Spicy Sticky Braised Belly Pork

I was contacted by a representative of 100% NZ Pork to see if I would be interested to help promote New Zealand pork by creating a recipes with their produce. In our house we only ever buy New Zealand free range pork, so this was an easy yes to promoting locally grown produce rather than imported.

100% NZ Pork also have a great website, Extraordinary Kitchen supported by well known Kiwi chefs offering more recipes and information on our local pork products.

Belly pork is one of my favourite cuts of pork, I know many people shy away from it because of the fat content but it adds so much more to a dish and tenderness to the cooked meat. Personally I would rather eat good honest fat that hasn’t been processed than the stuff hidden in processed food and lets face it, your not going to eat it every day.

I love this Chinese style spicy sticky pork, it has few ingredients and is easy to prepare and if you don’t want it too hot cut down the chillies in the recipe. It’s perfect served with steamed rice and vegetables. Any left overs, if by a small miracle there are any, is perfect shredded and stuffed into a roll for lunch the next day.

If you like this recipe I also have a belly pork cassoulet recipe and pork and mushroom stroganoff pie recipe coming soon too! I do love winter for its hearty food, I think that’s my Northern English background taking over.

Ingredients
500g New Zealand Belly Pork
Vegetable oil
2 cups water
1 Cinnamon stick
6 star anise
2 -4 dried chillies, finely chopped
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2tbsp dark soy sauce
2tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar

Method
Cut the belly pork into 1 inch cubes.
Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to a heavy based or cast iron frying pan, and heat over a medium high heat.
Add the belly pork cubes to the pan when the oil is hot.
Cook the belly pork on all sides until golden brown (approx a minute on each side).
Add the grated ginger, star anise cinnamon stick and chillies to the pan and fry for a few more minutes. Stand back as the chili fumes can make you eyes water!
Add the water and bring to the boil, then turn heat down to low and place a lid on the frying pan.
Cook on simmer for 45 minutes until pork is tender but still firm.
Remove the pork from the pan and set aside.
Whisk together the sugar, vinegar and soy sauce then add to the pan, boiling the liquid until it reduces by half.
Add the pork back to the pan and continue to cook until the juices reduce and become sticky. Stir constantly at this stage.
Serve the pork with steamed rice and a side of steamed Bok Choi.

Winter Comfort Food with Apple & Ginger Tart Tatin

What can be more comforting than a warm apple tart? I’m not a big pie fan, one two many layers of pastry for my taste but hubby loves pies so the Tart Tatin is a good compromise and really easy to make. Don’t believe any of those Masterchef challenges that make it look hard, it really isn’t and if you use store bought puff pastry it’s even quicker.

I have used sweet short crust pastry and have offered my recipe here if you prefer to make your own make your own. With slightly more than half fat to flour in this recipe it ensures a nice rich melt in the mouth pastry. The recipe,will make 1 large tart or 4 mini tarts.

Ingredients
6 large apples, peel, cored and quartered
10ml water
100g butter
100g castor sugar
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 large sheet of puff pastry or recipe noted above

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Over a low heat dissolve the water and sugar in a medium sized frying pan (oven proof), cast iron if you have one.
Add the butter and gently heat until starting to caramelise. Stir in the grated ginger.
Add the apples and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, shake the pan now and then to coat them in the caramel.
Remove from the heat and arrange the apples to fan round the pan.
Lay the pastry over the apples then tuck the pastry round the apples and down the inside of the pan.
Place tart in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden.
When the tart is cooked remove pan from the oven and allow tart to rest for 5 minutes.
Running a knife round the edge to dislodge any pastry that has stuck and invert the tart onto a plate.
Serve with cream, ice cream or yoghurt.

