Crispy Chilli Pigs Cheeks

These crispy pigs cheeks are great rolled up in a wrap with a crunchy cucumber salad and yogurt dressing.

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Crispy Chilli Pigs Cheeks
Serves 4

Ingredients: 12 Pigs Cheeks (Daub Only), 2 Shallots (Finely Diced), 3 Garlic Cloves (Crushed), 1 Carrot (Peeled and Finely Diced), 1 Celery Stalk (Chopped), 2 Bay Leaves, 125ml Dry White Wine, 2 Star Anise, 2 Cardamom Pods, 500ml Vegetable Stock, Vegetable Oil, Sea Salt, Cracked White Pepper, 3 Green Chillies (Finely Sliced)

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Method:

1) Pour a little vegetable oil in a large casserole dish and place over a medium heat. Add the pigs cheeks and sear well on all sides – remove from the dish and set aside. Add the shallot, garlic, carrot and celery to the pan and fry until soft (around 10 minutes). Return the pig cheeks to the dish and add the white wine. Allow the wine to reduce by half and add the bay leaves, star anise and cardamom pods. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer.

2) Turn the heat down low and cover the dish with a heavy lid. Allow the cheeks to braise for around 2 1/2 hours until fully tender. Once cooked, remove the cheeks from the stock and set aside to cool. The stock can be reserved for preparing another dish.

3) Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add 5tbsp of vegetable oil. Add the cheeks to the pan and lightly shred them with a fork. Season to taste with sea salt and cracked white pepper and continue to fry, tossing occasionally, until the cheeks are crispy on all sides.

4) Serve the cheeks with the sliced chilli, some flatbreads, a cucumber salad, some natural yogurt and lime wedges.

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Enjoy!

Cola Braised and BBQ Glazed Ribs

Super tender and sticky sweet ribs – perfect for summer grilling.

Pork belly ribs are slow braised in cola before being basted with homemade BBQ sauce and grilled over a high heat.

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Cola Braised and BBQ Glazed Ribs
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 Rack of Pork Belly Ribs, 2 Cans of Cola, 8tbsp Tomato Ketchup, 8tbsp Soft Brown Sugar, 2tbsp Worcestershire Sauce, 2tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce, 1tsp Paprika, 2tbsp Sesame Seeds (Toasted)

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Method:

1) Preheat your oven to 160c. Place the ribs in a roasting tray and cover with the cola. Cover the roasting tin tightly with kitchen foil and braise for around 2-3 hours or until the ribs are tender.

2) Once braised, transfer the ribs to a clean container to marinade and discard the cooking liquor. Make the marinade by combining the tomato ketchup, soft brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, sweet chilli sauce and paprika in a bowl and mix well. Cover the ribs with the marinade and transfer to the fridge for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.

3) Before serving, preheat your oven to 220c. Cook the ribs in a shallow baking tray for 30 minutes until golden. Alternatively, grill the ribs on a hot bbq. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

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Pea and Pancetta Risotto

A great summer recipe – fresh spring pea risotto with the rich smokiness of pancetta and a little basil to finish.

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Pea and Pancetta Risotto

Serves 4

Ingredients:

300g Carnaroli Rice, 25ml Olive Oil, 300g Pancetta (Thinly Sliced and Diced), 3 Celery Stalks (Finely Diced), 2 Long Shallots (Finely Diced), 2 Garlic Cloves (Very Finely Sliced), 175ml Rosé Wine, 2 Litres Vegetable Stock, 200g Freshly Shelled Peas, 50g Parmesan (Finely Grated), 25g Unsalted Butter, 12 Basil Leaves (Finely Chopped), 8 Thin Pancetta Slices, Cracked Black Pepper

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Method:

1) Bring the vegetable stock to a simmer in a large saucepan. Place a heavy based casserole pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the pancetta to the pan and fry for around 8 minutes or until crisp. Add the celery, onion and garlic to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes until soft – stirring continuously. Meanwhile, crisp the pancetta slices under a hot grill and set aside.

2) Add the rice to the pan and coat well with the olive oil. Turn the heat up high and add the wine, simmering until almost entirely absorbed by the rice. Reduce the heat to low and add the stock, little by little (allowing the stock to be almost entirely absorbed by the rice before adding more) whist stirring until the rice is tender but has a little bite – this should take around 20-25 minutes. The risotto may not require all of the stock.

