Editor's May Pick #2: San Choy Bow

Editor's note: Coming up on Summer fast, I'm trying to cut down on the winter comfort foods and this recipe is a great idea. Full on flavour and substituting the carbs for veggies. If you're like me and impulsively change your mind at the last minute, this will absolutely go well with a side of noodles! I still am yet to hunt down the Shaoxing but am excited to try. For those of us who don't partake, Oumph! do a good line of frozen fake meats that go well in stir fries if you're all Quorned out.

Now back to reality and more ideas …

… for your multitasking working week suppers.

How about choosing roast pork for your Sunday roast? It would be perfect for my next idea – ideally choose a roast that's big enough to give you 500g of leftover pork.

A stir fry makes the best and quickest use of your leftover roast so you'll need a wok!

San Choy Bow is Chinese and here's my useless bit of information - “sang choi” means lettuce in Cantonese.

Here goes :

San Choy Bow

Little Gem lettuce cups

(if Little Gem not available use Iceberg -

smaller inner leaves) – I would say 3 per person

depending on size of appetites

500g/1lb2oz leftover roast pork, shredded

1 garlic clove or garlic paste

1 red chilli, finely chopped

150g/5oz chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped

6 spring onions, finely chopped

225g/8oz water chestnuts, rinsed and chopped

200g/7oz bean sprouts, chopped

Glug of rapeseed oil

3 tbsp hoisin sauce*

1 tbsp soy sauce*

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce*

1 tbsp dry sherry or Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)*

Wash your lettuce, pat dry ready to serve.

Combine the four ingredients marked * to make a sauce – this can be made ahead.

Over a high heat add the oil to your wok and cook the garlic and chilli for a minute. Add the mushrooms, onions, water chestnuts and bean sprouts until mixed through and sizzling followed by the shredded pork – 2/3 minutes.

Add the sauce mixture, stirring and sizzling until completely combined for a final 2/3 minutes.

There's more!

Editor's Pick #1: When You Have Another 5 Minutes Spare - Slow Cooked Pork Loin Steaks With Calvados Cream Sauce

Editor's note: People can be picky when it comes to pork and it's not for everyone, but take one look at the photo on this recipe and you'll undoubtedly want to give it a try. The sauce for me is the real secret of this one, a creamy mustard based sauce makes this a sure-fire hit on a cold damp night. Editors tip: Make twice the amount of sauce because you will want to add it to your meal the next night! 

… try this and before we begin can I suggest that if you're cooking a roast this weekend, cook extra veggies – par boiled or part roasted parsnips, carrots and potatoes would be excellent choices.

Slow cooked pork loin steaks with

Calvados cream sauce

600g/1lb 5oz pork loin steaks – 6 steaks, trimmed

glug of rapeseed/Canola oil

salt and black pepper

generous sprinkle of dried herbs – sage or

thyme

2 tsps of garlic paste – optional

500ml/1 pint approx vegetable stock – use a stock pot if you're

not using your own stock

Heat the oil in a large frying pan until hot. Seal the loin steaks on both sides, add salt and black pepper, garlic and herbs. Set aside the steaks in the slow cooker then add your stock to the residual juices in the frying pan, bring to the boil and slow cook for 3 hours.

Before you begin to make your sauce, time for the leftover veggies – try and make sure they are of a similar size. Place in a foil tray and drizzle with rapeseed or similar oil and season with salt and black pepper. Pop into a pre-heated oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6 for 25 minutes to allow them to finish roasting and become crisp.

For the sauce, you'll need approximately 200ml of stock from the cooked pork steaks - strain, cover and fridge until cold and ready for use. Freeze the remainder of the stock.

Calvados cream sauce

15g/¾ oz unsalted butter

15g/¾ oz plain flour

1 tsp garlic paste or 1 clove, crushed

glug of Calvados

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

200ml/7 fl oz stock

300ml/½ pint/10 fl oz double cream

salt and black pepper

Melt the butter, take the pan off the heat, add the flour and whisk. Return to the heat and cook out the flour for 2/3 mins, stirring continuously – add the garlic paste and mustard and then, on a high heat, add the Calvados and cook for 1-2 mins. Add the cold stock straight into the sauce and whisk until smooth, then cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Add the cream and simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve in large bowls, veggies first then the pork and drizzle with the sauce.

