spork me

Chili Orange Sage Pork Belly with Braised Peaches and White Beans

Not to brag (only a little), this was the best pork belly I’ve made so far, and the beans went with it incredibly. Not a ton of ingredients but they work really well together, and it only takes a few minutes to throw together.

Ingredients (pork belly):

1 pork belly
1 red chili, sliced
1 orange, juice and zest
10 sage leaves
3-4 star anise
Salt and pepper

Arrange the ingredients (except the pork) on the bottom of a glass pan that will fit the pork belly nicely, including the orange juice. Score the skin of the belly about 1cm apart, not cutting the meat. Place it meat side down in the pan, rub the skin liberally with salt, and chuck it in the fridge overnight.

When it’s time to cook, bring to room temperature (about 30 minutes) and pre-heat the oven to full heat. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 150C / 300F. Cook for about an hour, then blast the heat again until the skin bubbles but not burns. Let rest for 10 minutes in its own juices before serving.

Ingredients (white beans):

1 can of white beans, drained
1 cup of chicken stock (homemade, if you have it)
2 peaches, pitted and sliced thin
2 tbsp harissa or chili paste (or just mash some chili and garlic with cumin and coriander seeds)
1 red onion, sliced
1 punnet of grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
10 sage leaves, chopped
1 cup chopped flat parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil, salt and pepper

In a pan with a touch of oil, slowly caramelize the onions, about 10 minutes, until very soft. Add the harissa paste and peaches, cooking for 5 minutes more. Stir in the white beans, sage, and stock. Reduce slightly before adding the tomatoes, then cook to a thicker sauce. Add the parsley and lemon juice, cook 2 minutes more, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Beetroot, Sage and Goat’s Cheese Ravioli

Ages ago, I took a stab at Chew Town’s beautiful ravioli recipe, without first stocking up on pasta flour. I was ready to make both batches of ravioli to freeze for later, but instead did my version of a “best of” rav with my 3 favorite ingredients from what I had prepared, and tried my best to find creative ways to eat pureed pumpkin for the next 2 days.

I still have a lot to learn making pasta; due to the lack of dough (and the last lot I tried making being way too doughy), I overcompensated and made them too thin. I also overfilled them since I had so much filling. But they froze well, and I’d do it again, provided I check that I have the right ingredients first.

Pan Roasted Chicken with Sage Mushrooms and Cabbage and Carrot Slaw

More slaw, this time with pan roasted chicken, which I followed the same recipe for as I did before, except snuck some mushrooms mixed with fresh sage leaves underneath, tossed with the butter.

Butter Bean, Chorizo and Sage Caramelized Onion Frittata

This is a good one for breakfast or dinner, it’s pretty hearty with the beans and would keep well as leftovers.

Ingredients:

1 chorizo, diced
1 onion, sliced very thin
2 tbsp fresh chopped sage
1 tsp sugar
1 can of butter beans, drained
4 eggs
3/4 cup of milk
1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, parmesan, or anything you’ve got)
Olive oil, salt and pepper

In an oven-proof skillet, on low heat, cook the onions in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper for about 7 minutes, until translucent and soft. Add the sage and sugar and cook another 5 minutes, until brown. Add the chorizo and cook for a couple minutes, then the beans. Season again and mix well. Whisk together the eggs and milk, and add to the pan, combining with the mixture. Top with cheese, salt, and pepper, and bake for 15 minutes at 200C / 375F until the cheese is golden and center doesn’t wobble when shaken.

Sage Rubbed Pork Belly with Roasted Chokos, Carrots, and Parsnips

I can’t really stress how easy pork belly is. Put it together the night before when you’re making dinner and all you do is throw it in the oven the next night. So tasty.

I grabbed a random vegetable at the store called a choko, I had no idea what it was or what to do with it. They’re pretty weird looking, kind of avocado shaped, but lighter, and tougher. I would say they taste kind of like a sweeter potato. Really nice with the roasted vegetables, tossed in olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper.

Also served this with some sauteed broccolini, and leftover red cabbage and raisins, reheated.

Ingredients (pork belly):

Pork belly (mine was enough for 3 small servings)
1/2 bunch of sage leaves
Salt, pepper
4-5 garlic cloves, crushed and lightly chopped
1/2 tsp nutmeg

The night before, rub the meat of the pork belly with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. In a pan, lay the garlic and sage leaves, putting the pork belly on top. Pat the skin dry and salt it liberally. Previously I have scored it, but saw somewhere not to so it keeps the juice in. It worked pretty well, but it’s much harder to cut into portions. Put it in the fridge uncovered until the next night when you’re ready to cook.

Pull the pork out while you preheat the oven to 220C / 425F. Pat the skin dry again, removing some salt. Do not add liquid. You don’t need to. Bake for about 20 minutes until the skin is very, very brown. Lower the heat to 170C / 325F for an hour. Let rest for a few minutes before cutting and serving.