3) Remove the pan from the heat and add the peas, parmesan, butter and basil. Fold to combine, cover the pan with a heavy lid and allow to rest for 6 minutes. Once rested, beat the risotto a few times and season to taste with cracked black pepper.

4) Serve the risotto with a good crack of black pepper, a sprinkling of parmesan and the crisp pancetta slices.

Middle of Pork, Apple Sauce

A forgotten cut of pork and definitely my favourite – middle of pork combines the tenderness of loin with the flavour of belly. The belly also bastes the loin whilst cooking to ensure it remains super moist and tender.

Get your butcher to leave just enough belly attached to the loin to ensure the skin wraps around fully but does not overlap – which will help achieve some great crackling.

This is a simple recipe for perfectly cooked pork middle with apple sauce. Great served with roasted root vegetables.

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Middle of Pork, Apple Sauce
Serves 6-10

Ingredients:

For the Pork: 1 Half Middle of Pork (Rolled and tied as above and skin scored), Sea Salt, Cracked Black Pepper, Olive Oil, 1 Garlic Bulb (Halved), Handful Thyme Sprigs

For the Apple Sauce: 6 Cooking Apples (Peeled, Cored and Chopped), 25g Unsalted Butter, Caster Sugar, Zest 1/2 Lemon, Fresh Nutmeg

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Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 220c. Coat the outside of the pork middle with a thin layer of olive oil and season well with sea salt. Place on a roasting tray belly side down and transfer to the oven. Cook at 220c for 20 minutes. Turn the pork so the belly side is facing up and cook at 220c for a further 20 minutes. Turn the pork back to its original position and reduce the oven temperature to 160c. Cook the pork for a further 3-4 hours or until the belly is tender and the crackling is crisp (you may need to increase the oven temperature to 190c for the last hour of cooking to crisp the crackling). When ready, remove from the oven and allow to rest in the roasting tray for at least 30 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, make the apple sauce. Place the apple segments in a saucepan with the butter and add a small splash of water. Cover with a lid and stew the apples over a low heat until tender, stirring occasionally, for around 30 minutes or until the apples are cooked down. Transfer the apples to a blender and blend to a purée. Return the purée to the pan and add the lemon zest. Season to taste with sugar and freshly grated nutmeg. Set aside.

3) Slice the pork middle, season each slice with a little sea salt and black pepper and serve the pork with the apple purée. Great served with roasted root vegetables.

Pork Loin, Date Relish

This date and pineapple relish is the perfect match for roasted pork loin. The addition of pineapple, basil and resting juices together with a little red wine vinegar make this relish truly delicious!

A quick midweek supper which is great served with a crunchy salad dressed with honey mustard.

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Pork Loin, Date Relish
Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Pork: 800g Pork Loin (Cut in half lengthways), 3 Garlic Cloves, Olive Oil, Sea Salt

For the Relish: 100g Dates (Stoned and Finely Chopped), 50g Fresh Pineapple (Finely Diced), 12 Basil Leaves (Finely Chopped), 2tsp Fresh Parsley (Chopped), 3tbsp Fresh Orange Juice, 2tsp Red Wine Vinegar, Sea Salt, Reserved Resting Juices

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Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 220c. Season the pork loin liberally with sea salt. Place a griddle pan over a high heat and add a little olive oil. Sear the pork for 2 minutes on each side and then transfer to the oven with the garlic cloves. Cook until an internal temperature of 60c is reached or until the pork is cooked through (around 20-30 minutes).

2) Meanwhile, make the relish. Combine the dates with the pineapple, basil, parsley, orange juice and red wine vinegar and season to taste with sea salt. Set aside.

3) When the pork is cooked, remove from the oven and place in a shallow dish. Cover and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes. Once rested, pour the resting juices into the relish and mix well.

4) Slice the pork and serve with a good amount of relish.

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Enjoy!

Chipotle Pork Burgers

A very simple combination of chipotle and ginger makes for a delicious burger packed with flavour!

Great served with a simple salsa and melted smoked cheese.

