Pork, Fennel Seed and Oregano Baked Pasta

This was a Friday night experiment and it came out really nicely, I thought.  Sadly it was SO nice there were no photos (also I was pooped by the time I'd got it into the oven - long, long day).  On the other hand it was so nice we will definitely be making it again.

It DOES look like a lot of ingredients but actually most of it were things we had knocking about in the cupboard or fridge; I would highly recommend getting the herbs and fennel seeds in anyway as they are reasonably inexpensive and you can make so many things using them.  Veg-wise, you can mix it up how you like really.  No mushrooms?  Fine, use an extra pepper.  No courgettes? Whatever, you'll live.  You see how I mean.

Ingredients:

1 pack lean pork mince
2-3 rashers streaky bacon
3 cloves garlic
1 large onion
2 carrots, grated
2-3 sticks celery, sliced
1 green or yellow pepper
1 large courgette
1 pack mushrooms (about 200g), sliced or quartered, however you like them
1 carton (or can - about 400g) chopped tomatoes in their juice
Squirt of tomato puree
splash balsamic vinegar (optional)
pork stock cube (if you've got one)
Dried oregano (I would have used fresh, they had none in ASDA, I used dried, it was great)
Fennel seeds - a heaped teaspoon
Dried marjoram

For the topping:

1 large carton of plain cottage cheese
Parmesan for dusting BUT -if you have none, just use a bit of whatever cheese you've got in the fridge.  Seriously, you just need it to give it a bit of a textured top.

Also, enough pasta to fill you up - you're going to make the sauce, cook the pasta, stir the two together, pop them in an oven dish covered with the instant cheesy topping and bake it for 20 minutes so I suggest just doing your normal portion size.  As an aside, if you don't have an oven dish I noticed in the supermarket the other day that Bacofoil do 2-packs of re-usable sturdy reinforced foil oven "dishes" for a couple of pounds so you could give this a shot in one of those.  I reckon you could fit at least 2 or 3 portions in so if you are a couple or a small family they would be adequate, especially with a bit of salad, or bread on the side.  Anyway, I've digressed.

Frazzle the bacon to within an inch of its life in a large pan, and add the pork mince, breaking it up so it browns.  While that is happening slice up your onion and crush your garlic and add them in.  While you're at it add the fennel seeds and the oregano - a VERY generous shake, probably a heaped teaspoon.  I also like to melt the pork stock cube in at this point and swizz it about.  If you haven't got a pork stock cube don't sweat it.  When everything is looking like it's cooking down a bit add a little slosh of balsamic vinegar (not the expensive stuff, just the cheapy version from the supermarket) and give it a good stir.  Add your grated carrots and celery, stick the lid on, and get on with preparing (ie chopping up) the mushrooms, courgette, pepper etc, opening your tomatoes and so on.

When the onions, celery and carrot have cooked into the meat, add all your other veg and tomatoes and tomato puree, along with the marjoram and a generous seasoning of black pepper, stick the lid on and turn your attentions to your pasta.

Measure it out accordingly and stick the kettle on.  While you are at it, put the oven shelf in the middle of the oven and put it on to about 180-190 degrees.  Get a pan out for your pasta and heat it up so the boiling water from the kettle doesn't have to reboil when it hits a cold pan.

Cook the pasta to your liking.  I used pasta twists but shells, macaroni, or whatever you've got are fine.  I wouldn't use long pasta but actually if it's all you've got you could just break it up.  Your call!  My preference is for wholemeal pasta since I like the texture better.

When your pasta's cooked, stir it into your sauce so it's all well mixed together.  Then transfer it into your oven dish and smooth it over.  Open your carton of cottage cheese and carefully pour off any watery whey from the top, then carefully using a big spoon smear it as evenly as you can over the top of your pasta to make a creamy cheesy layer on top.  Grate a bit of parmesan over and finish with a final sprinkle of oregano, then stick it in the oven for 15 minutes for the cheese to melt and for it all to bake in together.

Enjoy!  It's very nice, and a lighter alternative to a traditional beef ragout.