It looks just like this :

Feeling peckish?

Editor's Pick # 4: Hooked on cooking – the main event!

Editor's note: Now, this one is pulled from the archives, from 2016 no less! Supermarkets might offer you the convenience of picking up their pre-rolled meatballs, but they don't do it for free. Plus, if you take the extra time (not much!) to roll your own, you're guaranteed to come away with an idea for next time you make them. Change of seasoning? Different meat? Bigger? Smaller? The world is your lobster, so have a read, treat yourself and your loved ones and give it a go. Also not to be missed is the tomato sauce recipe which if you're making meatballs is essential - with a couple of extremely important pointers. Easy when you know how!

Ringing the changes, today's session will be cooking supper for tonight.

The recipe that follows is easy and makes really tasty meatballs, together with a tomato sauce. All you'll have to do later on is cook the spaghetti – can't be bad! As a rough guide 450g of minced meat will give you twelve meatballs, so if you've four students with 450g per two students, you'll have 24 meatballs in total – this is not an exact science since your students are new at this and the sizes may vary!

Meatballs

450g minced beef, pork or turkey

*salt and black pepper

*garlic – either 2 tsps of paste or 2 cloves, crushed

*mixed herbs or garlic Italian seasoning – a generous sprinkle

*half a tsp of chilli

*heaped tbsp of tomato paste

*1 egg

sprinkle of plain flour

Rapeseed or vegetable oil for shallow frying

Place the mince in a large mixing bowl then add the remaining ingredients marked *, mix well. At this point your mixture may be too wet. If it is, sprinkle a little plain flour over the mixture and fold in gently.

Use a teaspoon as a measure and heaped with mixture, roll it between your hands and set aside on a board. When the meatballs are ready, heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry on a low heat, gently and carefully shaking the pan to ensure they are evenly coloured – use tongs if you are accident prone! Seal the meatballs in batches - 8 at a time and then transfer to an oven-proof dish or foil tray ready for later – cool, cover and fridge.

When you are ready for supper later in the day place the dish or tray containing the meatballs in a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 and complete the cooking for 20/30 minutes – this time will vary depending on the sizes of the meatball – ensure that they are properly cooked – cut a larger one in half to be sure. Whilst the meatballs are in the oven cook your spaghetti and warm up the tomato sauce.

It may be that your students won't be interested in the tomato sauce element – it depends on their attention span – but it's easy to do and takes no time at all – in fact the sauce will improve with “standing” so if it is the case that you are making the sauce you can make it the day before, cover and fridge - after all your students have supplied the main event!

Tomato Sauce

500g sieved tomatoes or the equivalent in cans of chopped tomatoes

1 medium/large onion, chopped finely

garlic clove or tsp of minced garlic

1tbsp olive oil

knob of butter

vegetable stock pot and 250ml of boiling water

oregano or garlic Italian seasoning

black pepper

1 tsp caster sugar

Melt the olive oil and butter in a saucepan, add the onion and fry gently until soft then add the garlic. Add the oregano or garlic Italian seasoning and black pepper. Then add your stock pot and boiling water so that it melts, add the tomatoes and sprinkle on the tsp of sugar. The sugar is meant to balance out the acidity that one sometimes gets with tomatoes. Simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes.

N.B. If you want to add extra depth you can add a tbsp of tomato paste. I would suggest that you taste your sauce before you simmer for 20 minutes. If you add paste then the simmering process will cook it out and its important that you do this - it tastes horrid if you don't. A lot depends on personal taste and how good your tomatoes are.

Here's hoping your students are hooked and the rest of the family too!

How about choosing roast pork for your Sunday roast?

It would be perfect for my next idea - choose a roast that's big enough to give you 500g of leftover pork – if the budget permits – if not you can use mince.

