For the past several years I have been looking at pork belly and wondering what it would taste like. It's one of the lesser expensive cuts that you can buy, and I had wondered was it any good? Would we like it? Would it cook away to nothing?
A pretty nondescript piece of meat, it looks like a big slab of bacon, unsmoked completely and with a thick layer of skin and fat covering the top of it, not to mention another layer of fat normally running through the centre of it . . .
I kept hearing such wonderful things about it, and so yesterday I finally caved in and bought a hunk.
The lovely thick layer of skin and fat on this particular cut of meat really helps to keep it moist as it cooks. The alchemy that occurs means that the pork skin slowly crisps to a wonderfully crisp layer of crackling whilst the fat in the layers, melts and dissolves, basting the meat constantly, giving you a moist and succulent roast underneath.
If you've been holding off from buying this particular cut of meat, hold off no longer. This truly is a hidden gem, and you'll find yourself wondering why on earth you waited so long!
And all for a mere £2.63. Who knew?
*Slow Roasted Pork Belly*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
If you love succulent, rich meat with magnificently crunchy crackling, this tasty dish is for you. Cheap, easy and yet moreishly delicious! This will grab you by the socks!
1 kg piece of pork belly, with skin still on
olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/325*F. Lay the onions on the base of a fairly heavy baking dish. (You want one with an edge) Take your piece of pork and using a Stanley knife, score some deep heavy cuts all along the rind at 1/2 inch intervals, if it has not already been done for you by the butcher. Cut down through the skin and into the fat, but not all the way to the meat. Rub the skin with a little bit of olive oil and some sea salt, massaging it into the cracks. Season the pork flesh with a bit of salt and pepper. Place the pork on top of the onions, flesh side down and skin side up. The onions will act as sort of a trivet and keep the porl from touching the hot dish. Pour a bit of water into the pan, just enough to cover the bottom of it by about 1/4 inch. Bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, checking it every so often to see that the pan hasn't gone dry, and adding more water periodically. Don't let the water touch the crackling or the meat. At the end of that time you should have a succulent moist piece of meat and delightfylly crisp and crunchy crackling. If the crackling isn't as crisp as you would like, turn the oven up to about 200*C/400*F and roast for a further 15 to 20 minutes to crisp it up a bit further. Don't worry, the water in the bottom of the pan will help to keep the pork from drying out.
Remove from the oven and allow to sit for about 5 minutes. Slice the crackling off the top and break into bits of crunchy delight and slice the meat with a sharp knife.
You can drain all the fat from the pan and serve with the juices and caramelized onions if you wish, but I just made a tasty pot of apple pear sauce to serve with mine.
*Apple Pear Sauce*
Makes about 3 cups
Printable Recipe
This sauce is so easy to make and goes so very well with pork chops and roast pork. It's also tasty in it's own right simply served warm with some vanilla ice cream, or with pancakes for breakfast!
4 cooking apples, peeled and chopped
3 pears, peeled and chopped
1 TBS lemon juice
4 ounces pressed apple juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until all the fruit is soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and whip with a fork until the mixture is mashed but with some texture still remaining. Serve warm.
One of my favourite ingredients to use is capers. I just adore wonderful tang and pungent taste. Some would say they are an acquired taste, and Todd would agree . . . but I just love them. Sharp and piquant, with a fabulous aroma that I just adore. I use them in sauces and casseroles and also on pizzas and in salads. They can even be fried and tossed into dishes for a crunchy, crispy and tangy accent. I always have at least two jars in my larder at any given time.
Capers are the unopened buds that grow on the new limbs of a caper plant which is a small-flowering bush that is usually seen growing wild along the Mediterranean coastline. It’s usually found clinging and protruding from rocks, mountainsides, and out of cracks in walls and structures along the way. Picked and then pickled in vinegar, oil, or brine, and also salted, they are wonderful additions to many dishes, the most common of which is piccata.
Once upon a time, the ancient Greeks and Romans used them for medicinal purposes, and eventually they found their way into their culinary adventures. It is interesting to note though, that capers contain a high amount of rutin, a well-known bioflavinoid and anti-oxidant., so I guess the Greeks and Romans were ahead of their time!
Capers range in size from the very tiny non-pariels (about the size of a peppercorn) which is the size that I use the most, and the ones that are the most prized for their flavour . . . right on up to about grape size. You can buy the larger ones with the stems still attached and they do make a pretty picture in some dishes.
Lemon, capers and parsley are wonderful partners.
See what I mean?