Also...FREEZING!   As with all the non-creamy sauces here the meat sauce bit, without the pasta and the cheese, is perfect for freezing so if you wanted to make a big batch and pop some in the freezer for an easy dinner one night then this is great for that.  All you'd have to do is go from the cooking your pasta and heating up the oven stage.  And of course, you COULD just eat it as is with some pasta  or even on a baked potato - it's pretty easy going :)

Pork, apple and fennel casserole

This is a kind of use-everything-that's-left-over casserole. Whilst at first glance the veg/apple combination might look a bit random, the apple cooks down to a point where it's just bringing out the taste of the pork rather than tasting of an apple and mushroom stew!! ;)

Extra Easy, all food free

Diced pork leg, trimmed of all fat
Onion
Garlic
Granny Smith apple
Fennel
Celery
Courgette(s)
Parsnips(s)
1 green pepper
Mushrooms
Pork stock
Black pepper
Sage
Tarragon

Then there are various options. You can either add some butter beans, some lentils or some baby potatoes, or serve it with some mustardy mash - it's your call :)

Dead easy, this one; brown the pork thoroughly in some low-fat frying spray, and then add the onion, garlic, celery and fennel and allow it to cook through gently, with the lid on, until the vegetables are soft and slippery. Put the peeled chopped apple in next, and stick the lid back on while you prepare the other veg.

When you've chopped the parsnip, courgette(s), mushrooms and pepper, put them into the pan along with some black pepper, sage and tarragon, cover and let them cook down, adding a smidgen of hot water and a pork stock cube to keep it moist (and, indeed, porky).

At this point you can turn everything right down and leave it to simmer. If you're going to add lentils or beans, add more hot water accordingly; if you're adding potatoes just make sure they're of an even size and make sure there's enough liquid to cover them.

Enjoy! :)

Gill's Amazing Fried Rice*

This is a two-stage process

For the pork:

Diced pork leg, trimmed and all fat removed

and marinated in...
Sesame oil
Sweet chili sauce
Dark soy sauce
Honey (the runny kind)
Chinese 5-spice (2tsp)

Rice, boiled, drained and cooled (we like brown, but basmati is fine)

Veg:
Onion
Garlic
Spring onions
Red pepper
Peas
Mushrooms

Eggs, beaten

Low fat cooking spray

So. Step one is to first marinate the pork and then cook it in a pan, tipping all the marinade in and letting it cook through. Remove to a dish and allow to cool.

While you're in the kitchen you can also boil some rice, drain it and spread it over a plate to cool.

If you're really feeling frisky you can slice up all those vegetables finely (or whatever else you fancy) and have them ready.

When you are ready it's just an assembly job. Just spray your pan, let it heat RIGHT up, and put the veg in. They will take two or three minutes, and then add the egg, followed by the pork and the rice. Keep it all moving, keep it hot, and then chuck it in bowls and devour. Nice with a bit of extra soy sauce/chili sauce.



*Obviously, this might not SOUND amazing, but it was. You have to just trust me on this.

Home-made pork in black bean sauce

Diced lean pork leg, trimmed thoroughly
Garlic
Onion
Green peppers
Mushrooms
Any other veg you want to put in - I used some leftover Brussels sprouts which I sliced like teeny cabbages, a grated carrot and half a courgette
Dark soy sauce
Black beans - use canned/cartons/ready cooked
Chinese 5-Spice powder
1 red chili (optional if you're not keen)
Black pepper, generous amounts, but to taste

To serve, we had this with rice but it's your call :)

Very easy. Brown and seal the diced pork thoroughly, and then add the sliced onion and garlic. Once those have become golden and soft, add the 5-Spice and a splash of soy sauce, turn it down and leave it to cook in together for a little while while you get the veg ready. Add them to the pan, including the optional chili, cover and leave to cook in together. While that is going on, sort out your black beans.

I used two small cartons for this, and what I did was empty one whole carton, water and all, into a bowl and hand-blend it together until mostly smooth (you could mash it if you haven't got a hand blender), and then drain and add the other carton of whole black beans, to give it texture.

Go back to your pan; if the veg are as you like them then add your black beans along with a bit more soy sauce and a generous amount of black pepper. Let it all bubble up, taste and adjust the seasoning, and then serve over rice. We had some snipped coriander over it and it was really nice.

Day 19 - Chinese 5-Spice Pork and Sprouts

...yes, sprouts. Not BEANsprouts. Sprouts. You know, the Brussels kind. The Christmas ones.

