Italian-style Roasted Pork with White Wine

Ingredients

6-1/2 lb boned, rolled shoulder of pork
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon crushed dried chilies
6 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
freshly squeezed juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup dry white wine

To serve, your choice of:

sauteed potatoes and salad
mashed potatoes and green beans

Method

1. Cut deep slits in the roast with a sharp knife. Grind the fennel seeds, salt, peppercorns, and chiles using a pestle and mortar. Add the chopped garlic and pound to a rough paste. Using your hands, smother the paste all over the pork working it into the slits. Put the pork on a wire rack and place it over a roasting pan. Cook, skin side up in a preheated oven at 450°F for 30 minutes. Remove the pork from the oven and reduce the heat to 225°F.
2. Turn the pork over and pour half the lemon juice and all of the olive oil over it. Return the pork to the oven and cook for at least 7 hours, checking it every couple of hours. You should be aware that the meat is cooking—it should be sizzling quietly. Ovens vary, so you may want to increase the temperature slightly.
3. About halfway through the cooking time, spoon off the excess fat and squeeze the remaining lemon juice over the meat. About 30 minutes before the pork is due to be cooked, remove it from the oven and increase the heat to 4257. Transfer the pork, fat side up, to a clean ovenproof dish and when the oven is hot, return the pork to the oven for 15 to 20 minutes to crisp up the crackling. Remove from the oven and let rest.
4. Pour off any excess fat from the original roasting pan and add the wine and ‘/, cup water. Heat gently on the top of the stove, working off any sticky burnt-on bits from the edges of the pan, and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the juices through a sieve and keep them warm.
5. Carve the pork into thick slices. Put a few slices on each of 8 warmed plates and pour some of the pan juices over the top. You could serve this with sauteed potatoes and salad, or mashed potatoes and green beans.

Makes 8 servings.

Source: Cooking with Wine

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Spanish Tapas with Red Bell Peppers and Garlic Toasts

Ingredients

4 thin slices white country bread
5 tbsp Spanish olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
3 large red bell peppers
pepper
chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C.
2. To make the garlic toasts, halve each bread slice. Put 3 tablespoons of the oil in a bowl and stir in the garlic. Brush each side of the bread slice halves with the oil mixture and transfer to a cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown. Let cool on paper towels.
   <li<Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F/200°C. Brush the red bell peppers with the remaining oil and put in a roasting pan. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, then turn over and roast for an additional 10 minutes, or until the skins have blistered and blackened.

3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the roasted peppers to a plastic bag and leave for 15 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.
4. Using a sharp knife or your fingers, carefully peel away the skin from the peppers. Halve the bell peppers and remove the stems, cores, and seeds, then cut each bell pepper into neat, thin strips.
5. To serve, arrange the bell pepper strips on top of the garlic toasts. Season to taste with pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley to garnish.

Makes 8 servings.

Source: Tapas

Oven-cooked Beef Pot Roast

Ingredients

one 4-pound boneless beef chuck roast
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onions, chopped
12 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 cup dry red wine
4 cups reduced-sodium beef broth, or as needed
4 large sprigs of fresh thyme
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1-1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
12 ounces cherry tomatoes (preferably assorted colors)
3/4 cup pitted green olives

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat a large Dutch oven (at least 6 quarts) over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, then add the beef and cook, turning occasionally, for about 12 minutes, or until browned on all sides. Transfer the beef to a bowl.
4. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions to the pot, and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon,for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are tender.
5. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant.
6. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil, and boil for 1 minute.
7. Stir in the broth, thyme, and rosemary.
8. Return the beef to the pot and scatter the potatoes, tomatoes, and olives around it. You should have enough liquid to cover all but about the top 1 inch of the beef. Add broth or water if needed. Bring to a simmer over high heat, cover tightly. T
9. Move the pot to the oven. Bake for about 2 hours and 30 minutes, turning the beef over after the first 1-1/2 hours, or until it is just tender. Uncover and continue baking for about 30 minutes, or until the beef is fork-tender.
10. Remove from oven and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
11. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef, vegetables, and olives to a platter. Gently pull the beef into large chunks along its natural separations. Cover the beef, vegetables, and olives with aluminum foil to keep warm.
12. Skim off the fat that has risen to the surface of the cooking liquid and remove and discard the herb stems. Bring the liquid to a boil and boil for about 20 minutes, or until slightly reduced.
13. Return the beef, vegetables, and olives to the pot and simmer for about 5 minutes, or just until reheated.
14. Divide the beef, vegetables, and olives among six dinner plates. Spoon a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid over each serving. Pour the remaining cooking liquid into a sauceboat. Serve hot, with the cooking liquid on the side.