*Chicken with Lemon, Parsley and Capers*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
If you like tender chicken with lots of flavour you will love this. The lemon, parsley and capers combine to form a delicious sauce. This is quick to do and a real favourite around here. I like to serve this with mashed or boiled potatoes and some haricots verts.
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each one sliced through the middle horizontally
to form two escalopes
salt and pepper
4 TBS flour
4 TBS olive oil
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and mashed a bit
the juice and zest of one lemon
2 TBS of capers in vinegar, rinsed, drained and chopped
4 TBS finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Season the chicken escalopes lightly on both sides and then dredge them in the flour, patting to help it adhere and shaking off any excess. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook until quite fragrant. Push the garlic to one side. Add the chicken slices to the hot oil and brown them over medium high heat on both sides. Squeeze the lemon juice over all and add the lemon zest, capers and parsley. Let the lemon juice bubble up, then clap on a lid and remove the pan from the heat. Allow to sit for several minutes to make sure the chicken is cooked through. It will be soft and moist and very flavourful. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if required. Serve immediately.
We are great lovers of meatballs in this house. Tasty little bites, usually accompanied with sauce or gravy, they always go down well.
I have a real cracker of a recipe for Spaghetti and meatballs that I have been making for years. Todd hates pasta though, so I only very rarely get to make it, although I have used the sauce and meatballs to make a meatball sub casserole before to rave reviews.
I often make Swedish or Norwegian Meatballs, which we like to have with fluffy piles of mashed potatoes to help sop up all that lucious gravy.
Meatball stew and soup also make it onto our menu once in a while. Mince meat is quite economical and needn't be fatty and un-healthy. I always try to buy lean minced beef and pork. Buying cheap mince is using false economy as most of it disappears down the drain in fat anyways. When you think about it, buying meat that is 1/3 fat means that you are paying 1/3 more in the long run, as you are paying for something that you are not actually going to eat. (Well at least you SHOULDN'T be eating all that fat. It's not good for you!)
I had never been all that fond of making meatballs out of turkey or chicken mince though. They usually ended up dry and tasteless, until I discovered this little secret.
Mincing up equal amounts of dark and light meat. You get a really tasty and moist mixture that doesn't dry out.
You're going to really love these. We do.
*Glazed Chicken Bites*
Makes about 40
Printable Recipe
These meatballs are tangy and delicious and moist. They make excellent appetizers and are lovely as a main course as well. I serve them with a rice pilaff, and everyone loves them. I have made them with ground turkey as well, although I do admit the chicken tastes better though. I usually make my own chicken mince, using a combination of thigh and breast meat.
500g minced chicken
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp chinese five spice
1 TBS chopped chives
1/2 cup of stale bread crumbs
For the glaze:
1/2 cup red currant jelly
1/2 cup mango chutney
the juice of half a lemon
Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. LIne a baking sheet with baking parchment and grease the paper. Set aside.
Place the chicken, egg, coriander, chinese five spice, chives and bread crumbs into a bowl. Mix well with your hands. Shape level tablespoons of the mixture into balls. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, or until well browned. Drain on absorbent paper if need be.
Place the glaze ingredients in a medium skillet. Stir low heat until melted and combined. Add the meatballs and heat through, simmering, uncovered until lightly glazed. Serve hot.
Something that I had never ever heard of before I moved over here to the UK, was a tasty dish called beans on toast.
They eat everything on toast over here . . . tinned mushrooms, tinned spaghetti, tinned tomatoes, sardines, cheese . . . and, well, baked beans.
I first encountered this dish at the care facility that I worked at not too long after Todd and I got married. They were serving the residents beans on toast one night for supper, and I asked the cook . . . what exactly is beans on toast?
She looked at me like I was a complete doofus, which of course I was. I thought that there must be some mystical recipe, and that I had somehow missed out on it all my life.
I felt really dumb when she told me it was exactly what it said . . . baked beans dumped on to toast.
So, like any good Canadian that is trying hard to assimilate into a new country, I went home and tried it. I had to see what all the excitement was about.
They were quite good, but . . . I can remember thinking to myself . . . they can be better, and so I kicked them up a notch.
Anyone who knows me, knows I just can't leave well enough alone. I must always improve things in some way. (Which again, is debateable, but to me . . . they are improved)
And yes . . . sometimes even Todd and I have beans on toast for our tea.
And what's more, I'm cheeky brilliant enough to give you a recipe for it!
(These are rather good, if I don't say so myself.)
*Beans on Toast*
Serves 2
Comfort, comfort, comfort . . .