Chocolate Pear Galette with Praline Crunch

You will have seen this picture before, it’s the recipe I submitted for the food blogger feature in the Taste Magazine in April. I said I would reveal the recipe on my blog for those not in NZ after the magazine was no longer being sold in store so here it is. I will keep my fingers crossed that one day I can write and style more recipes for magazines. In the meantime you might find me on Stuff.co.nz Life & Style

Ingredients
180g plain flour
110g butter
50g sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp cocoa
2-3 pears
Praline Topping
50g hazelnuts
1/2 cup water
1 cup castor sugar
additional sugar for dusting
A little milk for glazing the pastry
Method

Method
To prepare the praline put the water & sugar for the toffee in a pan on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved then turn up the heat.
The sugar liquid should boil and start to turn golden brown, once it does turn off the heat and add the hazelnuts to the pan.
Pour mixture out onto a grease tin to cool. Once set, blend in a food processor or bash with a mortar & pestle!
For the pastry, place the flour, cocoa & butter in a bowl.
Work the ingredients together until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
Add the egg and gently knead the dough together and divide into 4 equal portions, shape them into balls and flatten.
Rest dough in fridge for an hour before rolling out.
Preheat oven on ‘bake’ to 180C .
Prepare the pears by coring them, slicing them into halves and then into 1 cm thick wedges.
Roll one piece of dough into a circle the size of a ‘side plate’.
Arrange pear wedges in a circle from the centre of the dough leaving 4cm free at edges.
Fold dough into the centre, pleating as you go, it doesn’t have to be perfect, galettes are rustic.
Brush the pastry with a little milk and dust the whole galette with sugar.
Repeat with the rest of the dough. Alternatively you can make one large galette.
Sprinkle praline mixture over the top of each galette and place on a non stick baking tray.
Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown (a larger galette will take approx 35 minutes).

Spicy Baby Aubergines with Coriander and Mint

I was at Avondale market last week and came across these baby aubergine, it’s the first time I have see them sold here so was quick bag some. My friend asked what I planned to make with them, I had no idea, I never shop with a list when I go to the market, rather I buy what looks interesting and fresh. Avondale market has a large produce area which has an Asian and Pacific influence so there is always something new and interesting to discover. You have to get there early if you don’t like the crowds, it gets really packed so we planned to be there early. We had already done our shopping by 8am and where chatting over a coffee by the time the market started to really fill out.

This recipe comes from the BBC Good Food, I tweeked it slightly to the spices I had available, adding a few more. Don’t skimp on the whole bunch of coriander and mint though, they are the key flavours to this dish.

Ingredients – serves 2
2 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions , sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red chillies, deseeded and sliced
2 tsp coriander seeds , toasted and crushed
2 tsp fennel seeds , toasted
2 tsp mustard seeds
20 baby aubergines, left whole with stalk intact
1 x 400g canned chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp honey
1 bunch of mint leaves, roughly chopped
1 bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

Method
Heat oil in a heavy-based saucepan
Add the sliced onions and garlic and fry till soft.
Add the chilli, coriander, fennel and mustard seeds and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the aubergines (intact with stalks attached), coating them in the onion and spices.
Pour in the tomatoes and sugar, cover and gently cook for 40 mins, until aubergines are tender.
Season sauce with salt and pepper and add the chopped mint and coriander, saving a little for garnish.
Cover and simmer for 2 mins. Sprinkle over remaining herbs and serve with couscous and yogurt.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1263669/spicy-baby-aubergine-stew-with-coriander-and-mint

Coconut & Lime Mini Cakes with a Lime Cream Cheese Topping

These are definitely a Little & Fridays inspired cake, we visited a few weeks ago and although I didn’t buy their lemon and coconut cake because I can never get past the raspberry ganache one, I thought I could make my own version. I haven’t yet bought their book but it is definitely on my wish list, there are so many yummy delights I would like to make from their cafes. If you live in Auckland and haven’t yet been to Little & Fridays you have no idea what you are missing out on, the best cakes and tarts in town. But feel free to share other top cake eateries with me as I love to try new places.

I am also submitting this recipe for our monthly Sweet New Zealand event that is being hosted by Jemma over at Time For A Little Something

Ingredients
125g butter
125g sugar
125g SR flour
50g coconut thread or desiccated
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
zest & juice of 1 lime
For the filling and topping
200g cream cheese
zest & juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp icing sugar

Method
Grease and flour 6-8 standard cup cake tins and preheat an oven to 180C
Place butter & sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk or good old fashioned wooded spoon until light and fluffy.
Add one egg at a time and whisk in between both additions.
Add the coconut and zest and juice of one lime.
Sift flour into mixture and fold gently through with a metal spoon so not to loose all the air that has been beaten in.
Spoon mixture into cupcake tins, generally it is advise to fill them three quarters full. I was offered a great tip from someone who read my blog and suggested using an ice cream scoop to get a consistent size, brilliant.
Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out of the sponge clean.
Allow to cool before removing from tins or frosting them.
Beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar and zest & juice of 1 lime.
Once the cupcakes are cool, slice them in half across the centre and fill them with a generous teaspoon of cream cheese mix. Stick the top and bottom together and spread another generous teaspoon on top of cupcake.
You can sprinkle more coconut or lime zest on top to decorate them if you wish.

