Pork stir fry with noodles

 

Well, folks, it has been a while!  My cooking mojo has taken a serious dip.  We've had dinners, obviously, but not that exciting ... and I've not been in a sharing mood.  So, in an attempt to get back at it - I've gone a little oriental (well, with what I had in the fridge and cupboard).

Coconut oil
Pork steaks

Spring onions

Garlic

Ginger

Chilli flakes

Medium egg noodles

Carrots

Pak choi

Mange tout

Oyster sauce

Tomato ketchup

Rice wine vinegar

Shaoxing rice wine

Soya sauce

Cornflour

1.  Prep the meat and veg.  Cutting pork into small pieces, peel and slice carrots, thinly slice spring onions, crush garlic, grate ginger etc.

2.  In a wok, heat coconut oil to very hot, then chuck in spring onions and stir in the oil.

3.  Put a pan of water on to boil for the noodles.

4.  Add the diced pork to the spring onions, stir until a little coloured.

5.  Add crushed garlic, grated ginger and chilli flakes to the pork, keep stirring.

6.  Add noodles to boiling water - for about 6 minutes.

7.  Add chopped veg to pork mixture - carrots and pak choi stems first, stir fry for a minute or two, then add the softer bits.  Keep moving around.

8.  Add oyster sauce, a squirt of ketchup, rice wine vinegar, rice wine and soay sauce ... keep moving.

9.  Slake the cornflour.

10.  Add a ladle of water to the meat and veg, keep moving.

11.  Stir in slaked cornflour to thicken the sauce, stir in well.  Add more water if it's too sticky.

12.  Drain noodles and add them to the wok.

13.  Stir together for two minutes.

14.  Serve, scoff ... add more soya sauce to taste ...

Pork, chorizo and mushroom pasta, with peas

I'm trying not to run out of inspiration in these very dark days - though I admit we have had more than a few comfort dinners eg. sausage, mash and beans, in the past weeks.  Today there were pork chops in the fridge - and I was heading towards another tray bake (nothing wrong with that) ... but then, I remembered there was a chorizo sausage to use up and some proper decent pasta ... so, a little bit more effort in chopping the meat later - I enjoyed this much more than I would have done big lumps of pork.

Onion

Garlic

Olive oil

Pork chops

Chorizo

Mushrooms

Flour

(Soya) milk

pasta

peas

black pepper

1.  Gently sautee chopped onion and garlic in olive oil.

2.  Chop pork into small pieces, and add to the onion mixture.

3.  Chop chorizo into small pieces and add to the pan.  Keep stirring and cook out for a while.

4.  Chop mushrooms and add to the pork mix.

5.  Cooks the pasta.

6.  Add a couple of spoonsful of flour to the pork mixture, stir in, then add a cup of soya milk.  Stir it in to make a sauce.  Simmer.

7.  Add a handful of frozen peas to the sauce, then add pasta.

8.  Toss together, serve, scoff ... it was delish!

Pork 'n beans: Cowboy Stew

Onions
garlic
Olive oil
Cumin
Chilli flakes
Pork loin steaks
Red pepper
Green beans
Tomatoes
American mustard
Stock
Kidney beans
Chopped tomatoes (tin)
Basmati rice

1.  Sautee chopped onions and crushed garlic in olive oil.
2.  Add chopped pork loin steaks, and stir around, add cumin seeds and chilli flakes. 
3.  When the pork starts to brown a little round the edges, add chopped pepper, beans and tomatoes.
4.  When the veg have softened slightly add a good dollop of american mustard (the sweet hotdog sort is best).
5.  Add stock, from a cube in our case, and a tin of drained and rinsed kidney beans.
6.  Simmer for a good 20 minutes.  Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper.
7.  Put rice on - I use the adsorption method - rice in the pan, cover with cold water to an inch above the level of the rice, bring to the boil.  As soon as it boils turn the heat right down and slam the lid on.
8.  Simmer again (putting the tinned tomatoes and salt in later reduces the toughening up of the skins of the kidney beans).  Stir occasionally to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan, check that it doesn't get too dry, add a little water if it is.
9.  Serve, scoff, seconds ....

Roast pork ... wow!

OK - we all deserve a Sunday dinner ... and by heck did we have a Sunday dinner - roast pork, roast veggies and damn good gravy!  It were proper lovely.