For the toast:
4 slices of sourdough bread
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 ounces strong cheddar cheese, grated
For the beans:
1 (14 1/2 oz/425g) tin of baked beans in tomato sauce
1 TBS dark treacle
1 TBS soft light brown sugar
1 TBS cider vinegar
1 tsp mustard
2 tsp grated onion
Place the beans, treacle, sugar, vinegar, mustard and onion in a saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring, then reduce the heat to simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Keep warm while you do the toast.
Pre-heat the grill on your oven to high. Place the bread slices on a baking tray and grill for several minutes on each side until lightly toasted.
Sprinkle one side of each slice with 1/4 of the grated cheese. Sprinkle the onions evenly over top of all. Bang back under the grill and grill until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Place two sliced of cheese toast on each of two warmed plates. Divide the beans equally amongst the two plates and spoon them over top of the cheese toasts. Enjoy!
I just love pears. Like plums, apricots, nectarines, apples, berries, figs . . . they are one of my absolute favourite fruits.
hmm . . . I am thinking that perhaps I just love fruits? Who knew!
I came across some beautiful little forelle pears in the grocery store on Friday and I knew right away what I wanted to make.
This is my absolutely favouritest of all favouritest desserts. Simple and yet . . .
very scrummy and moreish . . . and yet at the same time, elegant enough to serve at a special dinner party or celebration.
I could eat the whole recipe by myself, but I'm not a greedy person. I do share from time to time.
Perfect desserts are meant to be shared . . . don't you think?? (And I know just the perfect person to share these with!)
*Caramelized Pears with Mascarpone Cream*
Serves 4
This is one of my favourite desserts. I love the subtle flavour of the spices with the sweet creaminess of the pears. I like this much better than any alcohol based recipe. Mascarpone cheese goes with them so perfectly. If this doesn't become one of your favourites, I'll eat my hat!
4 forella pears
(can use larger ones, but they will take a bit longer to cook)
2 TBS butter
2 TBS runny Italian honey
1/2 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
1 star anise, broken in half
2 bruised cardamom pods
1/2 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 TBS brown sugar
the juice of one lemon
To serve:
1/2 cup double cream
1/2 cup of full fat mascarpone cheese
the grated zest of one lemon
2 TBS caster sugar
Peel the pears and then cut them in half, leaving the stems on if possible. Scoop out the centre seeds with a melon baller.
Place the butter and the honey into a large deep and heavy skillet. Melt together and then add the vanilla bean, scraping out the seeds into the mixture. Add the star anise, cardamom pods, and the cinnamon stick. Grate the nutmeg over top.
Bring to a boil and once the mixture starts to foam, add the pears, cut side down. Reduce the heat to medium low.
Cook until the pears are golden brown on the underside and tender when tested with the tip of a sharp knife. Remove to a serving bowl.
Stir the lemon juice and the brown sugar into the pan drippings. Bring to the boil and cook until the mixture is syrupy. Pour over the pears.
You can remove the spices if you wish, but I think they look lovely. Just warn your guests not to eat them.
Whisk the mascarpone cheese and double cream together with the sugar until soft peaks form. Fold in the lemon zest.
Serve the pears warm with a drizzle of syrup over top and a dollop of the mascarpone cream.
Can there be any more comforting pudding on earth than Bread and Butter Pudding?
I think not.
Essentially designed to use up all the stale bread in the house, this quintessential British pudding was created by an epicurian of genius proportions back somewhere in the 17th century, having evolved from it's tasty ancestor . . . bread pudding. Bread pudding used up stale bread as well, and along with a varieity of sweet spices, currants and raisins was simply steamed and then devoured. When more luxurious items like eggs, butter and cream became more readily available, it was only a matter of course before they found their way into the mix, and we ended up with the deliciously tasty dessert that we have come to know and love today.
I am always one for trying and adapting things to the currant situation in my larder. I have made this lovely pudding with dates and nuts. I've also used stale brioche and studded the pud with chunks of Green & Blacks milk chocolate. After Christmas is all over, it's wonderful made with the last of the Pannetone . . . stale gingerbread and chunks of roasted apple . . . I've deliciously been there.
Essentially, it's the perfect pud to use up all sorts of stale bread, cakes and loaves . . .
Today I came home from the shops armed with several punnets of juicy, dark, ruby coloured plums . . . on offer at two punnets for three quid. How could I resist?
We just love plums in this house, and they looked so beautiful sitting there in their little baskets, just begging to be bought.
I've done plum cakes and tarts recently and today I thought . . . mmmm . . . Bread and Butter Pudding with Plums . . . why not?
