thepassionatecook

Spiced pork belly with caramelised pineapple

When our charming host Andrew of SpittoonExtra announced this month's theme for "Waiter, there's something in my..." I was a bit hopeless. Pineapple doesn't feature much in my cooking, if anything, I'd enjoy it raw in a fruit salad or the way I learnt to eat fruit in Mexico: sliced, with a drizzle of lime and a generous sprinkling of chile piquín or cayenne pepper. The first thing that came to my mind was a pineapple upsidedown cake or tarte tatin, but then I figured there would be about a dozen entries with that theme.

Then something came to me in my dreams. Literally. I somehow time-travelled back to a trip to Paris, eternal city of love and food, and a visit to a phantastic restaurant that sadly is no more - La Table de Lucullus in the 17th district. It was a tiny place, a mere six or eight tables, and no menu to speak of - Nicolas, chef-owner of the place, would come round to every table personally and recite what was on offer that day. And as luck would have it, that night it was pork belly. Pork belly is not something I cook at home (until yesterday), simply because it never featured in my Mum's cooking, so I didn't have the first clue how to make it. I have had it a number of times in various restaurants - but there are only two that stick in my mind: the version done at Salt Yard (to this date, I believe), a garlicky affair with a crispy skin, the whole sitting on indulging white beans, and the version Nicolas made that night which was possibly the best way of eating a pork belly ever. I was hesitant to order it that night in Paris, but Nicolas insisted in his charming French accent that is was "verrrry tasty". And tasty it was. From that night on, whenever I think of pork belly, it is his version I remember, even some six years on.

My husband had been bugging me to try and recreate this dish forever - and here was my chance. Andrew was sort of handing me a ticket to fulfill Chris' dream, and so I jumped at the occasion. It was more difficult that I thought to get some decent pork belly - I went to the Borough Market specifically for it, as it's the place where I always turn when I need something special, something that I am unfamiliar with and therefore unable to judge its quality. But what was on offer there did not meet my expectations at all - they were all sad-looking pieces of pork belly that consisted of nothing but fat... yes, I know, the fat is important in a pork belly, but you do want some meat to go with that as well. I'd settle for half-and-half, but don't want to be paying for 5 kg of belly to get ten meagre bites of pork.

So I trod back home, disappointed at my failure to find a decent piece, and was wrecking my brain as to what else I could come up with for WTSIM that included pineapple. I was almost tempted to bail out or make a piña colada instead... but decided to gave my local butcher a try on the way back from the station (they're actually very good, people come from near and far to buy there and on the weekend, there's always a queue). And guess what? I got a brilliant piece of pork belly that cost a fraction of what I would have paid at the Borough.

I started that same night: brining the belly in a similar fashion as I had done before with pork fillet, using pineapple juice this time and stock and lots of spices: cinnamon, cloves, star anise, peppercorns, garlic. Pineapple contains enzymes that tenderise meat in a way that nothing else does, so I was sure this would be perfect. And it was. The next day I just had to stud the rack with garlic, season it a bit more and place in the oven on some slices of pineapple - slow-cooking for three or four hours and hoping for the best. It turned out phenominally good for a first try and it definitely won't be the last time I made pork belly... especially since I now know I can buy it just a few hundred meters down the road!

Chestnutrisotto and a drizzle of honey

It's been a long time since my last post and the radio silence over the past few weeks and months was due to the fact that I had tons of exams and was burying my head in books... so much so that I didn't leave the house for weeks on end and forgot my father's birthday - and not ANY birthday, either, it was his 60th. No, don't say anything, I've had enough stick from everyone around me already and I will have to live with the repercussions of the whole incident for the rest of my life, so cut me some slack for now.

So that you don't think I am an entirely horrible person, I'll have you know that I DID realise my mistake out of my own accord and did NOT have to be prompted, I DID call him the morning after and he DID get a present - and I even sent my daughter on a surprise visit to his birthday celebrations (which I couldn't attend as I was writing my exam that day). I hope this went some way towards a reconciliation...