A stir fry makes the best and quickest use of your leftover roast so you'll need a wok!

San Choy Bow is Chinese and here's my useless bit of information - “sang choi” means lettuce in Cantonese.

Here goes :

San Choy Bow

Little Gem lettuce cups

(if Little Gem not available use Iceberg -

smaller inner leaves) – I would say 3 per person

depending on size of appetites

500g/1lb2oz leftover roast pork, shredded

1 garlic clove or garlic paste

1 red chilli, finely chopped

150g/5oz chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped

6 spring onions, finely chopped

225g/8oz water chestnuts, rinsed and chopped

200g/7oz bean sprouts, chopped

Glug of rapeseed oil

3 tbsp hoisin sauce*

1 tbsp soy sauce*

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce*

1 tbsp dry sherry or Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)*

Wash your lettuce, pat dry ready to serve.

Combine the four ingredients marked * to make a sauce – this can be made ahead.

Over a high heat add the oil to your wok and cook the garlic and chilli for a minute. Add the mushrooms, onions, water chestnuts and bean sprouts until mixed through and sizzling followed by the shredded pork – 2/3 minutes.

Add the sauce mixture, stirring and sizzling until completely combined for a final 2/3 minutes.

Serve!

Slaw and jackets next …

Now for the Calvados cream sauce

Once again you can make the sauce ahead, leaving only the last step – adding the cream and the pork steaks and gently warming through, 20 minutes into the 30 minute finish time, on your hob, in a large frying pan.

I made my “base sauce” in a small saucepan which is much easier, when cooled, to fridge.

You'll need approximately 200ml of stock from the cooked pork steaks which you've already strained. Freeze the remainder of the stock.

Calvados cream sauce

15g/¾ oz unsalted butter

15g/¾ oz plain flour

1 tsp garlic paste or 1 clove, crushed

glug of Calvados

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

200ml/7 fl oz stock

300ml/½ pint/10 fl oz double cream

salt and black pepper

Melt the butter, take the pan off the heat, add the flour and whisk. Return to the heat and cook out the flour for 2/3 mins, stirring continuously – add the garlic paste and mustard and then, on a high heat, add the Calvados and cook for 1-2 mins. Add the cold stock straight into the sauce and whisk until smooth, then cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

At this point cover and set aside to cool, then fridge.

On the evening, tip the base sauce – carefully – into a large frying pan - whisk and warm gently - add the cream and simmer for 5 minutes then add the pork steaks – simmer gently for 20 minutes as mentioned above.

P.s. Calvados is an apple brandy produced in Normandy, France.

Pp.s. Just in case you needed “glug” defining – about two tablespoons.

Appetiser up next!

Now for the pork …

This dish is perfect for slow cooking and ideal to cook ahead for a dinner party.

Slow cooked pork loin steaks with

Calvados cream sauce

600g/1lb 5oz pork loin steaks – 6 steaks, trimmed

glug of rapeseed/Canola oil

salt and black pepper

generous sprinkle of dried herbs – sage or

thyme

2 tsps of garlic paste – optional

500ml/1 pint approx vegetable stock – use a stock pot if you're

not using your own stock

Heat the oil in a large frying pan until hot. Seal the loin steaks on both sides, add salt and black pepper, garlic and herbs. Set aside the steaks in the slow cooker then add your stock to the residual juices in the frying pan, bring to the boil, pour over the steaks and slow cook for 3 hours.

At the end of the cooking time remove the pork steaks from the stock and set aside, covered, to cool.

Pass the stock through a sieve and set aside, covered, to cool.

Fridge the steaks and the stock.

Now for the Calvados cream sauce!

Jackfruit photos

canned

ready to use in a BBQ sauce

ready to use in a Thai curry

my version in a BBQ sauce

The Upton's Naturals products are available from Holland and Barrett.

Up next an idea or two for your Christmas List!

Jackfruit joy!

One of the latest products to appear on our supermarket shelves is jackfruit, suitable for both vegetarians and vegans. Jackfruit is an excellent product for those who want a substitute designed to resemble meat in both texture and taste. It's popularity has grown because it simulates pulled pork – ideal in the burger and wrap world!

