ground

Procedure

1. Trim the fat off pork and neaten up the pieces (cut into natural shaped pieces along the fat interfaces)
• Save all the trimmings (for sauce); even the little bits of fat
2. garlic, soy sherry & a pinch of sugar into a bowl
3. coat pieces of meat and fridge them (even the day before)
   
4. Cut leeks into thick slices (1cm) [½"] , straight or on a nifty diagonal
5. slice mushrooms into slices
6. oil in a saucepan
7. add shallots & pork trimmings and a dash of sugar
• medium heat until slightly caramelized - that is, good and brown, nearly burnt
8. Add vinegar, deglaze the pan (this will smell quite stinky)
• reduce to syrup
9. Add sherry
• reduce to syrup
10. Add stock
• reduce for a quarter hour (at least) until it really coats the back of a spoon well (practically a syrup one might say)
• strain into yet another saucepan
• you can do this a day in advance too
• you'll add the mustard later, at the last minute
  
11. Meanwhile, that is, at the same time, oil & butter into a pan
12. Add leeks & mushrooms, wine and salt, pepper
• Steam them slowly, covered, and for a long time (until good and soft, French, overdone)
• do this the day before if you like. Leave enough liquid to reheat tomorrow
  
13. Now for the meat. Fry the pork fillets for about 90 seconds a side (3 minutes per if you hate good pork)
• until done (as they used to say in culinary school)
14. Almost finished - remove the lid from the leeks and rapidly reduce the liquids to nothing, tossing lightly
    
15. add juices from the pork frying pan to the sauce
• boil rapidly to reduce if it's thin; add hot water if it's too damn thick
• strain yet again
16. Add mustard to sauce and stir
17. Plate the leeks/mushrooms
18. Surround tightly with the pork
19. Pour on the sauce
• I also put a little other sauce I had in the fridge on the plate for contrasting color

Done

Notes

1. Pork's not all fat and calorific like it used to be years and years ago. Don't be afraid of it.
2. The trick is too not eat a half pound of pork at a time. This things nets out to about 4 or 5 ounces of actual meat per person - not excessive.

Short version

1. marinate pork
2. make sauce using the meat trimmings and shallots and stuff; reducing step by step
3. steam the leeks/mushrooms in wine and butter
4. cook the meat
5. assemble the whole lot together

It was fun, for me, having 3 or 4 pans going on the stove at a time. For you too - if you have a dishwasher.