And if it didn't, I am planning on making this wonderful risotto for him: creamy indulgence, the sweetness of the chestnuts intensified by a drizzle of honey just before serving... I just know it's going to bring tears of joy to his eyes and it's a wonderful way to see out the winter (yes, I am hopeful that the sunshine we enjoyed last week was NOT our summer and that there's more, warmer days ahead of us).

I'm back in the kitchen now, despite another exam coming up at the end of May, but I have done some intense cooking yesterday and more to follow today - lots of recipes to share with you, including my first attempts at cooking Turkish and Bistro food out of my newest cookbook acquisitions - so hang in there!

Scallop and asparagus canapés

It's Potato Chip Day today (in the US) - I didn't even know that such a thing existed and still don't see the necessity for it, to be honest... it's all well and good to make people more aware of what they eat and do and I wholeheartedly embrace focusing people's efforts on noble causes such as Cancer Research, Comic Relief and so on - but the potato chip? Puh-lease!

But I don't want to be a party pooper either and seeing that I am known to have a rather close relationship to crisps (as we call them here) at a certain time of the month (always salt & vinegar, in case you were wondering), I might as well publish a recent experiment with a potato chip as a canapé base. You know how you get so many people with food intolerances these days and I am always on the lookout for gluten- and/or lactose-free alternatives for finger food. The bases are always a problem, as in the traditional canapé, you will invariably go for either bread (easily bought or baked well in advance and also very stable, ie you can assemble it long before it's served) or other dough-based bottoms - vol-au-vents, pizza-type rounds or a filo-wrapping... you know what I mean.

Being gluten-intolerant doesn't necessarily mean that you are fantastically health-conscious and there's only so many canapés on a cucumber base that one can stomach, especially when it's cold outside and you want something comforting. So I decided to try a slice of fried potato - you can use store-bought, which is the lazy option and also produces a lot of waste in the sense of there being only few whole and perfectly-shaped pieces of chips in there, or you can fry your own - in which case you could also experiment with other vegetables like celeriac or sweet potato, parsnip or jerusalem artichoke.

I went for a simple potato because I wanted to top it with asparagus purée which in itself is a subtle, yet dominant flavour which I thought worked really nicely with the scallops. A word of warning, though, if you're using chips from a bag, make sure they're thick-cut real potatoes, not the reconstituted potato-purée type thing you get in the cheap brands - those would go soggy before you even finish assembling.

Having passed the test as a canapé base with flying colours, it's now time to experiment with toppings... I should think there are plenty of interesting combination, let me know if you think you're onto something!

"Waiter! There's something in my... hot pud!" - the round-up

It's time for another round-up of WTSIM where the theme this month was "Hot Puds", meaning desserts served warm. Whenever I choose the theme for an event, I have certain things in mind and it always amazes me how the (to me) very obvious doesn't feature much or at all, but fellow food bloggers come up with an array of most interesting dishes I did not think of or hadn't even heard of before. This round is no exception, of course.
I, for one, was thinking very much along the lines of my Austrian heritage with strudels, tempura-style baked apple slices or dumplings (another glorious example being my friend Nicky's Schopala over at delicious:days), my adopted home country's self-saucing puddings, the French classics soufflé and crêpes suzette, even the fruit fritters found in Far-Eastern cuisine found their way onto my virtual list. Nothing prepared me for the variety of dishes I was going to receive!

First up let's head all the way to India, Goa more precisely, where Gajar Ka Halwa or Carrot Halwa is being served in My diverse kitchen. If you (like me) are new to Halwa, this dessert is made from different kinds of grains/ flours or vegetables and contains sugar/ jaggery, ghee, lots of dried fruit and nuts and sometimes milk. The consistency of halwa can vary from dry and crumbly, through sticky to fudgy and thick enough to be cut into bars. The must-haves are almond or cashew halwa, but the carrot version tops the pops!

Next stop on our journey round the globe is Ammam, Jordan, where we're being (beautifully, may I add) presented with what some may find to be unusual ingredients for a dessert: Simplicious makes Ba-Pao, sweet bread dumplings, which are produced from a sweet yeast dough alright, but are filled with beef, onion and garlic mixture... don't let that put you off, I have tried (surely mediocre versions compared to this) in Chinatown and they were scrumptious!