Pork shoulder, boned
Olive oil
Potatoes
Fennel
Carrots
Courgette
Chilli flakes
Mixed herbs
mixed herbs
Garlic
Apple juice
Flour
Cauliflower

1.  Salt the pork joint - at least an hour before cooking it.
2.  Put the pork into a hot oven, for 20 minutes, then turn it down.
3.  Prep the veg ... I mixed everything except the cauliflower in olive oil with a little salt 2 hours before I expected dinner to be ready, into a roasting dish.
4.  Turn the oven down, to let the pork cook.
5.  An hour and a bit before you want to eat ... stick the veg into the oven.
6.  Pour apple juice around the pork (I think this is where I could have gone wrong, had I wanted really crisp crackling... but fortunately for me the preference is for nice fatty/chewy skin ... who knew!?)  but this makes for the fantastic gravy.
7.  Do what ever it is you are doing ... etc
8.  Stick the floret of cauliflower in with the rest of the veg, stir around and put back into the oven.
9.  20 minutes before serving ... pour the juice from the pork roasting tray into a jug.  Spoon off about 3/4 of the fat.  Make a gravy with a bit of the fat off the top, mix in some flour, stir into a smooth paste - then add the rest of the juices ... simmer (add more apple juice/stock if you think it needs it)
10.  Pull the pork out of the oven and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.
11.  Serve, scoff ... receive accolades ... bloody hell, it were gorgeous!  We all had thirds

Pork with mustard and cider, mash with leeks, roast sprouts, mushrooms and onions

Dinners have taken a definite wintery turn.  This was easy, and lovely.  Roast sprouts have a sweetness which can be missing in the boiled/steamed versions - try them!

Leeks
Potatoes
Butter
Onions
Mushrooms
Olive oil
Garlic
Sprouts
Pork steaks
Dry cider
Wholegrain mustard
Pork stock cube

1.  Slice and rinse leeks, put into a steamer and steam over the boiling potatoes.
2.  Peel potatoes and cut into chunks, boil in salted water.
3.  Chop onions and mushrooms and toss in olive oil, add crushed garlic - roast in an oven dish for about 30 minutes.
4.  Prepare sprouts by removing scruffy outer leaves and toss in olive oil, roast for about 30 minutes.
5.  Mash the potatoes, beat in leeks and butter - put into the oven with everything else.
6.  Fry the pork in a little olive oil, turn and fry on the other side.  Then add a big spoonful of wholegrain mustard, a pork stock cube and half a bottle of dry cider.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.
7.  Serve, scoff …. yum

A tale of two curries

Sunday, a confirmed meat eater, a vegetarian and assorted random veg in the fridge ... so - Sunday night curries.

Start the curries off at the same time, and follow the steps.  Takes about a hour start to finish.

I had some curry mixes, so based the spicing on those ... could have used individual spices obviously.

Onions
Olive oil
Garlic
Celery
Malaysian fish curry mix
Tikka masala mix
Chilli
Mushrooms
Red pepper
Butternut squash
Pork loin steaks
Water
Pork stock
Apples
Apple juice
Pilou spice mix
Basmati rice

1.  Chop onions and start 2 decent sized sautée pans going with the onions in olive oil.
2.  Add crushed garlic.
3.  Chop celery and add some to both pans.
4.  Stir in spice mixes - Malaysian for the veg and tikka masala for the pork.
5.  Chop mushrooms and add to both pans.
6. Chop red pepper and add to veggie curry.
7.  Chop pork into bite sized pieces and add to meat curry.
8.  Prep butternut squash and add to veggie curry, and stir in.  Add veg stock.
9.  Keep turning posh until lightly browned, then add cored and chopped apples.  Then add pork stock and a cup of apple juice.
10.  Simmer both curries, if they are going dry add more water - taste to check seasoning.
11.  Add pilou spices to a little olive oil and cook them for a minute or two.  Add basmati rice and water to an inch above the surface of the rice.  Stir once and bring to the boil.
12.  When rice boils turn right down and slam on the lid - it will be ready in about 15 minutes.
13.  Add a drained, rinsed, tin of chickpeas to the veggie curry.
14.  Add half a cup of coconut milk to each curry, stir in and simmer.
15. Serve, scoff ... obviously taking which option you prefer.  I had some of each ... yum

Pork with apple, mustard and cider - with leeks and beans

Having bought bargain pork loins for yesterday's tea, there were some left over for today - so ringing the changes we went for traditional apple, cider and mustard - and very tasty it was too.  For the non-meat eater I made griddled halloumi with marinated apple wedges.

