Mexican Pulled Pork

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to be seated near Detective Chow from Food Scene Investigation at a bloggers dinner. An amazing opportunity arose where he could share some free range pig raised with love on the south coast. It feels so good to eat meat from an animal you know has lived in a natural environment, the way that it should be.

I was delighted with this beautiful piece of pork for braising, and what better dish to create then a slow cooked melt in your mouth one.

 I used Sammy and Bella's recipe for Mexican Pulled Pork.

The meat is seasoned and seared.

The onions, garlic, cumin and oregano (can you already smell the aroma of mexico?!) are cooked until translucent.

How beautiful are these spices, paprika and chipotle.

Into the pot they go along with tomatoes,vinegar and coriander (roots and stems).

Then the pork and enough water to cover. 

The pork is covered and baked in a slow oven for four hours turning every hour.

After resting for ten minutes it is gently pulled apart with two forks.

The sauce is reduced down until thick.

And combined with the pork.

Done, easy. 

Then you can serve however you wish, so many options with this tasty dish.

The first night I served it in some crunchy tortilla bowls.

It was very much enjoyed. 

Not to forget the next night when we served it with corn chips, yum!

Masala Dosa with Coconut Chutney

A few years ago I fell in love with dosa, a superthin crispy shell filled with spiced deliciousness.....

But I never even dreamt of attempting it. 

Then I saw Simon on The Cook and the Chef create the amazing Masala Dosa and before we knew it the ingredients were on my shopping list.

It is not a recipe for the faint hearted as it is essentially three days prior soaking rice and urid dal then blending and fermenting, then repeating the process.

The filling though is easy, precook some potatoes and lentils.

Bring your mustard seeds to a pop.

Add sliced onions.

Then add ginger, chilli, tamarind, turmeric and curry leaves.

Followed by your potatoes and lentils.

Fry with a little water for about fifteen minutes, then season with garam masala and salt.

Now this is the tricky bit, add a little of the rice/urid dal batter to a pan and spread out with the base of the ladle.

Mine is too thick, it took a few attempts to even get this and it doesn't even compare to a true dosa! 

But flavour wise it was not too bad.

Once it is crispy, fill with your potato curry and serve.

Accompaniments are a must with dosa and this coconut chutney made from coconut (I used frozen), ginger, lemon juice and mint was so refreshing.

Overall we loved it but I think next time we'll go down the street and order it :)

The Best Barbecued Turkish Lamb Sandwich with Spiced Pumpkin

Recently I purchased this recipe book of Peter Evans who has worked with the Heart Foundation to bring us his favourite recipes.

So far I have cooked half a dozen recipes and I am very impressed. 

They are simple, tasty and healthy.

Please do consider adding this book to your collection.

Pumpkin is roasted and then mashed with caraway, cumin, garlic, chilli and lemon.

The lamb backstrap is lightly seasoned, we added a little sumac too, and cooked on a hot barbecue.

Toast some delicious fresh turkish bread.

Slice up your lamb.

Tempt the dog with the best meat you have ever tasted.

And assemble your sandwich with natural yoghurt, grated carrot, fresh mint and rocket leaves.

It was seriously good, we savoured every bite.

Perfect for longer daylight, warmer weather and dinners enjoyed outside.

Butter Chicken with Okra

Recently I discovered this recipe on Dani Venn's blog for Indian Butter Chicken. 

With its promise of authenticity, as the recipe was learnt in India I knew I had to try it.

The chicken is marinated with garlic, ginger, chilli and lemon juice for a couple of hours.

A paste is prepared by cooking cashews, water, milk and red onion and then pureed.

The sauce begins with cooking the whole spices, then adding fresh ripe tomatoes, water and ground spices.

I decided to add some okra to my curry, so I sliced it up and added to the sauce until tender.

I then picked out all the okra and whole spices (yes a little tedious!) and blended the sauce until smooth.

Meanwhile the marinade is drained off the chicken, and yoghurt, more ginger and garlic, and other spices added to coat the chicken.

Cook the chicken on the bbq to intensify the flavours (traditionally a tandoor is used).

The sauce goes back in the pan with some extra spices and combine some (or in my case all - it tasted so good) of the cashew puree.

The chicken and okra are then added to the sauce, along with salt, crushed fenugreek leaves and honey.

It was amazing.

The sauce tasted beautifully spiced, the okra was melt in your mouth tender, and the charred chicken was just perfect.

(There were plenty of jealous tastebuds whilst enjoying the leftovers at work the next day).

I will definitely be cooking this one again.