Easy Peasy Garden Pea & Herb Soup

As the title says, it’s a very easy and quick soup to make, perfect for mid week when you get home from the office later than expected and don’t have the energy to cook up some elaborate culinary delight. It’s fresh, light and delicious even if it isn’t elaborate, perfect with a fresh crispy baguette you’ve picked up on the way home and if you don’t have a fresh loaf handy you could always make croutons with a few old slices!

This soup takes about 15 minutes to make and that includes picking the herbs from the garden!

Ingredients – serves 2 large, 4 small
500g frozen garden peas
Large handful of fresh parsley, coriander & mint
2 cups water
Salt & pepper
Feta cheese to serve

Method
Place the frozen garden peas, water and herbs in a pan over a low heat.
Bring just to a simmer.
Turn the heat off and blend the soup to a purée with a whizz stick, food processor or blender.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve in bowls with feta cheese crumbled on top.

Turkish Silverbeet & Feta Gozleme

During a recent trip to Sydney we found ourselves in a market place in Roselle and I was fascinated by a food stall where three Turkish ladies were very skillfully preparing giant Gozleme. I say skillful because even though it appeared a very easy concept when I prepared my own I realized that the transferring of a large soft filled dough was trickier than it looked. I would recommend making smaller sizes at first or get an extra pair of hands to help you lift the filled dough to pan.

So what is a Gozleme? It’s a pizza like dough rolled really thinly then filled traditionally with spinach and feta cheese or spicy minced meat. Of course you could add your own fillings but I would recommend starting with the feta and spinach, or Silverbeet as I have here and build on that. We added cumin seeds and spring onions to our first one but hubby is keen for the spicy meat filling next time we make it. You will been a large frying pan, flat griddle plate or the flat plate on your BBQ. I have made round Gozleme because I was using a caste iron pan but I have given the method for rectangle because it is a little easy.

Ingredients – makes 4
3 cups high grade flour
1.25 cups luke warm water
2 tsp instant yeast
One bunch of Silverbeet, finely sliced
4 spring onions, finely sliced
2 tsp cumin seeds
200g feta cheese, crumbled
Olive oil for frying

Method
Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
Put the yeast into the well and pour the warm water over the yeast and leave to dissolve for a 2 minutes until dissolved.
Stir together and knead into a soft dough and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is glossy.
Divide dough into four and place each piece on a floured tray with plenty of space for dough to double in size. Cover tray with a plastic bag and make sure the bag doesn’t touch the dough.
Stand in a warm place for 20 minutes or until dough doubles in size.
Roll each piece of dough into rectangles so that the dough is paper thin, approx 12 x 6 inches.
Divide the silverbeet, feta and spring onions into four and top half of each dough rectangle with the ingredients, feta first then silverbeet and onions.
Sprinkle cumin seeds over each filling.
Fold dough over to enclose filling and seal edges together.
Heat a griddle or barbecue plate or caste iron pan over a medium-high heat.
Place a thin layer of olive oil on the griddle and place the Gozleme on top.
Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until base is golden.
Brush uncooked side of gozleme with olive oil.
Turn over and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden and crisp.
Remove to a serving plate and cut into wedges.
Serve with lemon or lime wedges.

Latin American Style Ceviche

I was introduce to Pacific style ceviche here in New Zealand a few years ago and became addicted to it, it’s not a dish we Brits would eat back home, we like our fish dipped in batter and deep fried! If you gave me the choice now of both dishes I would always pick the ceviche over good old fashion fish and chips, ok..ok if it was cold, wet and windy I probably would take the sole warming battered and deep fried dish.

I was over at Cook the Books a few months ago where Grace and Felicity were introducing us to Latin American style ceviches, we sampled many and they were all delicious, they are my new favourite with lots of lime, chillies and no coconut milk. Unfortunately I have lost the recipes they gave me so I have cobbled this one together in Pacifc style but without the coconut milk. I really must get the prawn ceviche recipe off them, it was truly delicious.

