Category: pork

Categories
egg food olives pork potatoes

tortilla de patatas

tortilla de patatas rustic style, OK?

It was all ready to go so well.

Only the night before I’d watched talented, charismatic and effortlessly handsome chef Omar Allibhoy throw together one of his childhood favourites: Spanish omelette. Just eggs, onions and potatoes required, but his version contained chorizo and olives. Myself and a host of other foodie people were attending an event laid on in celebration of Olives from Spain. We’d gathered at The Lounge in Balham to enjoy some great food and try olives in a three course meal. I’d quickly found a corner with two bloggers I’d not had the pleasure of meeting before, affable Ally from Dinneraholic and the splendidly-named Gary from London Foodaholic. We downed Tio Pepe whilst enjoying some fine tapas, which was followed by the omelette demonstration. We then settled down to a sardine salad with olives, sea bass with olives, chicken with olives, chocolate-olive truffles… all of it was so good. Look at my happy face!

It was clear from Omar’s presentation that beyond a PR event he truly loved olives and they’ve always been part of his life. I had to smile when he said to try them on small children so they develop the taste early on: my 2 year old girl adores them, nibbling round the stones; and my son has a legendary appetite for them, even receiving jars of them as Christmas presents. It can honestly be said olives are a big favourite in our house.

Note Omar’s perfect tortilla at the front

I managed to snaffle a piece of Omar’s omelette. It tasted amazing. It was still a touch runny in the centre – perhaps “moist” is a better word. I’d always had them thoroughly cooked and struggled to achieve the right results. His way – taught to him by Ferran Adria – was to not bother the eggs at all, and cook them gently. I had to try cooking it myself, so that was dinner sorted for the very next day. I had some leftover roast pork belly from the weekend so with a little paprika seasoning that substituted for the chorizo. So far, so good.

It was all going really well, until it came to flipping time. I’ve been using the same non-stick frying pan for the past 5 years, and I probably cook with it at least twice a week. But tonight, when I need the non-stickiness more than ever so I can flip it over, it gave up. It just wouldn’t turn out.

my poor destroyed, beloved 30cm non-stick frying pan

If you browse round this site you may well see the frying pan holding many of my dinners. It’s had to go. I will miss that pan.

How could I rescue dinner then? Lee had specifically asked about putting it under the grill, which Omar flatly rebutted. Flipping was the way to go. But flipping was out, so it had to go under the grill. And then getting it out of the pan was a scraping affair. Hence the raggedy mess in the lead photo. That aside, it tasted great. Tender potatoes, sweet onions, oozy eggs… and of course sweet, salty olives. If only I could’ve cooked it the way I meant to. See you on the other side of a new pan, I guess.

Based on a recipe by Omar Allibhoy. His version can be seen here. Thanks to Storm Comms for putting on a great night.

Tortilla de patatas (serves 4):

1 large onion, sliced

3 potatoes, peeled and sliced

200g cold roast pork belly

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon cornflour

About 12 olives, halved

8 eggs

  1. Get a pan really hot and add a splash of oil (olive oil, naturally). Add the onion and fry for a couple of minutes until starting to colour. Add the potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
  2. Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a bowl. Crack the yolks but don’t bother stirring. Season and move on to the pork. Put the paprika and cornflour in a bowl and add a splash of water to make a thick paste. Add the pork and stir well to get it coated.
  3. Tip the onion and potato mix in with the eggs, and add a little more oil to the pan. Fry off the pork for one minute and then add the olives. Tip the eggy-potato mix back into the pan, lower the heat and give it a little shake to distribute everything. After about 5 minutes, if you have a working non-stick pan, flip the tortilla over using a large plate and cook on the other side for another minute or two until set. Otherwise pop under a hot grill. Serve with a zingy balsamic salad.
Categories
chorizo creme fraiche food mustard pasta red onion

chorizo and red onion penne bake

Practically every element of this could be substituted: the definition of a store-cupboard clearout dinner! Change the chorizo for another cooked meat, throw in another cheese and it’s off in another direction altogether. A blue cheese and salami version could be pretty good too…

Chorizo and red onion penne bake (serves 2):

250g chorizo, cut into chunks

250g penne

1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard

200ml creme fraiche

150g Port Salut, diced

3 roasted red onions*

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Boil the pasta until al dente.
  2. Mix the creme fraiche, mustard, onion and cheese together and add the penne. Add a splash of the pasta cooking water to make a nice slippery sauce. Pour into a baking dish and put in the oven for 20 mins or until starting to colour. Allow to rest for a couple of minutes out of the oven before serving.

