Pork and pearl barley stew

Image courtesy of whole-grain-facts.com

This rich and hearty stew makes for perfect winter eating. You can use any meat really, although pork rabbit, chicken (thigh), lamb and turkey leg meat are best in supposition. The presence of fennel and pearl barley gives excellent medium for digestion and winter flavour, whilst having the aniseed edge to denote a clean aromatic flavour to accent the game flavours. The aniseed element also goes very well with pork.

Ingredients (serves 2, so adjust accordingly)

300g pork meat (shoudler, leg or belly), or turkey leg meat, or chicken thigh, or wild rabbit, cut into serving pieces.
2 tbsp vegetable oil
150g/5½oz pancetta
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small fennel bulb, sliced into 5mm/¼in thick slices
600ml/1 pint white wine, or sweet cider or even mead.
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 sprig rosemary
2 tbsp pearl barley

The doing bit.

Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the meat and fry for 3-4 minutes on both sides, or until golden-brown all over. Remove and set aside.

Add the pancetta to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, then add the onion, garlic and the sliced fennel. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and the fennel is softened. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Return the meat to the pan together with the wine, tomato purée and the rosemary. If the meat is not completely covered with the liquid, top up with water. Bring to the boil, then stir in the pearl barley, cover and simmer for one hour and 15 minutes, or until the pearl barley is tender. General rule - the longer the better.

Yakitori glazed steak with yasai ramen

I've been playing around lately alot with Japanese cuisine, and in celebration of this here is a main course which comprises several elements of typical Japanese cuisine. Yakitori is a meat glaze that is quite sweet, and complements almost all meats and fishes of a robust flavour, due to the wide range in its flavour band, from the sweetness of the sugar and the sake and mirin, to the more earthy flavour of soy.

Yasai itself refers to a vegetable dish - in this case its a noodle dish. All things considered, you can use virtually any kind of vegetable, as long as it can be quickly cooked in a pan (traditionally a wok). In this instance i use mushrooms, courgettes and spring onions but this is not exclusive.

You will need: (per serving)

1 rib eye steak (sirloin is also acceptible)
3 spring onions, cut into juliennes
4 shitake mushrooms, cut into thin slices
2 baby courgettes, cut into julienne
yakitori sauce
Ramen noodles (cooked).
Meat stock (beef or chicken)

The doing bit:

Bring the steak out of a chilled environment and leave for half an hour covered at room temperature. Glaze the meat with the yakitori sauce with a brush, and allow to rest for a little while whilst you prepare everything else (chopping and trimming vegetables etc)

Steak

Heat up a heavy bottomed frying pan and add a little oil until smoking hot. Sear the steak one side for about a minute then turn, brushing the steak with more of the marinade. I usually cook my steak to rare / medium rare but its up to you. The less the steak is cooked, the more it will complement the glaze. Rare or medium rare is ideal. Using a carving knife or saishimi knife, carve the steak into slices and serve with the noodle dish.


Yasai Ramen

Heat up a frying pan or wok, and add a little oil until very hot (it will begin to smoke). Add the vegetables and cook for about a minute until they just soften. Add a small cup of stock and the noodles also. Serve with the steak in a large bowl, and drizzle with any of the pan juices, and devour.

Poached Cod with Shitake Mushrooms

Image courtesy of fairiesfinest.com

This dish is wonderful and hearty, quite healthy and not too filling. Combining earthy flavours such as the soy with the mushrooms gives a wonderful hearty approach which is wonderful year round, but especially something to look forward to in the colder months.

This is a wonderful dish that fish fans will love, and meat eaters will enjoy alike. The cod isnt set in stone - you can use other fish if you wish just make sure its a meaty white fish like cod, pangaseas, or even haddock.

You will need:

25g butter
2 x cod fillets (150g)
2 spring onions trimmed and thinly sliced
1/4 green pepper trimmed and cut into julienne
handful of shitake mushrooms finely sliced
tbsp sake or dry vermouth
salt and white pepper
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 x foil squares (Roughly 3x size of the cod - enough to be able to contain the ingredients and the fish)

handful of mixed salad

The doing bit

Preheat oven to 200C

Grease the foil with about half the butter.

Combine ingredients in foil with butter, skin side down, season with salt and pepper. Put parcels in a roasting tray with hot water half way up the tray. Put in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cooked, unwrap and serve on the bed of mixed leaves.

serve with steamed rice or rice noodles. Devour.