*Plum Bread and Butter Pudding*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
What could be any better than Bread and Butter Pudding? Why Plum Bread and Butter Pudding of course! Rich and creamy and indulgently delicious, not to mention stogged full of tasty roasted plums. What's not to like?
1 punnet of dark red plums
(about 8)
1 cup of caster sugar, plus a bit to spoon into the plums
1/2 loaf of coarse stale bread
softened butter
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup of whole milk
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Wash the plums and cut in half. Remove the stones and then place them into a baking dish, skin side down. Place approximately 1/2 tsp of caster sugar into the centre of each. Bake in the heated oven for 15 minutes or so, just until the juices begin to run. Remove from the oven and set aside. Turn the oven temperature down to 180*C/350*F.
Trim all the crusts off of the bread. (I always give them to the birds) Cut the bread into 1 inch wide strips. Butter them on both sides generously. Lightly butter a 6 by 8 inch glass baking dish.
Whisk together the eggs and the sugar, whisking until the sugar is almost dissolved. Whisk the milk and the cream together in a large beaker along with the vanilla paste. Slowly whisk in the egg mixture, whisking until you have a nice creamy custard like solution. Sit aside.
Place the bread into the baking dish, by placing three strips across, almost upright, but not quite. Place a plum half on each. Place another three strips in front of the plums. Place another three plum halves on each. Repeat until all the bread strips and plum halves have been used. I also cut several strips into smaller pieces and tuck them in all the way around the pudding, kind of like a frame.
Pour the custard slowly onto the bread in the pudding, in and around the plums. Allow the bread to absorb the custard, before pouring on more. Add custard until the bread can't absorb any more. Drizzle any plum juices over top and then place into the oven. Baked for 30 to 35 minutes, until the sides of the pudding are set and the top is nicely puffed and lightly browned. The centre should still be a bit jiggly. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to warm. Cut into slabs to serve. We like to serve this with additional cream for pouring over top.
I wasn't kidding yesterday morning when I said that fish and chips were one of my absolute favourite dishes. When I first came to the UK, nine years ago now, that was one of the top things on my list of things to eat.
After having eaten quasi "English" fish and chips in Canadian restaurants my whole lifetime, I really wanted to experience the real thing.
I was here, visiting for three weeks, and it was not until the last week of my visit that I was able to do so.
I can remember it was bucketing down rain (how typically English and NORTHERN English) and my husband rode to the shop on his bicycle to pick them up, as he didn't have a car back them. I was so excited as I waited back at the flat . . . finally I was going to be eating the meal of my dreams. They would all be so jealous back home!
He arrived home at the flat with a filmsy blue plastic bag filled with plain newspaper (no print allowed anymore, I'm afraid) stogged full of beautiful hand cut and fried chips and two gorgeous big battered filets of Cod, so big that they hung off the sides of our plates.
Oh, they smelled so good . . . and the taste . . . well, it was everything I had dreamt of, and more.
Back then you could get a cone of chips (a little styrofoam cone shaped cup) for about 60p and a portion, which was enough to feed two people more than amply, was £1.
A lovely HUGE piece of cod cost £2 and so we could get ourselves fish and chips of a Friday night for a fiver, which wasn't bad. The only hard part was waiting in the queue at the local chippies which always went around the corner of a Friday evening!
Nowadays the same meal would cost you in access of 12 to 15 pounds and I have to say it . . . the fish and chips down here in the South just cannot compare to the ones up North, at least thus far in my experience.
If anyone knows any different then let me know!
Anyways, after all that talk about fish and chips yesterday morning, and, even though we'd had fish for dinner the night before, my taste buds were tingling for some lovely battered fish, and what can you do when that happens, I ask?
Why . . . you must have what you must have!!
And we did. I made my own though, coz, well . . . it's better than the fish in the chippies down here . . . and alot cheaper too.
No fried chips this time though. I only had new potatoes in the house and they make rotten chips
There is nothing more appealing than a delicious plate of English fish and chips. This is not considered to be the National favourite dish for nothing. We love, LOVE our fish and chips here in the UK!
Beer Battered Fish
Yield: 4
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 15 Min
This is the best battered fish you could ever want to eat. Light and crisp and the fish is beautifully flakey inside. Make sure your oil is hot before you start frying the fish. Also make sure your fish is well coated with flour before you dip it into the batter. If you follow these two rules you will be rewarded with delicious crisp battered fish, perfectly moist on the inside.