I love sprouts with a passion; Chris, before I made them with bacon and chestnuts (yeah...that'll be where my festive belly came from!) for Christmas last year, was not a fan. As we all know, if you say you don't like something then it's game on as far as I'm concerned...ha! Anyway, inspiration struck in ASDA whilst shopping as I realised I'd got some pork leg steaks in the freezer to be used up and there were readily available sprouts for the asking. *rubs hands together*

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Pork leg steaks, trimmed and all fat removed
Leeks, sliced thinly
Garlic
Grated carrot
Courgette, diced very fine
SPROUTS
Chinese Five-Spice
Dark soy sauce
Pork stock cube
Boiling water

Brown rice to serve

To begin with, blanch your sprouts. Drain and set aside.

Spray your pan with low fat cooking spray and brown off your finely diced pork, before adding the leeks, garlic and grated carrot. Sweat down gently until it's all soft and golden and add the courgette. Pop the soy sauce, five spice, pork stock cube and water in, cover and leave to bubble.

Cook some rice!

Add the quartered sprouts into the vegetable and pork mix right as the rice is about to finish cooking, and serve with great amusement as your husband type proclaims that "sprouts don't taste of farts! Sprouts taste of nutty!" *facepalm*

Day 11 - Sweet and spicy chipotle pork with rice and beans (and chili veg)

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free - except for 1 tbsp honey, 2.5 Syns for whole dish.

1 pork tenderloin, cut into thick medallions
1 tsp Discovery chipotle paste
1 tbsp runny honey
200ml pork stock made with a Knorr pork cube

1 big onion
2 sticks of celery
4 cloves of garlic
2-3 courgettes (depending on size)
1-2 red/yellow peppers (depending on size)
1 can of chopped tomatoes
squirt of tomato puree
half tsp cumin
tsp chile ancho
quarter tsp chile chipotle
half tsp smoked paprika

To serve: brown rice (boiled, plain)
Refried beans

Pork first! In a large, non-stick pan sprayed with low-cal cooking spray, brown the pork tenderloins, then remove to a small pyrex dish and pour over the combined honey, chipotle paste and pork stock. Set aside.

In the same pan, soften the onion, garlic and celery til golden, and add the rest of the vegetables and spices. Cover and cook til jammy and thick. When that's looking good, turn it right the way down, and put the oven to 200 degrees.

For the last twenty minutes, boil the brown rice, heat the refried beans through, and bake the pork in the oven in its spicy sweet baste, turning occasionally.

Day 2 - Spicy pork with sweetcorn and squash

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Pork leg steaks, all fat trimmed and removed
2 sweetcorn...cobs? You know, one each.
1 butternut squash (whatever size is fine)
1 red/yellow/orange pepper
1 big onion
garlic (to taste)
1 can of tomatoes
1 big courgette (optional but I'd got one lurking)
1 carton of black beans, drained
tomato puree

Smoked paprika
Cumin
Chohula chipotle hot sauce, to taste
Salt/pepper

Brown rice, to serve (optional)

Very simple indeed...as always, get the squash roasting first; peel, deseed and chop and whack it in the oven until it's soft.

While that's doing, brown the pork (using low-calorie cooking spray), and add the onion and garlic to soften and cook through. Add the pepper and optional courgette and allow them to cook through and soften. Then it's in with the tomatoes, black beans and the sweetcorn, which you've cut off the cob and added in "loose", as well as the spices, and then get the lid on to let it all cook through.

Whatever you do, anyway - don't add the squash until a few minutes before you're going to serve, because it will all go to mush in the pot. Once it's roasted it only needs to heat through so don't fret.

Whether you eat this with a bit of rice or just as is, it's very filling and the textures are really ace - if you're going to slow-cook it, though, don't put the sweetcorn in til nearish to the end as you want it tender and crispy.

Autumnal stew of pork with black beans and squash

With the cold weather heading our way and the nights drawing in, this is what's going to be in the pot tonight. It could probably feed three, but to be honest we will both have been running around a lot today and I'm always starving in this weather, so let's say it serves 2 at 6.5 Points each.