Jackfruit – aka jack tree is used a lot in Southern Asian cuisines. Its fruit is the largest of all trees and can weigh as much as 55kg (120lb) – 90cm (35”) in length and 50cm (20”) in diameter. It takes various forms – noodles, chips and then canned for the “pulled pork” et al or as a sweet fruit in syrup.

Jackfruit is one of the biggest food trends for vegetarians and vegans – even meat lovers too. You seriously cannot tell the difference between pulled pork and the jackfruit version. Added to which it's low in salt and calories. It contains fibre and potassium so another big tick.

You can buy a range of ready to eat jackfruit products – have a look in the chilled cabinets – you'll find jackfruit pizzas and ready-made burgers – ideal if you want fast food.

You can buy jackfruit in various guises. In a can, to be drained, ready to use or vac packed in a BBQ sauce (among others). I wanted to see how the jackfruit “performed” and so used a can and then made my own BBQ sauce.

Here's the recipe :

BBQ Sauce

2 tbsp malt vinegar

2 tbsp light muscovado sugar

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

100ml tomato ketchup

75ml water

Pour the vinegar into a pan and add the sugar, mustard Worcestershire sauce, sweet chilli sauce ketchup and the water. Stir together, bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes until thickened. Can be used as a dip with potato wedges too.

Add the drained jackfruit to the sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve as a stack with salsa and mashed avocado.

Photos up next!

When you have another 5 minutes spare

… try this and before we begin can I suggest that if you're cooking a roast this weekend, cook extra veggies – par boiled or part roasted parsnips, carrots and potatoes would be excellent choices.

Slow cooked pork loin steaks with

Calvados cream sauce

600g/1lb 5oz pork loin steaks – 6 steaks, trimmed

glug of rapeseed/Canola oil

salt and black pepper

generous sprinkle of dried herbs – sage or

thyme

2 tsps of garlic paste – optional

500ml/1 pint approx vegetable stock – use a stock pot if you're

not using your own stock

Heat the oil in a large frying pan until hot. Seal the loin steaks on both sides, add salt and black pepper, garlic and herbs. Set aside the steaks in the slow cooker then add your stock to the residual juices in the frying pan, bring to the boil and slow cook for 3 hours.

Before you begin to make your sauce, time for the leftover veggies – try and make sure they are of a similar size. Place in a foil tray and drizzle with rapeseed or similar oil and season with salt and black pepper. Pop into a pre-heated oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6 for 25 minutes to allow them to finish roasting and become crisp.

For the sauce, you'll need approximately 200ml of stock from the cooked pork steaks - strain, cover and fridge until cold and ready for use. Freeze the remainder of the stock.

Calvados cream sauce

15g/¾ oz unsalted butter

15g/¾ oz plain flour

1 tsp garlic paste or 1 clove, crushed

glug of Calvados

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

200ml/7 fl oz stock

300ml/½ pint/10 fl oz double cream

salt and black pepper

Melt the butter, take the pan off the heat, add the flour and whisk. Return to the heat and cook out the flour for 2/3 mins, stirring continuously – add the garlic paste and mustard and then, on a high heat, add the Calvados and cook for 1-2 mins. Add the cold stock straight into the sauce and whisk until smooth, then cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Add the cream and simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve in large bowls, veggies first then the pork and drizzle with the sauce.

It looks just like this :

Feeling peckish?

A little savoury treat

Here's my latest contribution for you – it can be whatever you'd like it to be – an appetiser - a starter – or larger as part of a supper :

Piquant Pinwheels

125g diced chorizo

40g grated Parmesan

40g grated Gruyere

100g grated mature Cheddar

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley or

1 tbsp dried

black pepper

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 puff pastry sheet

1 egg, beaten

Before you begin take your pastry out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature.

You'll also need a large baking tray – 32x23 cms approximately.