Braised Oxtail With Baby Vegetables

Image courtesy of uktv.co.uk

Oxtail is one of those cuts of beef that is overlooked, but can be remarkably cheap if courced cleverly, and its perfect braising meat for winter. With the marbling effect that runs through the meat and the added ail bone marrow, the flavour of oxtail is rather hearty and fulfilling to say the least. This recipe uses that and has contributed elements to complement and harmonise the earthy flavours and overtones applicable.

This batch serves 10, so adjust accordingly. It is however freezeable if you wish to eat half and freeze half. It also cuts down the labour as youve then only to heat it up afterwards.

You will need (serves 10)

5 Kilo of fresh Oxtails
250g of smoked bacon
500g of carrots
6 Onions
500g of Celery
1 Head of Garlic
165g Tomato Puree
250g of Plain Flour
5 Liters of Veal or Beef Stock
2 Liters of Red Wine


FOR THE BOUQUET GARNI

3 Bay Leaf
6 Sprigs of Thyme
16 Sprigs of Parsley

FOR THE GARNISH OF BABY VEGETABLES

Baby Carrots
Baby Leeks
Baby Turnips
Baby Fennel

FOR THE GARNISH WINTER VEGETABLES

Carrots
Shallots
Parsnip
Sweet Potato
Swede

Cut the vegetables ( carrots, onions and celery ) into rough large pieces

Bone the oxtail and cut into large pieces and to the vegetables

Add stock, bouquet garni , tomato paste and the garlic

Place in a fridge and marinade for 48 hours

Drain off the marinade and reserve, remove the oxtail and dry them
Season and brown the oxtail in a sauté pan

In a deep braising pan brown vegetables from the marinade with the smoked bacon

Add the oxtail

Lightly toast the flour in a oven and carefully stir into the marinade then cover the oxtail

Cover the pan with a lid and braise in a slow oven for 3 hours

Prepare the baby vegetables cook separately in salt water until tender and refresh

After the braising remove the oxtail from the cooking stock

Reduce the burgundy by half and add to the stock

Strain off the vegetables

Reduce the cooking stock reduce by half

Correct the seasoning

Reheat the oxtail with the cooked vegetables with the jus lie

Serve with the baby vegetables and creamed potatoes

Jambalaya

Image courtesy of bbcgoodfood.com

This is a dish I've always liked - combining several of my favourite things - a wet(ish) rice dish, seafood, meat and a warming spicy element. Its kinda like paella but the other way around. This recipe I suppose is quite generic, but it provides a means to start from and to add or deplete whatever you like to suit your palate. Its also very hearty and warming - which I think is perfect for this time of year.

Posted specially for Trudy who has struggled to find a good jambalaya recipe - may this be a good starting point on your palates journey.

You will need:

tbsp vegetable oil
3 rashers smoked bacon (copped into 1cm pieces)
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 large red onion chopped to 1cm dice
2 celery storks chopped to 1cm dice
350g long grain rice soaked in cold water for 30 mins, and drained
300ml good quality chicken stoc
300ml good quality fish stock
glass dry white vermouth or white wine
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
tsp paprika
tsp cumin
1 bay leaf
1 large pepper, chopped to 1cm dice
1 can / carton chopped tomatoes
125g cooked ham, chopped
125g prawns (raw) (king or tiger preferred)
125g cooked chicken, chopped
tsp chopped parsley
tsp chopped chives

The doing bit

Heat the oil in a pan and add the bacon, celery, peppers, garlic and onions. Cook until soft. add the cayenne pepper, paprika and cumin. Cook out for a further 2/3 minutes. Add the rice until the rice is coated in the oil, then add the wine, and then the stock and the bay leaf. Bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 mins. Add the tomatoes, bring to the boil again, then reduce to a simmer and cover for a further 5 minutes.

Stir in the ham, chicken and prawns and recover the pan. cook for a further five mins (or until the meat and prawns are cooked through).

Transfer the mixture to a serving pot, and garnish with the herbs. Serve immediately.

Optional: Finish also with lemon or vanilla butter you'll find it a wonderful variation.