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Chipotle Pork Burger
Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Burgers: 800g Minced Pork (80% Lean), 2-3″ Fresh Ginger (Grated), 1tsp Chipotle Powder, 1tsp Sea Salt, Zest 3 Limes, 75g Fresh Breadcrumbs, 8 Slices Smoked Cheese (Trimmed to Burger Size)

For the Salsa: 4″ Cucumber (Seeded and Finely Diced), 1 Red Chilli (Finely Chopped), 1/2 Red Pepper (Finely Diced), Juice 1 Lime, Sea Salt

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Method:

1) Prepare the burgers by combining all of the burger ingredients (excluding the cheese) in a large bowl. Mix well with your hands until fully combined. Shape the meat into 8 equal patties – thin and wide. Store in the fridge until ready to cook.

2) For the salsa, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and mix to fully combine. Season to taste with sea salt and set aside.

3) Place a griddle pan over a high heat and add a little oil. Sear the burgers for around 5 minutes each side or until fully cooked. Place a slice of smoked cheese on top of each burger and cover the griddle pan. Steam for 1-2 minutes until the cheese has melted.

4) Serve the burgers on fresh buns with the salsa.

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Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour, Chilli Pork

A great version of the classic Chinese sweet and sour pork. Stir fry pork is marinated with lemongrass and ginger and served with a sweet and sour sauce with a big hit of chilli. Quick and easy to prepare.

Great served with egg fried rice.

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Sweet and Sour, Chilli Pork
Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Pork: 700g Stir Fry Pork, Juice and Zest 1 Lemon, 1 Red Chilli (Chopped), 2 Garlic Cloves (Chopped), 3 Lemongrass Stalks (Core Chopped), 2″ Fresh Ginger (Finely Chopped), 6 Spring Onions (Julienned)

For the Sauce: 1 Bottle Chilli Dipping Sauce (Not Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce), 1tbsp Sesame Oil, 75ml Dry White Wine, Juice and Zest 2 Lemons, 100g Pineapple (Cut into small chunks), 2tsp Sugar

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Method:

1) Combine the pork with the other ingredients (except the spring onion) in a shallow dish, cover with cling film and transfer to the fridge to marinade for at least four hours. Keep the spring onions to one side.

2) Make the sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened slightly and the wine has cooked out. Season to taste with sea salt. Keep warm.

3) Place a wok over a high heat and add a little oil. Stir fry the pork with the marinade for around 5 minutes or until cooked through. Add the spring onions and the sauce to the wok and stir well to combine.

4) Serve the pork and sauce with egg fried rice or noodles.

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Enjoy!

Pork Loin, Apple Sauce

Pork and apple – a perfect marriage. With a windfall of apples in the garden, now was the time to make a big batch of apple purée.

Pork Loin is pan seared on the bone with a little garlic and thyme and served with my recipe for the perfect apple sauce.

For the sauce, spiced apple purée is combined with fresh, diced apple. This can be made in a big batch to be kept in the freezer.

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Pork Loin, Apple Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Pork: 4 Bone in Single Loin Pork Chops (French Trimmed), 1tbsp Rapeseed Oil, 75g Unsalted Butter, 4 Garlic Cloves (Bashed), 3 Thyme Sprigs, Sea Salt, Cracked White Pepper, Small Handful Sage Leaves (Chopped)

For the Apple Sauce: 8 Small/Medium Cooking Apples (Peeled, Cored and Diced), 25g Unsalted Butter, 75g Caster Sugar, 2 Cinnamon Sticks, 3/4tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg, Small Pinch Sea Salt, 3 Sweet Eating Apples (e.g. Gala) (Peeled, Cored and Diced), 1tsp Grated Lemon Zest

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Method:

1) Make the apple sauce by placing the diced cooking apples in a medium saucepan with the butter and a little splash of water over a medium heat. Add the cinnamon sticks and cover. Turn the heat down low and simmer for around 30 minutes until the apples have cooked out and the sauce is smooth. Stir in the caster sugar to taste and remove from the heat. Allow to cool slightly and add the diced eating apple, nutmeg, sea salt and lemon zest – stir well to combine. Set aside until ready to serve or store for later use.

2) Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add the rapeseed oil. Season the pork chops well with sea salt and cracked white pepper. Fry in the pan with the garlic and thyme for around 5-6 minutes each side until cooked to your liking. Add the butter to the pan and allow to melt. Baste the pork chops well on each side with the butter for 2 minutes. Remove chops from the pan, cover and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes.