Makes 6 servings.

Source: Curtis Stone What’s for Dinner?

Spicy Vegan Burger with Caramelized Onion

Ingredients

1-1/3 cups drained and rinsed canned black beans, mashed
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
3-1/2 tablespoons walnuts, ground
2 cups panko or regular bread crumbs
1/4 cup cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon mild chili powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 buns, toasted

Toppings

1/2 cup barbecue sauce
4 slices vegan cheese
Caramelized onions

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Spread black beans, garlic, and mushrooms on prepared sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 20 minutes, turning over halfway through. Remove from oven, mash garlic with a fork and chop mushrooms.
3. Transfer to a large bowl, add remaining patty ingredients, and mix well.
4. In a food processor, pulse black bean mixture in batches until texture is rough, crumbly, and sticky. Taste and adjust seasonings with more salt and pepper if needed. Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours covered.
5. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions and shape each into a patty. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Place patties onto grill and grill for about 2 minutes per side until browned. Alternatively, cook patties in a skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat.
7. Remove patties from grill and assemble on buns with the toppings. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Veg News

Roasted Pork Belly Braised in Rum Broth

Ingredients

350g pork belly
300 ml rum
1 apple, cut into wedges
1 stick cinnamon
2 dates, roughly chopped

Caramel Sauce

300 ml rum
1 tbsp condensed milk
1 tbsp butter
30 ml cream
1 date, finely chopped

Pickled Apple

1 apple, half diced and half julienned
1/3 cup vinegar

Poached Apple

1 apple, cut into wedges

Smoked Corn and Onion Sauce

1 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
3 cobs corn
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp smoking chips
salt and pepper, to season

Method

1. Preheat oven to 230ºC. Turn on pressure cooker to high.
2. Score the skin of pork belly and place into the pressure cooker along with rum, 300 ml water, apple wedges and cinnamon stick. Seal and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes.
3. Remove pork, place onto a tray and roast until golden, about 20-15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to rest.
4. To make the caramel sauce, place remaining 300 ml rum into a small pan and reduce over medium heat to a thick syrup. Add condensed milk, butter, cream and chopped date. Reduce until thickened then pass through a sieve and set aside.
5. For the pickled apple, place julienned and diced apple into a bowl with vinegar and set aside for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
6. To poached the apple, bring a small saucepan of water to a simmer over low heat. Add apple wedges and cook until soft, but still holding shape, about 10-15 minutes.
7. To make the corn and onion Sauce, heat butter in a fry pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring until softened but not browned. Set aside in a medium bowl.
8. Place corn cobs onto a plate and cook in the microwave until just tender, about 2-3 minutes. Slice 2 strips of the kernels off the cobs and set aside for plating. Slice the remaining kernels off the cobs and place into the bowl of softened onions. Cover bowl with cling film and insert the hose of a smoking gun. Light smoking gun chips and allow the bowl to fill with smoke. Remove smoking gun hose and seal the bowl tightly. Set aside to smoke for 15 minutes.
9. Uncover the bowl and transfer corn and onion into a food processor. Blend until smooth then pass through a fine sieve, season and set aside.
10. To serve, cut pork belly into 4 pieces. Spread some corn and onion sauce onto each plate and top with a portion of the pork. Add some reserved slices of corn kernels and top with pickled apple. Serve caramel sauce on the side.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Australian MasterChef