1 acorn squash, peeled, deseeded and hacked into chunks
3 smallish courgettes, diced
1 red pepper, diced
2 smallish onions, diced
1 can chopped tomatoes in juice
5 cloves of garlic, crushed/smashed/smooshed
3 lean pork leg steaks (not very big)
1 carton of Sainsbury's organic black beans in water, drained
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp dried chipotle powder
1 tsp dried ancho powder
shake of bittersweet smoked paprika
pork stock cube if you've got it (that's your call)
If you're feeling like something a bit different, a peeled, cored and diced Granny Smith
If I'm feeling frisky I might pop in one of the whole dried pasilla chilis I've been hoarding from The Gringley Gringo (who also incidentally make the most awesome chipotle chutney).

So, off we go.

Sort your squash out first, peeling it and deseeding it and chopping it into manageable lumps. That needs to go into a roasting tray with a few squirts of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt, and into the oven at 180 while you do everything else. You need to check it and give it a bit of a shake every 10-15 minutes and the idea is that you add it into the pot with the rest of the ingredients towards the end of cooking so it doesn't all fall to mush.

When that's on the go, start with your pork; cut it into small pieces and add it to your pan with a spray of oil. Leave that to start browning. When it's getting there, add the onion and garlic and let it all cook down gently together so everything is golden brown and soft; when it's there, add the pepper and courgettes (and any dried whole chilis and the apple if you're using them), put the lid on and let it simmer.

After about ten minutes, when everything is softened, add the tomatoes, puree, beans, stock cube and spices, give it a good stir and then let it all cook down til it's how you like it. When it's nearly there and your squash is roasted til it's soft and starting to catch a bit round the edges, add the squash to the mix and serve - enjoy!

If you are in need of extra ballast this will go really well with some brown rice (say 60g each - about 3 Points), or perhaps even a couple of wraps? (WW do them for 1 Point each, but they don't currently do wholewheat, which doesn't suit me too well.)

Pork and cider with lentils

I'm on a roll with the slow cooker. Don't mind me.
This will serve two hungry people generously (depending on how generous you are with your veg!) at around 9 Points each. If you put the apple in, bump it up to 9.5. That's not bad for a hearty main meal.

2 medium pork loin steaks
200g red lentils (dried)
500ml cider (one can)
And then in whatever quantity you please:
Onions
Leeks
COurgettes
Mushrooms
Green beans
Garlic (okay maybe not loads of garlic, it will smother everything)
Green and/or yellow peppers
Fine beans

You also need
1 pork stock cube (Knorr are good)
About a pint of water
Salt and black pepper
Sage and a bit of thyme
A bay leaf

If you're feeling frisky then a couple of apples would be good too - peeled, cored and sliced/chopped, or one big Bramley.

SO.

As ever, start by browning off the sliced pork loin steaks. I say sliced; I like mine chopped up into the stew but you can leave it whole if you prefer. When it's looking golden, or even a bit burned if you're feeling daring, add the onions, garlic and celery, and gently saute until everything is softened and slippery.

At this point add the rest of the veg, turn down to halfway, cover and leave to cook down for a few minutes, til everything is a little softened. Add your herbs and season well. Add your cider and bring it up to the boil briefly before turning it back down, and while that's doing make up your pint of pork stock with your cube and some boiling water, and either decant the stew plus the stock and the lentils into your slow cooker, or add the lentils and the stock to the pan. Either way all you're doing now is covering it and leaving it to do its work. In the slow cooker I'd say anywhere between 5 and 8 hours depending on what setting you put it on, and on the hob, depending on how high you leave the heat, give it up to about an hour or so.

Leftover pork

Obviously a shoulder of pork was a lot of meat for three people so we had leftovers for dinner last night. Here is what I made.

Leftover pork, with fat carefully removed
1 onion
1 green pepper
garlic
1 carton passata
1 pack of baby spinach
handful of dry cured pitted black olives
Italian herb seasoning
Black pepper
About a quarter of a lemon

First, warm a teeny glob of butter in the pan and add the pork. Warm through gently and let it get some moisture back into it. Then, add the chopped onions and sweat off gently. Next in is the garlic and the green pepper, and then let things cook together while you chop the olives- they can go in next. Add the passata, herbs, black pepper and lemon, and pop a lid on while you decide what you're having with this; gnocchi or pasta? We went for gnocchi last night but I think I'd rather have had pasta in retrospect. Anyway. Cook the pasta and when it's almost ready pop the spinach in with the sauce, stir through, turn off the heat and stick the lid on so it wilts into the sauce. Drain your pasta (or gnocchi) and stir into the sauce, et voila! We had a sprinkle of mozzarella on top, and it was a good foil for the olives and pork.

