Author: Michael

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Pineapple and sage martini

1 large pineapple, unpeeled, leaves trimmed and discarded (1.4kg)
4 cardamom pods, roughly crushed by hand or in a pestle and mortar

20 sage leaves, plus 2 extra to serve
1 x 700ml bottle of Tanqueray London dry gin
25ml lemon juice
20ml clove syrup (see below)

Clove syrup (This is a ton more than is needed)
250g caster sugar
4 whole cloves

You’ll make more of the pineapple purée than you need, so you can either freeze the remainder in batches, to be re-used when needed, or eat it as a delicious purée, swirled into semi-whipped cream or spooned on top of some plain yoghurt for breakfast. The remaining clove syrup can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks or frozen for longer.

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6.

2 Wrap the pineapple in tin foil and roast in the oven for 3 hours. Remove and set aside to cool. Peel the pineapple and cut it, lengthways, into 4 wedges. Cut out and discard the core, then place the flesh in a blender. Blitz to form a purée and set aside.

3 Add the crushed cardamom pods and sage leaves to the bottle of gin and set aside for at least 3 hours, swirling the bottle from time to time. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, discard the cardamom and sage and return the gin to the bottle.

4 To make the clove syrup, place the sugar in a medium saucepan with 250ml of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add the cloves and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Lift out and discard the cloves, then set the syrup aside until completely cool.

5 Pour 100ml of gin into a mixing glass with 50ml of the pineapple purée, the lemon juice and 20ml of the clove syrup. Add ice, shake vigorously for 10 –15 seconds, and strain into pre-chilled martini glasses. Garnish each with a fresh sage leaf and serve at once.

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Pulled Pork with Pomegranate Salad

Ingredients

  • 2.5kg (5.512 lbs)pork shoulder, bone in
  • 200ml (6.763 oz) cider vinegar
    80g (2.822 oz) dark brown sugar
    1 tbsp Szuechan pepper (I used almost 2 TB whole black peppers which was not a good idea. I would grind them up next time, I also added coriander and Loren dropped in 2 crushed cardamom seeds in error.)
    5 cinnamon sticks
    1 tbsp red chilli flakes 
    2¼ tsp soy sauce
    2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
    1 tbsp tomato paste
    Salt

For the pomegranate salad:
1 small red onion, peeled and sliced very thinly into pinwheels
100g pomegranate seeds (ie, the seeds of 1 medium pomegranate)
20g parsley, picked and roughly chopped
1 tbsp red-wine vinegar
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses (I used a bit more  – see recipe below)
2 tbsp olive oil
90g rocket (I used baby spinach)

Method

Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put a ridged griddle pan on a high heat. When smoking hot, lay the pork on top and cook for about eight minutes, turning as you go. For the last two minutes’ griddling, cover the pork in a large sheet of foil, so that the resulting smoke infuses the meat. Remove and set aside.

Place a large, heavy-based pot for which you have a lid on a medium heat; the pan has to be big enough to hold the pork snugly. Add the vinegar, sugar, Szechuan pepper, cinnamon, chilli, soy, molasses and tomato paste, plus one and a quarter teaspoons of salt, and heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Remove four tablespoons of the sauce to a bowl or ramekin and set aside.

Add the pork to the pot and spoon the pan juices all over it. Cover, cook in the oven for an hour, turning the meat in the sauce from time to time. Turn down the temperature to 130C/260F/gas mark ½ and cook for two hours more, again turning the meat regularly in the sticky juices. Turn down the heat again, this time to 120C/250F/gas mark ¼, and cook for five to six hours more, turning the joint from time to time, until the meat can easily be pulled off the bone. Remove and set aside.

When cool enough to handle, pull off and discard the bones and fatty skin, then shred the meat into bite-size pieces back into the pot. Add the reserved sauce, stir and keep warm.

For the salad, put all the ingredients in a bowl, add a quarter-teaspoon of salt and toss. Stuff the pulled pork into the baguette halves; put the salad in the bread, too, or serve on the side

Pomegranate Molasses

  • Prep 5 m
  • Ready In 1 h 5 m
  • 4 cups pomegranate juice
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice (alton brown recipe has 1 TB)

Directions

For Molasses: Place the pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon juice in a 4-quart saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the mixture has reduced to 1 cup, approximately 70 minutes. It should be the consistency of thick syrup. Remove from the heat and allow to cool in the saucepan for 30 minutes. Transfer to a glass jar and allow to cool completely before covering and storing in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

To scale for recipe above: (I used the Alton proportions)

  • ½ cup pomegranate juice
  • 1 TB sugar
  • 1 TB lemon juice (for alton brown it would be 3/8 tsp)

 

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Polish Dill Sauce or Sos Koperkowy

Sos (pronounced “Saws” and meaning “Sauce”) Koperkowy (pronounced “Kopper-KOV-ih” and meaning “Dill”) is a quintessential Polish sauce.  It can be paired with many dishes, such as meatballs, mushroom and rice balls, fish, mashed potatoes, and chicken.  To many Poles, this sauce tastes like summer.  Once you see how delicious and simple it is, I am sure it will become a family favorite.

Ingredients:

3-4 tablespoons Dill (fresh or dry) (I used fresh)
2 cups Broth (Vegetable, Chicken or beef, or drippings from meat dish, (degreased, or even just water) (I used drippings and chicken stock)
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Flour
Salt
Pepper

Optional:
2 tablespoons of Lemon Juice (delicious over fish) or
1/2 cup Sour Cream or
3 tablespoons Cream

First, if you are using dried Dill, place it in a bowl and add a 1/2 cup of boiling water to soften it and allow the oils to be released.  Set to the side for a few minutes.

  1. Melt the Butter.  Add the Flour and begin to stir.  This is called the Roux and is the base to most sauces.  Also, add pepper at this time.
  2. Once it begins to bubble, add the broth * and stir until bubbly.
  3. Allow to cook for another minute or two, until thickened.
  4. If using dried Dill in the hot water, add now and heat back to bubbling and thickened.  Otherwise, remove from heat and add the fresh Dill.  If you are using Cream, Sour Cream, or Lemon Juice (but not all together in the sauce!), now is when you would add them.  Season with salt to taste.

I served this sauce with Polish Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes and Sweet Peas.  Again, if you are wondering whether a picky eater will enjoy this, my children and several picky food friends lap this right up!

* If using drippings from a dish, remove the liquids from bottom of baking or frying pan and place in freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes until grease is at top of liquid.  Use spoon to carefully scoop out grease, leaving the liquids underneath.

Also, some interesting facts about Dill or Koper:

  • The leaves are collected in the spring and dried.
  • The seeds are collected in the fall for use as another flavor in cooking.
  • The typical Polish family garden will usually have this plant growing with their cucumbers.
    For those Poles who do not have a garden or who cannot tend their garden every day, Dill is easily and commonly grown in windowsills.