We are fortunate out in Muriwai as we have many friends who go fishing and bring us fresh snapper only a fews hours old, this make the perfect ceviche. If you’re not as lucky as us do make sure you use the freshest fish available.

Ingredients
200g Snapper fillet, shinned
juice of 2 limes (approx 100ml)
Thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 hot chilli pepper, seeded and finely sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed or finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely sliced
Handful coriander, finely chopped
1 small cucumber
Salt to season

Method
Slice the cucumber down the centre and remove the seeds by running a teaspoon along the centre.
Then slice the cucumber into 1 cm thick pieces.
Slice the snapper into 2 cm thick slices.
Mix together all the ingredients except the snapper and cucumber and season the juice with salt to your taste.
Toss the snapper and cucumber through the juice and refrigerate for 15 minutes, this will start to ‘cook’ the snapper. It doesn’t need long but if you prefer it cooked through more leave it for 30 minutes.
Serve in small bowls or on clean banana leaves!

Boysenberry Honey Yoghurt Cake

It’s been a beautiful weekend out at the beach, I’m glad I was able to spend it at home surfing, running classes and squeezing in some baking too. After two months back and forth to Sydney, it is heaven to be home again for a week, it’s so quiet here compared to our office in Parramatta where the noise never seems to stop, it makes me appreciate where I live, there is not a car to be heard after dark after the beach goers have gone home. No street lights either which means great star gazing with no light pollution and the frequent sighting of shooting stars….bliss

For my sweet NZ post this month I am submitting a boysenberry honey yoghurt cake. Frances is hosting this months collection of goodies on her blog Bakeclub where you will find a round up of kiwi yummyness at the end of the month so do pop over.

Ingredients
Ingredients
200g SR Flour
100g ground almonds
150g liquid honey
250ml plain yoghurt
1tsp baking soda
100ml canola oil
3 small free range eggs
100g boysenberries, fresh or frozen
Glaze Ingredients
1 tbsp lime juice and zest of 1 lime
3 tbsp icing sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 180C and grease and flour a 22-24cm cake tin.
Place all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
In another bowl whisk all the wet ingredients, including honey and eggs together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and briefly whisk together.
Spoon half the batter into the cake tin, sprinkle with boysenberries over the batter then pour over the rest of the batter to cover berries.
Bake for 45 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven once cooked and allow it to cool.
Whisk together the icing sugar and lime zest and juice to make the glaze. And pour over the cooled cake.

Conchiglioni with Spicy Sausage and Sweet Peppers

I didn’t actually make this dish, hubby did and I stole it from him, there’s no reason his recipes shouldn’t grace this blog too is there? He just wasn’t going to photograph it or write about it and I had to steal a portion for photographing the next day. When hubby cooks dinner it is more often than not a pasta dish, I think he would live on pasta and pies left to his own devises.

This recipe he put together from a few recipes and a case of what was available and what he fancied and perhaps a little interference from moi (cant help myself) so here it is.

Ingredients – serves 4
6 medium spicy sausages
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, seeded and sliced
1 yellow capsicum, seeded and sliced
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 cup water
3 bay leaves
50g fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved
300g dried conchiglioni pasta
Olive oil
Salt and cracked black pepper

Method
To make the sausage meatballs you just squeeze blobs of the sausage meat out of their skins. Do this for all the sausages and put aside.
In a frying pan place a glug of olive oil and the onions and cook over a low heat for 3 minutes until the onions are soft.
Add the garlic and sliced capsicum and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, cup of water and bay leaves and stir through.
Then add the sausage meat bits and shake the pan so the sausage gets covered with tomato sauce, don’t stir at this point as the sausage will break up.
Keep the heat on low and cover with a lid, cooking for 20 minutes, shaking pan every 5 to make sure the sauce isn’t sticking.
While the sauce is cooking fill a large pan with water for the pasta and bring to the boil.
Add a teaspoon of salt and the pasta and simmer until cooked. The larger pasta takes about 8 minutes but go by the packet cooking instructions for the pasta you bought.
Drain the pasta and divide into bowls.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper and divide between the bowls, pouring over the pasta.
Top with shaved Parmesan and a little more cracked pepper.
Buon Appetito!