Sunday roast, and how to make gravy

Well, despite being quite an experienced cook I had never roasted a joint of pork before, so on Sunday, feeling the need for something huge to make us sleep through all the FA Cup 4th round matches in the afternoon, I set out to roast a pork shoulder.

The roasting was, of course, no problem, and the meat came out great. One question though: the gravy. My mother served us roast pork just after new year and her assertion that roast pork gravy is the best was not wrong, so I called her to get directions (just in case). Here, for all to see, are Joy Duckett's Instructions For Roast Pork Gravy.

1. You need to be making some form of potatoes to go with the gravy. You need the boiling water with all the gluey starch in it.

2. When the pork's done, take it out of the roasting tray (I've got one with a little rack so the juices run away from the meat). Put it to one side to rest. Drain the water from the potatoes into the roasting tray and put onto a low heat (obviously, no handle, so hang onto it with a tea towel or something).

3. I had some onions that I'd already sauteed with some balsamic vinegar (just a teeny splash) - those can go in, too

4. When you're ready, if you like, thicken the mixture with a cornflour/water paste; some folks like their gravy thick enough to spread (my flatmate being one of them), others like more of a jus, but both are good as long as there's no lumps!

And that is how you make roast pork gravy like my mum.

Spicy pork chops (to go with rice and beans)

Pork loin chops, trimmed well and then cubed or cut into strips
Jerk seasoning (I use Dunn's River) - 2 tbsp
garlic paste - a good squeeze
small carton passata
1 onion, large
fine green beans
a red or green pepper
extra thyme

Start off with the pork. If you've got time, mix the jerk seasoning with a little bit of garlic paste and some oil, possibly even a splash of white wine vinegar if you've got some. Mix the cubed meat in this paste and leave it for as long as you can.

Begin. Add the cubed, oiled, spiced pork to the pan and leave it to cook through and brown. Then add sliced onions and garlic and allow it to soften. The pepper goes in after a couple of minutes, and then the beans and any extra spice mix/thyme/chili. Let it all cook for about five minutesm then add the passata and leave it to simmer while you make some rice and beans.

When you're ready to go, serve the vegetables and meat over the rice and beans and enjoy. I tend to like to make the veg/meat dish a little bit spicy to complement the sweetness of the coconut rice, so don't be shy with the hot sauce :)

Pork meat loaf

This is one that tends to get made when the self-imposed ban on processed sandwich meat gets too much to bear and a meaty sandwich for work is in order. Will do sandwiches for two for about three or four days depending on how greedy you both are (ie, how many sandwiches you want). The harder you press everything together, obviously the firmer it is and thus the easier it is to slice thinly.

I always make this in a silicone loaf tin so there's no sticking but honestly it'll be fine in a regular one as it shrinks away from the sides.

2 packs of pork mince, which is about 900g-1kg
1 large onion, grated or chopped very finely
1 large Bramley cooking apple
1 garlic clove, crushed
half a tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
dried sage, to taste (but be generous)
sea salt flakes (ie Maldon) to top

Mix everything together in a large bowl.

If you're using a metal tin, give it a wipe with some oil or a light going over with some spray oil, but don't sweat it too much.

Cook for about 1.5 hours on GM 6, around 200 degrees. Allow for fan ovens speeding it up. Do check it at about the hour and ten mark, but be careful when fishing it out of the oven because all the fiendishly hot meat juices and fat will be around the loaf in the tin. Don't worry, you get rid of those later.

When it's cooked, allow it to cool down in the tin and then gently turn it out onto some kitchen paper to drain/cool fully. Then it's up to you really - it can be wrapped in foil and kept very well in the fridge for several days.

Serving suggestions:

On sandwiches with any kind of pickles (onion relish is awesome though)
Warmed through with scrambled egg
Cubed and added to tomato sauce with pasta

....yeah, it's a keeper.