Clonakilty Black Pudding & Spinach

Irish Black Pudding is something I discovered whilst in Cork and a favourite of mine. Just to note, this is not like Bury Black Pudding- it has an amazing texture (it's full of oats) and is incredibly flavoursome- no lumps of fat here!
Luckily, there is a shop near here that sells it. But how to eat it? As part of an Irish "fry" it is hardly healthy, and I would wonder if it is shown in all its glory.
 
Like this you reap the flavour, but there is no need for guilt : )
 
You need:
 
Onions (two medium for 280g black pudding)
Black Pudding
Baby spinach (as much as you like!)
Tomato (one finely chopped)
 
Saute the onions and chop the black pudding into bite sized pieces. When it is half cooked, add the spinach and tomato on top. When it starts to wilt, stir the mixture, until it is all cooked.
 
Serve with freshly baked bread, mashed potato or stirred into pasta

Red Pork Casserole

This casserole was a lifesaver! My eyes were bigger than my brain when I went into the supermarket after Christmas- I bought lots of pork on special offer, and lots of peppers. We had also had a party, and ended up with three bottles of red wine. For some reason, a glass full had gone from each, and there was a limit to how much wine we could reasonably drink during the week!

I used:
Pork- I used 6 loin chops (chicken would also work- 6 thighs)
Peppers (4- red and yellow)
Pimenton (smoke paprika)
Garlic (4 cloves)
Wine (I used 3/4 bottle)
one stock cube (chicken)
Two medium onions
Couple of bay leaves

Would also be great : )
Tomatoes (tinned or fresh, chopped)
Chick Peas
Potatoes

To make:
Saute onions and peppers with a generous heaped teaspoon of pimenton. Add pork when they are transparent, and brown. de-glaze pan with the wine. Add stock to cover everything. Add garlic. At this stage, you could also add chick peas and/ or potato, and any tomatoes. Adding chick peas would mean that you could feed more people with less meat!

To serve:

I've been eating this from a bowl- could with some fresh bread, or re-heated in the microwave with a generous handful of baby spinach which can be stirred in. It would also be great with rice.

Fava Bean Inspiration

I bought a kilo or two of dried fava (better known as broad) beans a couple of months ago. I love beans- they are healthy and nutritious and fill your tummy. Dried pulses keep for AGES and are cheap protein. They also require forethought, soaking and boiling, which means doing them for one is just not going to happen.

But this Mexican inspired fava/ chili/ mint soup looks like a winner for a future WONDER activity and need to cook for a dozen. Heidi Swanson, one of my kitchen inspirations, doesn't pre-soak the beans, which means that this is more likely to get cooked! I love the combination of chili and mint- best known perhaps in chicken tikka with mint yoghurt. The freshness and bitter-sweetness with the spice is incredible. The cheese/ chili/ mint combo here would, I imagine, bring similar qualities.


Will keep you posted!

Let me know if you have any other fava bean recipes. I imagine that they could also make a good curry.

Huntsworth Pork Stirfry

There is nothing quite like a stirfry to use up ends in the fridge- the vegetables you bought on two-for-one or because they were cheaper by the kilo but you really only needed 500g.

I had a couple of friends coming over for dinner, and then invited a couple more, and a couple more. Which could have been 8, but ended up as four. Stirfry again is perfect here- you can add a bit of this and a bit of that, until you have the right quantity. One couple said they had a pork roasting joint that noone had time to roast, so I took it home, chopped it into mouth sized chunks and marinaded it. I HATE the idea of an animal dying to be binned. The marinade was also experimental, depending on what we had in the cupboard.

Juice of one Lime
Juice of one Lemon
glug of Olive Oil
glug of toasted sesame oil
heaped tablespoon of red curry paste
good pinch of ginger powder (fresh would have been better)
generous amount of brown sugar

The pork was marinaded for 3-4 hours in the fridge.

The cooking took 20 mins tops. Into a hot wok went the pork- there was plenty of oil in the marinade, some cashew nuts (if more people had come, we would have added more).We used up two heads of spring greens, which were just still fresh, cut into strips, one beautiful red pepper finely chopped, a not so young bunch of spring onions. There were courgettes waiting for some love. but we already had enough food. I chopped a couple of them into fine circles and stirred them into a pot of bolognese sauce I made for tonight. Extra nutrition- they will cook when I warm up the bolognese.

I had been a bit worried about the marinade- the sesame flavour have been overpowering when it was raw, but upon cooking the warm thai flavours came through and it was well balanced.