Potatoes
Butter
Olive oil
Apples
Cider
Grainy mustard
Garlic
Leeks
green beans
white wine
vegetable stock

1.  Peel the potatoes and put them on to boil.
2.  Create a marinade/sauce by mixing olive oil, cider, grainy mustard and crushed garlic.  Cut apples into wedges and leave to stand in the marinade.
3.  Chop and wash leeks, put into a baking dish with a splash of olive oil, a splash of white wine and a cup of vegetable stock.  Put chopped beans on top to steam.  Cover and bake at 180 for about 30 minutes.
4.  Mash potatoes with butter, transfer to an oven dish and bake to brown the top.
5.  Fry the pork a little in olive oil, until the edges start to brown slightly, then add apple wedges and marinade, simmer.  Reserve some apple wedges for the halloumi.
6.  5 minutes before serving griddle the halloumi in a hot griddle alongside the reserved apple wedges.
7.  Serve, scoff

Jerk pork, wedges and coleslaw

Easy, peasy lemon squeezy - but very tasty too.

I make my own jamaican jerk spice mix, available from The Mediterranean Pantry - but there are many other brands available.

Olive oil
Pork loin chops
Jamaican jerk seasoning
Potatoes
Red onion
Carrot
Cabbage
sesame seeds
lemon juice

1.  Mix jamaican jerk seasoning with a spoonful of olive oil, rub onto pork and leave to marinade.
2.  Chop potatoes into wedges, toss in olive oil, and bake at 180 for about 40 minutes.
3.  Chop onion, peeled carrot and cabbage into coleslaw sized pieces (or grate if you don't fancy all that chopping).  Mix with a good pinch of salt.
4.  Add sesame seeds, a squirt of lemon juice and a glug of olive oil to the slaw and stir in.
5.  Pop the pork in the oven for the last 20 minutes of the potatoes.
6.  Serve, scoff - some people like to mix mayonnaise into their slaw for the creamier version.

Pork chop, with cider and mustard sauce

Comfort food!  Pork, mash and cabbage - with a few butter beans with fried onions.  Jazzed it up with some cider and mustard gravy - delicious.

Potatoes
Cabbage
Onions
Butter
Olive oil
Pork chops
Flour
Dry cider
Wholegrain mustard
Chicken stock
Cream cheese/cream

1.  Peel potatoes, boil, steam shredded cabbage on top - then mash the potatoes with butter.  Pop in the oven to get a nice crispy brown top.  Keep the cabbage warm.
2.  Chop onions and fry until golden brown, add drained butter beans.
3.  Fry pork chops, in a little olive oil, on each side for a couple of minutes - keep warm while you make the gravy.
4.  Stir a spoonful of flour into the pork pan, deglaze with dry cider.  Add a little chicken stock and a spoonful of grainy mustard.  Stir and simmer as it thickens a little.  Take it off the heat and stir in a small spoonful of cream cheese (or cream).
5.  Serve, scoff

Cowboy chow: pork'n'beans

Some fantastic pork steaks in Nick Fielding's Value pack, from Todmorden Market Hall - a tin of beans and a few tweaks ... lovely spicy beans, wedges and cabbage.  Our household has a number of dietary requirements, including vegetarian and veg dodging - so if we are all around it's easier to cook the meat separately - if I were cooking this for all meat eaters I would have been tempted to make a pork and bean stew.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Mushrooms
Tin of baked beans
Tin of tomatoes
chilli flakes
fennel seeds
BBQ sauce
cabbage
pork steaks

1.  Chop potatoes into wedges, toss in olive oil and roast for 45 minutes or so.
2.  Sautee chopped onion and garlic, add chilli flakes and fennel seeds.
3.  When the onion is soft add chopped mushrooms, baked beans, a tin of tomatoes, and a splash of water, simmer.  Add a squirt of BBQ sauce for extra tang.
4.  Shred and steam cabbage.
5.  Rub a little olive oil onto the pork steaks and pan fry for a couple of minutes each side.
6.  Serve, scoff - watch veg dodger have seconds of beans ... unafraid of the hidden mushrooms.  Vegetarian had a fired egg.