Over in colder climes, the Netherlands, Notitie van lien turns her attention to an English classic inspired by Gary Rhodes. Her microwave pudding with raisins receives a face-lift by using syrup from candied orange peel, giving it an even more English slant if that is at all possible - and you will find the fact that it is ready in a jiffy very appealing, indeed! 

Back in England, A Little Foodie makes use of seasonal produce and simply bakes some forced rhubarb to serve with home-made custard sauce (the recipe of which she keeps a secret). It may lose its colour, but retains all of its natural tang - who said simple couldn't be wonderful?

    Drilling straight through the globe and re-surfacing in Sydney, Australia, we're invited to sample aficionado's latest creation. I was thrilled to hear to have been the inspiration for this marvellous blog - and throroughly enjoyed the thought of a rather more summery temptation in the form of a banana pudding... yum, yum, yum!

In Vancover, Canada, Kits Chow gets busy on Shrove Tuesday to work miracles with pancakes. Rather than using everyone's childhood favourite, Nutella, she stacks them up high using red bean paste, or anko, as mortar between the layers... a nod to the East, I suppose, and surely one to give a try!

You can always count on Kitchen Delights to dig out dome half-forgotten British classics and this one is no exception. Going by the name of Sussex Pond Pudding, her individual puddings are hiding an entire lemon each and result in a fabulous pond of lemon juice cutting through the sweetness of the batter as you dig into them... a fabulous invention, methinks!

  Equally attracted to the idea of sweet-and-sour is Kuechenlatein in good ol' Germany. Her mini lemon curd sponge puddings were meant to fill the tummies of ravenous teenagers, but must have stolen the show at this Saturday family dinner - they certainly were gone in a flash!

A hot dessert that is suitable for hot and cold days is another Britsh classic which I believe to be called a "crisp" in Food and Family's adopted home of South Africa. Her plum and apple crumble with oats and plenty of cinnamon is a crowd-pleaser no matter what the weather... I'd sign up for it any day in the week!

Another very exotic contribution to this round is Lekker Lekker Lekkerste's creation of Malaysian bubur kacang. "Bubur what? you may ask? just as my ignorant self did - and you'll find out that it's a delicious type of porridge made with mung beans, coconut and durian fruit - it certainly doesn't get more exotic (for me), and also hardly more comforting!

 

  SpittoonExtra travels back to 19th century Suffolk, England and dishes up a rather intriguing Hunter's Pudding made simply with eggs, flour, suet and raisins. True to his devotion, he concocts a fabulous wine sauce hailing from the same area - this certainly is one recipe not to miss!

Cook Sister! has a story to tell about the myriad of hot puddings South Africans enjoy. Her contribution to WTSIM comes in the form of Jan Ellis pudding, apparently the very favourite of a rugby player by the same name... I have no doubt that this dessert is an irresistible combination of orangey, caramelly goodness - I just wish I was burning off the calories as fast as he would have and feel no guilt enjoying it!

As for my own contibution to the feast, I turned to a legendary Bohemian dessert of Buchteln with vanilla custard which is best enjoyed at an Austrian home or the infamous Cafe Hawelka in Vienna. Judging by the emails and comments I have received over this, it still enjoys and deserves all the credit I give it - and I found out in the process that it was one of the many ways to please my husband in the food department... never a bad thing to have a sure-fire bribe!

I hope you've enjoyed this round of WTSIM... thanks for all of you who participated, it's been a great joy to host this edition.
As promised, there's a prize of two cookbooks which will shortly be sent ot the lucky winner... drumroll: My Diverse Kitchen! Please send me your address so I can post them to you!

New cookbooks on my shelves...

You would think that in the current climate (and that's all I am going to say about it, we are reading enough about how we've got to tighten our belts and cut spending, blahdiblahdiblah), buying new cookbooks is the last thing on my mind... but you know what, you couldn't be further from the truth.