Worth doing again? Yes. Just what we needed on a Sunday night before a long week ahead!

Raw cashew nuts and peanuts are always worth having on hand to make a wok full of fried remnant vegetables into something quick delicious (and vegetarian).  This would have also been great with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Bernie's Tiroler “Groestl” or “Roast”

I grew up in Austria, and this is my favourite “left over” recipe e.g. a little ham/bacon/veggies leftover and added to the potatoes that are always at home. It’s also quite simple to make and surprisingly tasty for the few simple ingredients used...

Tiroler “Groestl” or “Roast”

This is an original Austrian recipe which uses boiled beef, a regional speciality. I’ve adapted it so that it can be used with leftovers found in a British kitchen.

Ingredients for 2 people:

Basics

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 onion
• 400 g potatoes (boiled & peeled and sliced ca ¼ inch thick) These can be from the day before, unpeeled would also be possible but I always peel them.
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped 
• salt & pepper 
• 2 fried eggs (optional)
• Veggie option
• 200g mushrooms

Meat option

• 200g of bacon, ham, cooked beef, roast pork etc (whatever leftovers there are)
• The original recipe quotes ca. 120 g cooked beef, 70 g bacon; I usually mix bacon/ham and mushrooms

How to make:

1. Boil the potatoes, peel and slice them.
2. Heat up the oil, add chopped onions and meat and/or mushrooms and let them brown slightly (ca 5 minutes).
3. Add the potatoes and roast everything through by stirring frequently so everything is heated up thoroughly (ca 5 minutes). The potatoes should be cold before adding to the pan to avoid stirring it into a “mash”.
4. Season with salt, pepper and parsley.
5. Serve immediately with a fresh salad, adding a fried egg on top (optional). Guten Appetit!

Serve with Almdudler!!!

Luscious Lentil Casserole

This is cheap, colourful and tasty. You can make a big pot and freeze half, or it will keep in the fridge for up to 3/4 days. It can all be cooked in one, large, heavy bottomed pot. So simple.

It can be made vegetarian, but I love the flavour that even a little chorizo or Italian salami bring to this.

You need:

Lentils/ beans

Red lentils are the easiest. They don't need soaking. You can make this just with red lentils, but for depth of flavour and texture I like to use a combination. Brown lentils would need to soak overnight, as do chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and lima beans. Basically, you could use any dried bean in this. A cup of red lentils, and half cups of chickpeas, brown lentils (or any other lentils) and lima beans would give you loads. When soaking, they need lots of water- they will expand up to three times their dried size.

Onion

Onions and shallots give flavour to this. I would use what was on hand- If I was making lots I would probably use a medium-large white onion, a shallot and a small red onion, but then I love onions. They add flavour and texture to this.

Flavours

Chorizo or Italian salami are delicious. You only need 50-100g in a large pot of beans so it is actually very economic. You could also use smoked bacon, or sausage.

Chili flakes

Garlic

Chicken stock

Thyme, Marjoram, bay leaf

Bell pepper, chopped.

Add chopped carrot for some sweetness

Tomato

Tinned, Puree, Passata or fresh

Garnishes

Baby spinach, olive oil

To make:

1. Saute the chopped onions, and any chopped meat on a low heat, in a big, hevay bottomed pot. It should be chopped into small pieces because it's flavour needs to get out into the rest of the dish/. I would usually use olive oil, or a mixture of butter and olive oil for maximum flavour.
2. Drain any soaked lentils and rinse.
3. If you are using stock cubes, make up the stock.
4. When the onions are transparent and the meat is cooked add the lentils.
5. You need to cover it with liquid plus an inch. This liquid could include tomato passata, or tinned tomatos, stock, or just water.
6. Add herbs, spices, chopped vegetables, peeled garlic cloves.
7. Simmer for an hour or until cooked, with the lid on making sure that it doesn't dry out. If there is lots of water left towards the end, take off the lid and let some of it evaporate.

To serve:

• Sometimes I like to stir in some baby spinach as I serve- it will wilt, adding nutrition, flavour and colour.
• It is delicious if you add some crispy fried salami/ bacon/ chorizo (whatever you used) and onions on top at the end, as a texture/ garnish
• If there is a lot of liquid, put 5 minute cous-cous into each bowl for serving, put the casserole on top and wait 5 minutes. The slightly sweet couscous will absorb the "gravy".
• On its own, with a drizzle of virgin olive oil, and some fresh bread to mop us the juice.

photo thanks to Dey