Monster pork chop and onions, with cider and mustard sauce

Monster pork chops from Fielden's family butcher, Todmorden market - juicy and delicious!  Served with mash and veg of your choice (ours was left over from previous dinners ... here, and here).  Made the pork extra lovely with fried onions and a cider and mustard sauce.

(Butter from The Crumbly cheese, mustard and olive oil from The Mediterranean Pantry ... great ingredients from Todmorden market).

Potatoes
Onions
butter
Pork chop
cider
mustard

1.  Peel and boil potatoes for mash, mash with butter and seasoning.
2.  Fry onions in olive oil until soft - remove from pan, and keep warm.
3.  Pan fry pork chops in onion pan - when done, transfer to oven dish and keep warm.
4.  Make quick sauce by adding mustard and cider to pork pan - simmer briefly - done.
5. Meanwhile cook/heat veg.
6.  Serve, scoff ...  veggie had halloumi and onoins ... everybody was happy.

Kinda tapas featuring pork and chorizo casserole

Recipes ... very simple ...

Onion
Chorizo
Pork
Cider

Mushrooms
Garlic
Olive oil
Brandy

Plum tomato
Smoked anchovies


Onion
Garlic
Red pepper
Patti pan squash
Sherry
Chickpeas
Paprika
Saffron

1.  Make 2 casseroles, 1 meaty, 1 veggie - by sauteeing onion and gralic in olive oil, in 2 pans.
2.  To the meat one add pork, chopped chorizo and cider.
3.  To the veggie one add paprika, saffron, red pepper, pattipan squash and sherry.  THen add chickpeas.
4.  Chop mushrooms, fry with garlic and brandy.
5.  Chop tomatoes, put anchovies on top.....

oh, yes start the baby potatoes first.

Pork'n'beans

At Kitchen Fairies HQ at the moment we have 4 people - all with particular dietary requirements.  1 pescatarian, 2 lactose intolerant, 1 gluten free and 1 "salad dodger" carnivore.  This makes dinner preparation an interesting experience.  Tonight I thought - cowboy dinner - but the pork can't touch the beans, and there was some lovely haddock - so the unifying element for everyone was a hearty veggie beanie sauce!  Also, there was cabbage in the fridge which needed using up, so a side dish of cabbage and cumin was included.

It took about 40 minutes start to finish.

Brown rice

Olive oil
Onion
Carrot
Celery
Garlic
Yellow pepper
Turkish beans
Paprika
Chopped tomatoes

Pork
White wine
Quince jelly
American mustard
Chicken stock

Haddock

Cumin
Cabbage

1.  Start the rice - I use the adsorption method - rice + water to about an inch above the rice, bring to the boil.  Lid on tight and keep hot in the oven while everything else finishes off.  It's quite a forgiving method, and the rice can sit there for quite a while as you sort everything else out.
2.  Now for the veg casserole - sautee chopped onion, carrot and celery in olive oil.  Add crushed garlic and chopped pepper, and a pinch of paprika.  Sautee until veg is a bit soft, but not done - then add a tin of beans (I used turkish beans because we had them - but butter beans or haricot would also work - even good old baked beans!) - and a tin of chopped tomatoes. Simmer.
3.  Fry the pork in olive oil, add a splosh of white wine (or apple juice), a spoonful of quince jelly (or apple jelly) and a squirt of american mustard.  A cup of chicken stock will stop it going too dry.
4.  Pan fry the haddock.
5.  Stir fry shredded cabbage in hot oil and cumin.
6.  Gather troops, serve, scoff.

Pork, butter bean and apple casserole

Another autumnal day in July, calling for another autumnal comforting casserole.  So, today, pork, butter bean and apple with mash and peas.  Sautee one chopped onion with celery, diced pork shoulder, garlic, mixed herbs, pepper, courgette, green beans and mushrooms. When a bit cooked add a spoonful of English mustard and a sprinkle of flour to thicken the sauce.  Turn over until the flour is thoroughly mixed, then add some chicken stock.  Simmer for a good half hour, and add chopped apple and butter beans, and a sprinkle of paprika.  Simmer a bit longer and serve with mash (or rice).  It was OK, nothing more.