3) Slice the pork loin from the bone and serve with the apple sauce and the chopped sage. Great served with roast potatoes and kale.

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Enjoy!

Pork Pinwheel, Hazelnut Mayonnaise

A great alternative to a sausage roll – a blend of minced pork, apple and sage is spread over pastry and rolled up like a swiss roll! This is great served with homemade hazelnut mayonnaise.

The addition of a good crack of black pepper, freshly grated nutmeg and lemon and orange zest makes the filling for this pinwheel truly delicious and befitting of this time of year!

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Pork Pinwheel, Hazelnut Mayonnaise
Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Pinwheel: 1 Block Puff Pastry, 800g Minced Pork, 4tbsp Breadcrumbs, 2tbsp Sage Leaves (Chopped), Zest 1 Orange, Zest 1 Lemon, 1 Apple (Finely Diced), 1 Red Onion (Finely Sliced), 1 1/2 tsp Grated Nutmeg, 1tsp Sea Salt, 3tsp Cracked Black Pepper

For the Mayonnaise: 1 Egg Yolk, 1tsp Dijon Mustard, 1tbsp White Wine Vinegar, 60ml Hazelnut Oil, 100ml Sunflower Oil, 1/4tsp Sea Salt

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Method:

1) Pre heat the oven to 200c. Roll out the pastry to a sheet measuring around 7″x14″ and around 3mm thick. Combine the minced pork with all of the other pinwheel ingredients in a bowl and mix well until fully combined. Spread the mixture over the pastry, leaving a 1″ edge at one end and roll the pastry from narrow end to narrow end as you would a swiss roll.

2) Cut the pinwheel into 3/4″ slices and transfer these to a lined baking sheet and glaze with a little egg wash. Place the pinwheel in the oven and bake for around 25 minutes until the pastry is golden and filling cooked through.

3) Meanwhile make the mayonnaise. Place the egg yolk, dijon and white wine vinegar in a food processor and blitz. Whilst blitzing, slowly add the hazelnut oil and then the sunflower oil until exhausted and the mayonnaise is thick and has emulsified. Add the sea salt and blitz quickly to combine. Set aside.

4) Serve the slices of pinwheel with the hazelnut mayonnaise.

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Enjoy!

Chipotle and Ginger Ribs

Ribs are the ultimate in comfort food and should not be resigned solely to the BBQ! These ribs are marinated in a chipotle and coriander rub before being roasted in the oven and glazed with a ginger and lemon syrup.

Great grazing food, the ribs can be prepared the day ahead before a quick blast in the oven to reheat before glazing.

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Chipotle and Ginger Ribs
Serves 4 +

Ingredients:

For the Ribs: 3 Racks of Baby Back Ribs – with a good amount of meat on the bone.

For the Rub: 2tsp Chipotle Powder, 1tbsp Coriander Seeds, 1tsp Cumin Seeds, 1tsp Fennel Seeds, 1tsp Sea Salt, 2tbsp Dark Brown Muscovado Sugar

For the Glaze: Reserved Pork Juices, 1/2 Garlic Clove (Grated), Zest and Juice 1 Lemon, 1tbsp Chopped Fresh Rosemary, 2″ Ginger (Finely Chopped), 2tbsp Spring Onions (Chopped), 1tbsp Light Brown Sugar

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Method:

1) Make the marinade by combining all of the ingredients in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar and crushing/blitzing to a fine powder. Rub each rack with a liberal amount of chipotle rub (you probably won’t need it all) and place in the fridge to marinade for at least 2 hours.

2) Pre heat the oven to 200c. Wrap each rack tightly in kitchen foil and transfer to the oven. Cook for around 2 hours or until the meat is pulling from the bone. Remove from the oven and remove the racks from the tin foil, being careful to reserve the cooking juices.

3) Cut each rack into manageable portions and place in a baking tray. Return to the oven to crisp slightly. Meanwhile, make the glaze by placing the cooking juices and all other ingredients into a small saucepan. Place over a medium heat and heat until the mixture thickens slightly, keep warm.

4) Remove the ribs from the oven and brush over the glaze with a pastry brush. Serve the ribs whilst still warm with a sprinkling of chopped spring onions.

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Enjoy!