Pork Cobbler

image courtesy of gemini-dragon.com

For me cobbler dishes are the epitomy of winter food - the provide a very hearty meal experience, whilst also giving a comfort element. In particular this recipe provides maximum flavour through marinade and slow cooking, to give comforting texture and fully developed tones to leave you feeling comforted and fulfilled.

Provided specially for a Michael a good friend of mine, who will adore this recipe again and again.

Ingredients (serves 5)

For the marinade

4 Teaspoon of Crushed Black Peppercorns
1 Teaspoon of Sea Salt
1 Teaspoon of dried Oregano
1 Teaspoon of dried thyme
7 Cloves of garlic halved
5 Tablespoon of soft brown sugar
2 Table spoon of olive oil
1.5 table spoon of white wine vinegar

Combine dry ingredients in a blender. Add the oil and vinegar gradually, once the other ingredients are combined

1k Diced Pork
100g of pitted olives
10 Sage leaves
15 prunes pitted
75g of unsalted butter
3 Large onions finely chopped
3 Large carrots diced
300ml of stout or guiness
450ml of chicken stock
200ml of double cream
150g of dried apricots soaked

For the Cobbler crust

200g self-raising flour
85g shredded suet
50g butter
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
beaten egg , to glaze

The doing bit

Coat the pork in the marinade and leave overnight

Remove the meat from the marinade and dry

Sauté off the onions, once coloured remove from the pan, then seal off the meat

Place the onions and meat in a large oven tray together with the stock, stout, carrots, prunes, sage and olives.

Braise for two hours

In the meantime prepare the cobbler crust:

sift the flour and season. Combine the suet, butter and parsley and lightly mix together. Make a well in the middle of the mix, then add the lemon zest and juice and gently bring together to make a soft dough. If it is too dry, add a little cold water or milk, but don't knead the dough or it will become tough.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/4in thickness. cut the dough into pieces the size of your dishes and set to one side,

Remove meat and most of the vegetables, blend the juices and strain add cream to the juices

Reduce the liquor by a third check the seasoning, glaze with butter

Combine with the meat and vegetables to this add the apricots  

Divide the mix into 5 pie dishes (or 4 if more appropriate). Top the dishes with the cobbler dough and brush with egg and milk mix. Return to oven at 180C until tops are golden brown and pork mix is piping hot.

Serve.

Chilli Con Carne (with attitude)

Sure we all know how to make chilli, for most of us its a bit of a no brainer. That said different people have different preferences as to what they want out of a chilli. For me, its a dish that is hearty, has a certain level of sweetness and heat, but not overly enough to negate its enjoyment. At a party last night I was asked about making chilli, and the best way to get it as hot as possible.  The key thinking here is indeed which chillies you are going to use, as some are hotter than others as we know. This recipe uses a couple of neat tricks to elevate the heat of a chilli without going overboard with it with the use of ginger. Here's the science bit: The perfumery note of ginger is alot higher than chilli, and will t herefore make the palate think its more acidic (hence more spicy). It also gives a nice clean edge to the dish. The use of chocolate also adds a smooth texture in its finish. You wont be dissapointed.

This recipe is dedicated to Marc & Brad, who requested this recipe. May it serve you well. Feel free to add any mushrooms or other ingredients you wish to add to a chilli - i know everyone has their own favourites. This recipe is just for the basic chilli (with a few tweaks).

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 red onions finely chopped
4 cloves crushed garlic
500g beef / lamb / mutton mince. The choice is up to you, but youll get the most out of this if you use mutton or lamb
4 chopped red chillies (jalapeno will be fine). Keep seeds in for more heat
2 green chillies
1/2 a thumb of grated fresh ginger, or a tablspoon of ginger paste
2 tbsp tomato puree.
can or carton of chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Can red kidney beans (you can save time by using the canned ones as theyre already soaked and cooked)
tsp rock salt
4 tsp grated dark chocolate.

The doing bit

In a large pan saute the onions and mince together until coloured. Add the chillies and garlic and continue cooking until chillies begin to soften. add the ginger and kidney beans, then cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the salt and stir in, along with the balsamic vinegar. When the liqour has reduced by about half and beings to almost froth, add the tomato puree and mix well. Cook for a further 2 or 3 minutes then add the tomatoes and bring the mix to a boil, then simmer stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced by about a third.

Taste, and season accordingly. You may wish to add more ginger for more heat if required. If you are happy with it and are ready to serve, fold in the chocolate and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Devour.