Pork biryani

Victim was hankering biryani (go figure!), and we had some pork shoulder steaks in the freezer... and loads of veg from the veg box... so I fashioned this... and it was DELICIOUS (even though I say so myself).  Downside... enough left over for the rest of the week... Upside ... palmed it off on the neighbours... and some left for the freezer.  So, instructions... marinade diced pork in rogan josh curry paste, garam masala, loads  of crushed garlic, star anise, bay leaves, and some olive oil for at least an hour.   Meanwhile cook rice, and parboil some potatoes.  Sautee chopped onion until soft, add chopped veg (celery, red pepper, courgette, mushrooms, a turnip and fresh tomatoes) and cook gently until veg starts to soften. Season.  Add chicken stock and tin of chopped tomatoes.  Simmer again.  Cook pork in hot pan for about 10 minutes, including marinade - this stage is to seal the meat, but more importantly cook off the spices.  When the meat mixture has sizzled away for 10 minutes or so, add vegetable suace and mix well.  Chuck potatoes on the top and layer cooked rice over these.  I then added chopped almonds and cashews, and sultanas.  Cover tightly and cook in medium oven for at least an hour and a half.

Cowboy beans

sigh!  Fresh, delicious, porky beany slow cooked garlicy spicey stew... with nutty rice and a green veg.  AND VICTIM DECLARES PREFERENCE FOR THE PRODUCTS OF THE COMPANY OF 57 VARIETIES!!!! Never mind.  Despite many years of training, old habits and tastes die hard... and victim does keep sneaking contraband into the diet.... SO, putting my disappointment aside - and celebrating the fact that I think it was LOADS better than anything tinned... here is what I did... (OK, last warning... if you prefer plasticised sausges in a tin with sugary sauce - please open your tin - if you want real food with some flavour reading on might be useful....).  We had some pork belly slices in the freezer and none of us are keen on the fat, so I thought a sear - followed by a long slow stew would give tasty results - so chop pork belly into small bite size pieces and brown/sear in hot olive oil.  Add 2 chopped onions and about 4 finely chopped cloves of garlic.  Then added veg - in this case - orange pepper, celery and some nice mushrooms.  Stir in until all coated with pan juices - add herbs, tsp marmite, tsp mustard, big splash Lea and Perrins and whatever hot sauce (tabasco/ BBQ whatever is to hand... to taste), {erm .. if going even more from scratch here you need molasses, vinegar, chili, pepper, salt and other spices to taste) and good grind of black pepper.  Simmer / put in hottish oven if you have other stuff on - for about 30 ins - added soaked / tinned (prepared in a carton from S'sby) - cannelini or flagolet beans - taste - add whatever you think it needs - try salt first, then add herbs/ marmite for complexity - chili/curry powder for heat.  Add tin tomatoes and/or cartons of passata until it all looks OK...  Serve with rice (see the packet!) and a green veg.  Victim complained (unfairly I think, see above) but also commandeered good portion to feed outlaws - and 4 more dinners packed in boxes... so on economy scale I approximate - 65-70p per portion.

Pork,mustard, cider and apple casserole with veg

Didn't have long, but had outlaws expected for Sunday nosh up - so - quick casserole with pork fillet and apples from the veg box with assorted health giving greens.

Soften leeks, celery and garlic in olive oil - add bite sized pieces of pork fillet (yes, I know - criminal waste of the lean meat - but it stays tender, and doesn't need 3 hours slow cooking to be a tasty, but light stew which goes down well).  Add a couple of good splodges of grain mustard, decent slosh of dry cider and about 1/2 pint chicken stock.  Simmer for 20 mins (ish) add 3 chopped apples, bung back in oven.  Add handful of frozen peas and finish off in oven for 10 mins. (Could have stirred in creme fraiche for creamy finish - but didn't feel like it).

Meanwhile - bored with mash, and not wanting the moaning I get with plain boiled spuds... boiled some peeled spuds in smallish chunks until nearly done - drained and chucked in baking dish in a hot oven with a drizzle of olive oil for last 10 mins, to get a crispy (faux roast) potato crust. Served with steamed carrots and kale.  Yum to curly kale - yah boo sucks to one of the victims who doesn't like it... it's REALLY good for you.