Here's how I see it: the more I indulge in reading cookery books, the more I want to cook at home. The more hours I spend drooling over recipes and glorious photography, the less I am going to need trips to restaurants where nine times out of ten, I'll be disappointed anyway (or find the value-for-money unappetising). Unless I go to those really expensive places that I can only afford once in a blue moon in the best of circumstances and, by the looks of it, not in some months to come. So the money put in cookbook purchases is not just an expense, it's an investment - because I'll be dying to re-create a myriad of dishes at home rather than spending hours hitting the re-dial button to get a table at The Fat Duck. Although I have a feeling that getting through there is going to be an awful lot easier this year. (Have you noticed how half a year ago you wouldn't even have thought of just showing up at a London restaurant and phoning for a table on a Friday or Saturday less than a week in advance was futile, yet these days, even the most sought after restaurants seem to always have availability? It's when The Ivy starts introducing a Happy Hour that I might be convinced to finally give it a try ;-))

Back to cookery books though, which will become even better friends when we take more time to DIY again.
Anthony Demetre has just come out with his first book, called "today's special. a new take on bistro food". No capitals. Although this seems to be a signature of Quadrille Publishing, it also very much reflects the whole attitude of the book and the essence of Demetre's London restaurants, Arbutus and Wild Honey (read Cook Sister's account of her visit to the latter here, we also went to Arbutus a while ago now). No pompuous nouvelle cuisine, no starch-laden table-cloths and heavy chandeliers, no £4000 bottles of wine... he's all about honest, down-to-earth bistro food, celebrating excellent produce and reviving and modernising classics of French cuisine. If the mmmhing and aahing coming from my husband as I leafed through the book is anything to go by, I will be cooking quite a lot from it. Alongside bistro staples with a twist, there's plenty of hearty vegetarian fare like potato gnocci with fricassée of wild mushrooms, radicchio risotto with taleggio and red wine or gratin of cavolo nero. Where the book stands out from the crowd in my opinion, though, is the more unusual meat and game choices, like pig's cheek, ear and trotter salad, plenty of terrines and patés, oxtail ravioli or jugged hare with soft polenta. Not that this is necessarily something I am rushing to cook, but I like that there's the option. I will be making braised ribs of beef soon and a warm chocolate soup, and my husband is still compiling his wish list (he's already filled an A4 page, so I'll be busy for a while, I guess!)!* Did I mention that the photography and food styling have a certain panache that is to die for?

Next on your list of books to buy should be Michel Roux's "pastry". "Who needs another book on pastry?", you might ask. You do, that's who. I'd never have thought I'd say that because for most of my short life I have been a reluctant baker, but if you have any aspirations of ever making anything with pastry, this books has it all. It covers all the main types (brisee, shortcrust, puff, choux, filo...), comes with handy techniques and glorious step-by-step photography to illustrate how to decorate your pie crusts and make the perfect pastry-baked patés (aka paté en croûte). It also contains the most popular and well-known recipes involving pastry, both sweet and savoury, and will leave no question in this department unanswered. And if the book falls open on that sinfully tantalising chocolate and raspberry tart one more time as I leaf through the book, I will have to abandon this post and get busy in the kitchen, no matter what time of the day it is!

Last but not least, a book that is way more than just a cookbook. Written by the seriously talented Greg and Lucy Malouf, this book is not just a stunner on your lounge table, it will keep you occupied for hours with wonderful stories, present and past, of real-life Turkey. If you are mourning the fact that you might not be going travelling anytime soon, "turquoise" will answer all your prayers - short of buying your a plane ticket. The photography is so amazing, so inviting and so real that you're transported right into the beautiful landscape, architecture and culture of Turkey. So even if you're not that into Turkish cuisine (I never thought I was, but have earmarked at least twenty pages already), you will enjoy your virtual trip through Turkey with Greg and Lucy. Pick any afternoon, get comfy on the sofa with a cup of freshly brewed coffee or the very tempting pomegranate caprioska in the book and let yourself be transported to a world which is both deeply steeped in culture, yet surpringly European at the same time. And you won't get DVT from your flight on yet another budget airline.

All the books are available from Quadrille publishing, in every decent bookshop and on amazon, of course.

* If I am allowed to criticise one thing, it'd be that like so many cookbooks in this country, this book contains a recipe for "gratin dauphinoise". Take note: "gratin" is MASCULINE and the accompanying adjective is therefore also masculine, so it is gratin dauphinois... not an "e" in sight. I almost fell out with Gordon Ramsay over the same thing, but then he's much better at swearing than I am, so I retreated.