Birthday pork

The birthday season is upon us, although this year I only have two birthdays to cater and someone has to do one for me. It's an opportunity to do something special and with usually only Peter and me at home an opportunity to cook something we can't easily do for two. Isabel chose pulled pork - good choice. 
This is pretty simple.  Combine a tsp each of smoked paprika, English mustard powder and 1/2 tsp ground cloves with salt and pepper and rub into the flesh side of a piece of skin-on pork shoulder. We added a bit of Culley's hickory sauce for extra flavour. Our piece was around 2 kg. Rub olive oil and salt into the skin.  Pour 1/2 cm water into a roasting tin and add the pork skin side up.  Roast at 140 for about 6 hours or until the meat is perfectly tender.  Add a little more water if necessary.  When it is done turn the grill to it's highest setting and grill the pork until the skin is crackled and golden - it doesn't take long so don't let it catch.
I made an apple and broad bean salsa to serve.  Our broad beans are a few weeks away so I had to resort to frozen.  Combine 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 2 tbsp each orange and lemon juice, 1/2 tsp each dried oregano and cumin, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, salt and pepper in a jar and give it a good shake. Pour into a serving dish.  Add 2 cups blanched and peeled broad beans, 1 julienned Granny Smith apple, 1 tbsp chopped capers, 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Gently combine.
We also had crispy roasted potatoes.  I sprinkled the par-boiled potatoes with a little polenta before roasting which crisped up the skin.
We also had leeks and cavalo nero because all meals right now MUST include chard or cavalo nero before these go completely to seed. Slice a couple of leeks and cook in olive oil and a little butter with salt until soft and sweet.  Take the tough stalks out of the cavalo nero and roughly chop then add to the pan, cover and cook a few minutes until the greens are wilted.  Season and add another small knob of butter.  Lost of recipes tell you to cook the greens in water then press out all the water with a tea towel and then chop the greens before adding to the pan.  I don't usually bother - it seems like far too much work and stains the tea towels green. My way seems to work fine.
We had the summer Pimms cake for pudding and once again this cake was the star of the show.  This cake is super easy and a bit of a show stopper. These were our first strawberries of the season - not home grown I'm afraid although ours will be ready shortly if we ever get any sun. The borage isn't flowering either so I used cornflowers for the blue.
What better way to use up pulled pork than Monday night tortillas?  To make flour tortillas gently mix 1 1/2 cups plain flour in a bowl with 1 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt.  Warm 1/2 cup milk in a small saucepan and pour into the dry ingredients.  Mix with your hands into a soft dough and rest in cling film 15 mins.   Then divide into 6 balls, roll out on a floured surface as thinly as you can and layer them between sheets of greaseproof paper with a light dusting of flour as you go. Cook them on a hot grill or cast iron pan - 40 seconds on the first side and 10 on the second.  Heat the pork in a pan with a little water and some smoky tomato sauce you have in the fridge.  Pile the pork on the tortillas and top with left over apple salsa.

Versatile vegetables

Phoebe is always doing interesting things with cauliflower but I've never done much other than cauliflower cheese, curry or soup until now. This week I branched out with two new cauliflower ideas.

On Sunday we had lamb kofte with cauliflower "couscous".  To make the kofte for two, combine 300g lamb mince, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, chilli flakes, 1 clove crushed garlic, finely chopped parsley, zest of half a lemon, 1/2 tsp dried mint, salt and pepper.  Make little meatballs - I made 6 - and poke a pre-soaked bamboo skewer through each one, then shape into sausage shapes on the skewer. Set these aside while you prepare the couscous.
Break half a cauliflower head into florets and grind to a fine crumbly couscous-like texture in the food processor.  Spread these out on an oven tray and bake at 200 for 5 mins.  You could microwave in a bowl for a few minutes but I can't as I don't have one.  Set them aside to cool and cook the kofte on a tray in the oven for about 12 minutes.
While they are cooking mix finely diced cucumber, chopped tomato, a small quantity of finely diced red onion, chopped olives, chopped mint and parsley, and crumbled feta with the cauliflower. Dress with lemon juice and olive oil.  Serve with yoghurt and a little chopped dill.
I used the other half of the cauliflower to make a pizza base.  Crumble the cauliflower and lightly cook as above then wrap in a tea towel and wring out any moisture.  I didn't do this and mine was a little soggy but still delicious.  Mix the cauliflower with a little beaten egg, crushed garlic and a little grated parmesan, mixed dried herbs, salt and pepper.  Shape into a pizza shape on an oven tray lined with baking paper.  Make it quite thin - about 1/2 a centimetre.  Bake at 200 for 30-40 minutes.  It should be firm and golden.  Take it out of the oven and turn up to 220.  Spread the base with passata or a similar kind of tomato sauce, halved cherry tomatoes and blobs of mozzarella.  Grate over some parmesan and sprinkle on a few basil leaves.  Bake another 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and serve with a few more basil leaves.
I will definitely be trying other things with cauliflower.  Any suggestions?
I returned to a favourite from this winter.  The charmingly named Dr Feel Good winter salad.  This is a brilliant recipe and although it looks fiddly is well worth the effort.  I save a bit of time by using roasted capsicum in a jar rather than roasting from scratch.  These are great and can go in many dishes.  Try them with the cauliflower couscous.  On this salad occasion Phoebe was coming for dinner and got there first so I phoned ahead for her to turn on the oven and put the beetroot on to boil.  That was useful.  You will really like this salad and you can be flexible with the ingredients.
I also made brilliant little apple puddings that I was alerted to on Facebook.  When I told them at work they all cried, "too hard", but in fact they were "too easy".  And they did taste delicious.  I sprinkled with icing sugar mixed with cinnamon because I had some pre-mixed which had been left over from a cake I had taken to work.  It was a great combination and a little dollop of whipped cream is the perfect finishing touch.
Now that asparagus season is upon us I like to eat them as much as possible.  A great idea for a spring Saturday lunch is salad greens, thinly sliced radish and steamed asparagus piled on a grilled slice of sourdough that has been spread with mayonnaise.  Add egg boiled just enough to peel with the yolk still soft and drizzle over a little lemony vinaigrette.