Pre-heat oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Fry the chorizo gently in a medium frying pan so that it surrenders its delicious oil and begins to crisp. Remove the chorizo and set aside in a bowl, then add the onion and fry gently for 2/3 minutes and add to the chorizo. At this stage I would suggest that you put both the chorizo and onion through a sieve to remove any excess oil – this is to avoid a soggy bottom! Reserve the oil. Leave to cool.

Add the mustard to the chorizo and onion and mix, then the cheeses and parsley add a twist or three of black pepper. I wouldn't add any salt since there's plenty in the cheeses and the chorizo.

On a chopping board with a damp j cloth underneath to stop it slipping, uroll your pastry lengthways and keep it on its paper. Spread your chorizo/cheese mixture over the pastry sheet leaving 3cm on the edge furthest away from you – egg wash that edge. Now for the brave bit. Using the paper roll into a large “sausage” using the egg washed edge to glue it into place. Egg wash the “sausage” and trim each end.

Cut the “sausage” in half and then again until you have 12 portions. When you're cutting do not use a “sawing” motion cut straight through – otherwise you'll tear the pastry.

Place each pastry on its side on the baking sheet so you can see the filling and the pinwheel shape. Egg wash and/or use the reserved oil to glaze, then bake for 20 minutes. Check after 15.

Here's a photo or two :

                                      

Smells yummy – hope you enjoy!

A change of arrangements and a marriage proposal!

We are off out for dinner this evening so no planning required nor a shopping list today – I'll just have to enjoy the view and do the “mind, body, spirit” thing!

The one thing I do love about being on holiday in such a wonderful place is that you relax more than ever.  There's no panic or rush to get up and go – whenever will do - it's a really good place to be.

Just when you thought it was safe ... a message received means that our dinner out has to be re-arranged.  Hmmm back to the drawing board, as they say.

A rummage through the fridge reveals a plump pork tenderloin.  Thinks ….. apples from The Apple Man ….. cider or Calvados …. cream.  

The conversation went something like ...”what would you say if I suggested pork tenderloin with apples, cider and a cream sauce for supper?”  Response … “I'd say get a divorce and marry me”.  I took that to mean yes!

So, here's the recipe :

Pork fillet and apples

One pork tenderloin

2 sharp dessert apples – peeled, cored

and sliced

drop of Canola oil

generous knob of unsalted butter

salt and black pepper

sprinkle of thyme 

200ml of stock – chicken or vegetable

Trim the pork tenderloin – take off any fat and sinew and cut into medallions of a similar size.  Using a large frying pan with a lid and on a medium heat add a drop of Canola oil and a knob of butter.  Add the sliced apples and soften for 5 minutes – set aside.  Add your medallions and salt, pepper and seal on both sides.  Add a sprinkle of thyme.  Add 200ml of stock and turn the heat to low and let the medallions simmer for 10 minutes and then turn off the heat.  Reserve the stock and juices in a jug, cover and fridge until ready to make the sauce.  Place a lid on the pan with the pork medallions and apples - leave in a cool place until you're ready to make your sauce and serve.

 Calvados or cider cream sauce

15g unsalted butter

15g plain flour

1 tsp garlic paste or 1 clove, crushed

generous glug of Calvados or cider

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

200ml stock

300ml double cream

salt and black pepper

Using a medium saucepan melt the butter, take the pan off the heat, add the flour and whisk.  Return to the heat and cook out the flour for 2/3 mins, stirring continuously – add the garlic paste and mustard and then, on a high heat, add the Calvados or cider – cook on high for 1-2 mins.  Add the cold stock straight into the sauce and whisk until smooth, then cook on a low heat for 10 minutes.  Season with salt and black pepper.

Add the cream and simmer for 5 minutes and tip into the frying pan covering the medallions and apples.  Ready to gently re-heat when you wish to serve.

The sauce can be made ahead.  If your stock isn't chilled it's not the end of the world!

I'd forgotten my friend's favourite meat is pork and in particular tenderloin – definitely the favourite dish so far, especially, apparently, the sauce.

Please add to the recipe list!

Hooked on cooking – the main event!