Goat’s Cheese and Sage Stuffed Chicken with Caramelized Fennel, Roasted Mushrooms and Pomegranate

I’ve been making this style of chicken quite a lot, but am trying to mix up the stuffings. So what’s the #1 way to improve a recipe? Add cheese. It’s the American way.

Ingredients (chicken):

1 whole chicken, cut up the backbone and flattened
1/4 cup goats cheese
3 garlic cloves
1/2 bunch of sage, chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Juice of half a lemon
Salt, pepper and olive oil

Mash the ingredients, starting with the garlic, and add a few tablespoons of oil. Season with salt and pepper, add the rest of the ingredients, and mix well. Stuff under the skin of a flattened whole chicken, and the brown skin side down in a skillet for 5 minutes. Flip and cook for 5 minutes more before putting in the oven for about 30 minutes at 220C / 400F.

This side, on it’s own, is a lovely vegetarian dish and would have been very sufficient as dinner. The caramelized fennel I got from the book Plenty I’ve been raving about, and served with oven roasted mushrooms and fresh pomegranate. Buy this book.

Standing Sage Rubbed Pork Rib Roast, with Roasted Beets and Kale Salad

Weeknight dinner with killer leftovers, pork sandwich anyone?

Ingredients:

1 pork rib roast (mine had 4 ribs, pretty meaty)
1/2 cup roughly chopped sage (I threw in a bit of tarragon too since I had it)
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 onion, quartered
3-4 small carrots
Salt, pepper, and olive oil

In an oven proof pan, drizzle some olive oil and heat it up. Pat the top of the roast with a paper town to dry, and score it so you can easily slice through the crackling and cut between the ribs. Salt the skin, and sear the roast, skin side down, in the pan. You may need to move it and prop it up as it’s curved, and you want the skin to be pretty much cooked before you put it in the oven.

In the meantime, mash the garlic in a mortar and pestle, and mix with some olive oil, pepper, and the sage. Rub into the meat side of the roast (careful not to burn yourself) while it’s searing. Once the skin is really brown, toss the veg into the pan and use it to prop your roast up. It will add flavor, and keep it standing. Win, win!

Put in the oven at 200C / 375F for about 30 minutes. Baste, and cook for 5 minutes more. To check whether it’s done, cut between the middle ribs and make sure it’s medium well.

Served with roasted beets (I know, they’re white-ish, they’re some weird beets I found) and kale salad. Recipes for both can be found here, I just added some shaved red pepper to the kale this time.

Grape, Sage and Anchovy Braised Osso Bucco

Sounds weird, but tastes nice. Trust me on this one.

Ingredients:

4 veal osso bucco
2 cups of fresh green grapes
2 anchovies
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 bunch of sage leaves, roughly chopped
1.5 cups red wine
1.5 cups verjuice
1/4 cup flour
Salt, pepper, and olive oil

Flour and season the osso bucco with salt and pepper, and brown in a pan with a few tablespoons of oil. Remove from the pan, turn to low, and add onion, nutmeg and anchovy. Season with salt and pepper. Once soft, add the sage and grapes for a minute before adding in the verjuice and wine. Bring to a simmer, add the osso bucco back in, and cover tightly. Simmer on low for 1.5 hours.

Remove the lid and cook on medium until the sauce is thicker, maybe 15 minutes.

Baked Prosciutto, Sage, Tomato and Egg Breakfast

Another case of looking complicated when it’s dead easy to make. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1/2 onion, sliced thin
12 slices of prosciutto
2 tomatoes, sliced
8 sage leaves
Olive oil, salt and pepper

You’ll need 2 ramekins for this, a bit bigger than a muffin tin. Grease with a bit of olive oil and layer in 1 sage leaf, salt and pepper, and 2 slices of prosciutto. Then add some onion, tomato, and another sage leaf. Add 2 more slices of prosciutto, tomato, crack in 2 eggs, add sage, onion, tomato, and top with the 2 more slices of prosciutto, and the last sage leaf. Bake for 20 minutes at 200C / 375F, and let stand for about 5 minutes before topping with plate and flipping over to remove from the ramekin.

Herb Crusted Roast Eggplant with Ravioli

I bought some fresh ravioli for a quick weeknight meal, it’s so much better when you throw together a quick sauce instead of using pre-made, and it barely takes any time.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, cut in half
Half a bulb of garlic
1/2 cup chopped sage
2 cans of whole roma tomatoes
1 cup of water
1/4 cup red wine
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 tsp nutmeg
Olive oil, salt and pepper

In a mortar and pestle, mash up the garlic with a bit of salt, adding the sage at the very end.

Spread about 1 tbsp on each half of the eggplant with some olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes until golden.

In a big saucepan, saute the rest of the garlic/sage mixture in a bit of oil. Add the tomatoes, water, wine, brown sugar and nutmeg. Cook down for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, and mash up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon before adding the fresh pasta straight into the pan. Cook for another 10 minutes, and serve with the eggplant.