Family roast night

When I was growing up we had a roast dinner once a week.  This was usually beef or lamb and occasionally pork which was more expensive.  Rarely, if ever, chicken which was far too expensive for an everyday meal.  Once a week, in households all over New Zealand (in fact all over the empire) women were roasting a joint and serving with potatoes and seasonal vegetables followed by pudding.  We all knew how to do it.  When our children were growing up we usually served a roast on Sunday.  Often chicken which was cheapest or lamb, rarely beef or pork which was too expensive.  I doubt if any of our offspring could put a roast on the table without consulting a recipe.  (Is this true?)  I obviously failed there!  As tastes and habits changed, the regular weekly roast fell off our repertoire and rarely appears at our table apart from Christmas and Easter and the occasional chicken.  I have decided to revive this flagging tradition as an irregular family get together.
Last night was very cold and the young people were hailed on between the street and the front door so they were very grateful for the gin hot toddy that was offered.  This is a fantastic idea for a winter cocktail.  Per person pour juice of 1/2 lemon, 15 ml thyme infused syrup (or 1/2 tsp brown sugar), 30 ml gin, 15 ml green ginger wine into a heat resistant glass.  Top with boiling water and stir.  Garnish with a sprig of thyme, a few juniper berries and a piece of cinnamon stick.
We started our family roast cycle with a rolled rib of beef from our local butcher.  We drizzled a little olive oil and rubbed the meat all over with dry English mustard.  Put the meat in a roasting dish with enough room for vegetables, add 1 tbsp beef dripping and put in the oven at 250 for 15 mins then reduce to 180 for the remainder of the cooking.  Calculate 35 mins per kilo.  Add the vegetables for the last 45 mins.  We had whole small carrots and parsnips and shallots which had been peeled or scrubbed and tossed in a little olive oil with salt and pepper.
My mother always added potatoes to the meat but we did ours separately in duck fat.  Peel and cut Agria potatoes into chunks - I usually allow three pieces per person plus an extra portion in case. Bring to the boil and simmer 4-6 minutes, then drain until all the steam has dispersed and they are completely dry.  Add to a roasting dish of hot duck fat (2 tbsp) and put into a hot oven (250), immediately turning down to 180.  They will need about an hour.  When the meat is done leave to rest and transfer the vegetables to a serving dish which you can keep warm while making the gravy.  Put the meat pan on the element and thicken with a little flour.  Add 1 cup beef stock, 1 tbsp red currant jelly and a slosh of red wine.  Heat stirring until it is the desired consistency.  I think the best accompaniment to roast beef is frozen peas.  Add a knob of butter and plenty of pepper when you serve. 
We also did Yorkshire puddings which was a bit of an extravagance but in England is an expected accompaniment to the Sunday roast.  My mother NEVER made these. They're pretty simple. For six, make a batter by adding 125g flour to a bowl then make a well in the centre and whisk in 2 egg and 150 mls milk.  Lightly season.  Add a dab of dripping to the required number of  compartments in regular muffin trays and pop this into the oven to get really hot.  Then pour the batter evenly across the compartments and put in the oven on a rack above the meat.  We have two ovens so I had the potatoes in the bottom oven. Serve with gravy and a little horseradish paste mixed with crème fraiche.
The timing is a bit of a juggle but actually not too hard.  Remember women all over the western world managed this every Sunday, and many in the UK still do.  I worked back from the time we wanted to eat and stuck a note on the fridge to remind me what time to put each component on to cook.
And this wouldn't have been a Sunday roast (albeit on Saturday) without pudding.  Our childhood favourite was Dominion pudding from the Edmonds book.  Cream 50g butter with 100g sugar, add an egg and beat well.  Add 1 cup flour sifted with 1 tsp baking powder alternately with 1 cup milk and mix until you have a smooth batter.  I was taught to always end with the flour.  Grease a pudding basin and put a few spoonfuls of raspberry jam on the bottom.  Pour over the batter and secure the lid on the basin.  Steam in  a large pan of boiling water for 1 1/4 hours.  If you have never done this before Edmonds is not helpful.  It says  "steam 1 1/4 hours".  Bring the water to the boil add the pudding, cover and turn right down.  It needs the full cooking time but will not spoil if it goes over. Serve with custard and/or cream.
The next day you could have roast beef sandwiches with horseradish, watercress and some sliced roast potatoes if there were any left over.  This is where that spare portion might come in handy.
Tonight we made a cottage pie with some of the left over meat.  I made a sofrito of onion, carrot, garlic and fennel.  I use whatever is in the fridge that might work including celery or leek which we don't have today.  It's not strictly a sofrito but that gives the general idea.
Add the leftover meat and vegetables finely chopped.  Add the leftover gravy, leaving some aside if you have a Yorkshire to reheat, and a good slosh of some kind of tomato sauce or chutney to give a good consistency of pie mix.  Turn mix into a pie dish.  I always use my mother's 1 3/4 pint Denby casserole dish.  (She used this dish for all potato topped dishes, rice pudding, crumble or with the lid for casserole.)  Top with some kind of mash.  I had celeriac and pumpkin in the freezer so mixed them together.
And now I have one meal quantity of beef left.  Any suggestions?