Ringing the changes, today's session will be cooking supper for tonight.

The recipe that follows is easy and makes really tasty meatballs, together with a tomato sauce. All you'll have to do later on is cook the spaghetti – can't be bad! As a rough guide 450g of minced meat will give you twelve meatballs, so if you've four students with 450g per two students, you'll have 24 meatballs in total – this is not an exact science since your students are new at this and the sizes may vary!

Meatballs

450g minced beef, pork or turkey

*salt and black pepper

*garlic – either 2 tsps of paste or 2 cloves, crushed

*mixed herbs or garlic Italian seasoning – a generous sprinkle

*half a tsp of chilli

*heaped tbsp of tomato paste

*1 egg

sprinkle of plain flour

Rapeseed or vegetable oil for shallow frying

Place the mince in a large mixing bowl then add the remaining ingredients marked *, mix well. At this point your mixture may be too wet. If it is, sprinkle a little plain flour over the mixture and fold in gently.

Use a teaspoon as a measure and heaped with mixture, roll it between your hands and set aside on a board. When the meatballs are ready, heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry on a low heat, gently and carefully shaking the pan to ensure they are evenly coloured – use tongs if you are accident prone! Seal the meatballs in batches - 8 at a time and then transfer to an oven-proof dish or foil tray ready for later – cool, cover and fridge.

When you are ready for supper later in the day place the dish or tray containing the meatballs in a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 and complete the cooking for 20/30 minutes – this time will vary depending on the sizes of the meatball – ensure that they are properly cooked – cut a larger one in half to be sure. Whilst the meatballs are in the oven cook your spaghetti and warm up the tomato sauce.

It may be that your students won't be interested in the tomato sauce element – it depends on their attention span – but it's easy to do and takes no time at all – in fact the sauce will improve with “standing” so if it is the case that you are making the sauce you can make it the day before, cover and fridge - after all your students have supplied the main event!

Tomato Sauce

500g sieved tomatoes or the equivalent in cans of chopped tomatoes

1 medium/large onion, chopped finely

garlic clove or tsp of minced garlic

1tbsp olive oil

knob of butter

vegetable stock pot and 250ml of boiling water

oregano or garlic Italian seasoning

black pepper

1 tsp caster sugar

Melt the olive oil and butter in a saucepan, add the onion and fry gently until soft then add the garlic. Add the oregano or garlic Italian seasoning and black pepper. Then add your stock pot and boiling water so that it melts, add the tomatoes and sprinkle on the tsp of sugar. The sugar is meant to balance out the acidity that one sometimes gets with tomatoes. Simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes.

N.B. If you want to add extra depth you can add a tbsp of tomato paste. I would suggest that you taste your sauce before you simmer for 20 minutes. If you add paste then the simmering process will cook it out and its important that you do this - it tastes horrid if you don't. A lot depends on personal taste and how good your tomatoes are.

Here's hoping your students are hooked and the rest of the family too!

Class Time - The Main

Halloumi and Pomegranate Salad

Slow cooked leg of pork

with Calvados cream sauce

Chocolate truffle and orange no churn ice cream

You've already seen the Halloumi and Pomegranate Salad in “My mezze … contribution that is” … I think I'll let the Ladies do the talking!

… the main

This dish would be ideal for mid week. If you subscribe to the multi-tasking method when you're spending time in your kitchen, prepare more veggies and par boil or roast them - whatever you fancy – for the sake of this exercise I par boiled parsnips and potatoes.

Slow cooked pork with

Calvados cream sauce

1.5kg ish joint of pork – boned and rolled

1 vegetable stock pot/cube

generous sprinkle of dried herbs – sage or

thyme

2 tsps of garlic paste

Place your pork in the slow cooker and, if you are using a stock pot, mix the garlic and stock together and spread over the joint. Sprinkle with herbs. Switch your slow cooker on low and leave it for 8 hours.

Here it is :

In readiness for the sauce, you'll need to reserve approximately 200ml of stock from the cooked pork - strain, cover and fridge until cold and ready for use.

It looks good enough to eat!