Ingredients
- 4 cod or haddock fish fillets(I like the thick ones myself)
- 1 1/3 cup ( 190g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup (240ml) of beer (a light lager works best)
- the juice of half a lemon
- salt to taste
- Flour for dredging the fish in
- Oil for frying
To serve: (optional)
- Malt Vinegar
- Lemon Slices
- Tartar sauce
- Mushy peas
Instructions
- Place about an inch and a half of sunflower oil into a deep skillet. Heat over medium high heat until hot. A cube of bread should brown in the hot oil in about 10 seconds. While the oil is heating get the fish ready.
- Place the flour, soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the beer and lemon juice to make a thick batter. Set aside.
- Season your fish pieces with a bit of salt and then dredge completely in the flour, shaking off any excess.
- Dip into the batter and then carefully tease it into the hot oil. Cook for about 4 to 5 minutes per side, until nicely browned and crispy.
- Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon to drain on some kitchen paper.
- Serve immediately with some chips if desired, and salt and vinegar. Mushy Peas, lemon slices and tartar sauce are optional!
Sometimes I like to eat healthy . . . well . . . a lot of the time I try to eat healthy. I just love fish, especially cod and haddock. I am not that "in" to Mackeral or other strong oily fishes, although I do enjoy salmon from time to time.
In my family, we always ordered English fish and chips whenever we went out to eat. There was never any question. We only ever very rarely went out to eat, and when we did we really fancied a treat. Fish and chips fit the bill perfectly.
I am afraid that I still order fish and chips most of the time when I eat out, coz . . . well,
I digress however . . . fish and chips are not healthy, and the fish that I cooked for us today was.
Moist, flaky, and lemony.
And good for you.
Served on a tasty bed of edamame mash and garnished with some tasty roasted tomatoes and torn basil leaves, this went down a real treat.
*Lemon Roasted Cod with Edamame Mash*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
This is lovely. Tender flakey and milk cod sitting on a bed of tasty basil flavoured edamame mash. Tomatoes and Cod are perfect partners.
4 small bunches of cherry tomatoes on the vine
2 TBS lemon olive oil
4 chunky cod fillets
the zest of one lemon, plus the juice of one lemon
1- 480g pack of frozen edamame beans
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and cut into chunks
1 bunch of basil, the leaves and stalks separated
200ml of hot vegetable or chicken stock
Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Lightly grease a baking tray. Place the tomatoes on the tray, rub with a bit of oil and then season lightly with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Roast for 5 minutes, or until the skins begin to split. Add the fish to the baking dish and top with the lemon zest. Season with some more salt and pepper and then drizzle with a bit more of the oil. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with the tines of a fork.
While the fish is cooking, cook the beans in a pot of slightly salted boiling water. Cook for 3 minutes or so, until just barely tender. Drain well. Place into a food processor along with the basil stalks, lemon juice, the remaining lemon oil, the garlic and the stock. Pulse to mash into a thick coarse puree. Season to taste with some salt and pepper.
Divide the bean mash between 4 hot serving plates. Top each with a filet of fish and divide the tomatoes equally amongst the plates. Scatter the basil leaves, torn, over top and serve.
Feeling your oats is one of the nicest ways to look after your heart and to start your day in a nutritiously tasty way. I reckon I have oats in at least one form or another every morning.
As tasty meusli, mixed with nuts and fruit.
As a delicious granola, sweet with honey, and raisins and chock full of nuts.
Crumbly cereal bits, stirred into yummy Greek Yoghurt and drizzled with Greek Honey.
Or, as the most comforting and delicious way of all . . .
Cooked and simmered into a nice big bowl of porridge.
Not too hot.
Not too cold.
Just right . . . sigh . . . papa bear loves it too . . .
*Perfect Porridge*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
There is nothing like a tasty bowl of porridge oats to warm the tummy on these cooler mornings. I find a bowl of this keeps me going for more than half the day. It's most comforting and quite nourishing.
1 1/2 pints of whole milk
8 ounces porridge oats
1 TBS golden syrup
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
pinch salt
7 ounces single cream
1/2 cup sultanana raisins
Brown sugar to serve and additional milk or cream
Place the milk in a large non-stick saucepan. Bring to the boil and then whisk in the oats, syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins and salt. Reduce to a slow simmer and then cook, stirring from time to time, for 8 to 10 minutes, until cooked. Whisk in the 7 ounces of cream and heat gently. Spoon into warm bowls, sprinkle with brown sugar and pass the milk!
Note - I sometimes add chopped apricots, or dates, or even a mashed banana. Delicious!
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