*If you don’t have any roasted onions (I had some left over from this recipe) either chuck some in a hot oven for 30 mins or fry them for a few minutes before adding to the pasta.

Categories
beansprouts broccoli food noodles onion peppers pomegranate pork red onion

roast pork belly and broccoli pomegranate stir fry

This is a hefty Sunday lunch in disguise. There’s quite a lot going on here so you have to plan ahead but by golly it’s worth it. There’s quite a few pans to have on the go too. The pomegranate juice makes it – sticky and sweet. That with juicy belly pork, crunchy veg and tasty noodles, this is a really interesting plateful with every mouthful slightly different.

This recipe is from Alex Mackay’s Everybody, Everyday. The recipe makes enough for 4 with pork, onions and juice left over so keep that in mind! I reheated mine with some wet polenta which works really well. You can see other recipes from this book that I’ve cooked here.

Pork and pomegranate stir fry (serves 4):

1kg boneless belly pork

6 red onions, peeled and halved

500ml pomegranate juice

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

500ml chicken stock

2 teaspoons cornflour mixed with a splash of water

8 dried apricots, finely chopped

1 heaped tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped

1 head of broccoli

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 red pepper, sliced

1 carrot, peeled

3 nests cooked noodles

1 pack beansprouts

  1. Preheat the oven 160°C. Score the pork belly with a sharp knife and rub all over with salt. Get a thick-bottomed roasting tray on a high hob and get a little oil really hot. Add the pork skin side down. Turn the heat down and fry for 10 minutes. One the crackling looks golden add the onion halves, flip the pork over and put it on top of the onions. Transfer to the oven. Roast for 25 minutes.
  2. While the pork roasts, bring the soy sauce, pomegranate juice and stock together in a saucepan to the boil. Reduce by two-thirds and whisk in the cornflour, add the rosemary and apricots and turn off the heat.
  3. When the pork reaches 65°, remove from the oven to rest. Slice thickly and use reserve half for another recipe. Put the onions to one side and use half of these in another recipe.
  4. Take a lidded saucepan and put it over a high heat. Trim your broccoli into florets and halve each one so they have a flat side (this will catch and create a lovely toasted flavour). Add the florets to the pan for abut 3 mins, then add the garlic, a sprinkle of salt, a splash of water and jam the lid on. After another 3 mins shake vigorously until tender, and then put to one side until you’re ready to stir fry.
  5. Get your largest wok out over a high heat. Add a dash of oil and fry the red pepper for a couple of minutes. Add the beansprouts and cook for a further minute, add the pork, 5 or 6 onion halves, broccoli and use a peeler to shave in the carrot in thin strips. Keep it moving as much as you can, and add about 200ml of the sauce from earlier. Toss in the noodles and keep stirring. When everything gets up to temperature sprinkle over some chilli flakes and serve. Eat immediately.
Categories
asparagus bacon creme fraiche food pasta

jamie’s pasta

The name is completely tongue-in-cheek, a sideways reference to another stupidly named dish. I’d piped up on Twitter that I was having Gordon’s Pasta that night when Lorna Wall mentioned it’s similarity to a dish of Jamie’s.

So I tried it – and it is as good as it’s simplicity suggests. Just asparagus and bacon powering the flavour along, and I added a dash of creme fraiche to help it stay slick and delicious. A lightning-quick and satisfying supper.

Bacon and asparagus pasta (serves 2):

6 rashers smoked bacon, sliced

1 bundle of asparagus

300g penne

Big handful parmesan

150ml creme fraiche

  1. Get two pans on, one deep pan for your pasta and another big frying pan for everything else. Get the big pan on with rapidly boiling salted water and get your penne on to cook until al dente.
  2. In the frying pan add a dash of olive oil and add the bacon. For the asparagus snap off the woody end, then trim off the feathered ends, reserving for later. Thinly slice the remaining stalks and add to the pan. Stir fry for about five mins and add some seasoning. Turn the heat down and add the creme fraiche and parmesan and stir well.
  3. The pasta should be nearly done now so add the asparagus tips for the last two mins of cooking time. When they’ve had their time drain the lot, reserving some of the cooking water and add the pasta and asparagus to the pan. Toss well to combine, you may need to add some water to slacken it down to a shiny sauce. Check for seasoning and serve immediately.
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