Mumma's Beautiful Rolled Pork Loin with Crackling

Crackling.

You need high heat for crackling. Really high heat. It doesn't seem to matter whether you crackle at the beginning of cooking time, then turn down the heat, or crackle at the end once your meat is succulent.
Rules: make sure your meat is scored through the skin.
Buy meat with a good fat layer
Dry the skin thoroughly with a paper towel
Oil and salt the skin well
High heat = good crackle
Use a griller if the crackle hasn't happened and you think the meat is cooked underneath

This is a beautiful combination of pork with rich roast vegetables.
Adapted from Gourmet Traveller.

Take the stuffing to the butcher and get them to stuff for you

Serves 6

Ingredients

1.8kg piece of pork loin

3 small pink lady apples, halved horizontally

200g peeled chestnuts

12 shallots

1/2 cup sage leaves

350mL cider

Stuffing:

4 shallots, finely chopped

4 pink lady apples, coarsely chopped

125mL dry cider

50mL cider vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp coarsely torn sage leaves

Butternut pumpkin, cut into bite-sized pieces

For stuffing:

Heat 1tbsp olive oil and a good knob of butter in a pan, add shallot, cook gently until tender (4-5 mins). Add apple, cider, vinegar, sugar. Stir occasionally until apple is tender and mixture has caramelised and it thick (8-10 mins). Season well with salt and pepper. Leave to cool. Take to your butcher to stuff into your pork loin.

Preheat oven to 250C. Place pork in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Place apple, chestnut, shallot, sage and pumpkin around base of pork. Pour in cider. Roast until crackling starts to form (30 mins). Turn down heat to 150C and cook for further 10-15 mins or until just cooked through.

Rest for 5 mins. Slice into thick pieces

beef in blankets ... because cabbage rolls sounds unappealing

Stuffed cabbage rolls courtesy of - you guesed it - smitten kitchen.

Pretty delicious.

Not excessively time consuming.

Unfortunately not looking amazingly appetizing. Must find a way to make them look pretty.

But tasting delicious - most important feature.

Where do cabbage rolls come from? Cabbage makes me think Germany, Russia... so maybe Eastern European? No idea

Serves 4-6 generously

1 cabbage (she said savoy, but I used a normal old green cabbage - savoy would have been prettier)

2 small brown onions, finely chopped

2 parsnip, grated

2 carrots, grated

2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

500g beef mince

3/4 cup white rice

3 tbsp tomato paste

Plenty of salt and pepper

Good home-made simple tomato sauce for poaching (tomato, garlic, butter, olive oil)

Green salad to serve

Cut the core out of the cabbage. Bring a large pot of water to the boil with a good pinch of salt. Put in the cabbage, turn off the heat and leave for 10 minutes. Drain the cabbage well.

Soften the onion in olive oil over a low heat. Add the parsnip, carrot, celery. Cook until soft and smelling delicious.

In a large bowl, mix together the onion mixture, mince, rice and tomato paste and season well with salt and pepper.

To make the rolls. Cut the core out of the leaves and roll up about 1tbsp of meat mixture. Try to roll it in the same way you would roll a spring roll.

Layer the rolls in a wide-based pan with a lid. They can be in two layers. Pack them in tightly. Pour in 1/2 cup of water and your tomato sauce to cover.

Put on the stove, bring to a simmer, put the lid on, and cook gently for 45 minutes. Keep an eye on it and top it up with water if it looks a bit dry. Be careful with it - burnt cabbage is horrendous.

Enjoy

Greek slow cooked lemony Lamb and beans

Adapted from Gourmet Traveller. Delicious. The beans will not stay bright and green because of the long cooking time. Ignore the colour. They are delicious like this.

1 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, coarsely chopped

800g boneless lamb shoulder, in 3cm pieces

1 1/2 punnets cherry tomatoes

1 small tub tomato paste (about 3 tbsp)

150mL white wine

400g green beans

2 tbsp dill, finely chopped

1 tbsp flat leaf parsley

Juice of 2 lemons

Saute the onion gently in the olive oil over medium heat for 4-5 mins or until tender. Turn up the heat, add the lamb and cook until nicely browned (5-6 mins).

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, wine. Bring to the boil then cover and simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours or until lamb is tender.

Add beans (and water as necessary). Cook for a further 15 minutes. Add herbs and lemon juice and cook for another 30 mins or until lamb is very tender and sauce has reduced. Season very well with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle with gremolata and serve with a peppery rocket salad and fresh crusty bread.

Gremolata

Mix together 2 tbsp chopped parsley, 1 tbsp chopped dill, zest of one lemon, 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped, salt and pepper. Store wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge until ready to eat.

South African Bobotie

South Africa's national dish. Beef mince with a savoury custard topping. Thanks to Neil's Mum Carol for introducing me to this! I love it.

Ingredients

2 thick slices of stale white bread, crusts removed

1 cup milk

Olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1/2 - 1 tbsp curry powder - depending on strength and preference

1 tsp turmeric

1 kg beef mince

1/2 cup seedless raisins

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 tbsp apricot jam

1 tbsp good fruit chutney

2 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to season

Custard Topping

3 large eggs

Bay or lemon leaves

Lemon slices

Large handful of slivered almonds

Preheat the oven to 180C

Place the bread in the bowl and pour over the milk. Leave to stand for 3 minutes, then gently squeeze out the milk. Reserve the milk and the bread in separate bowls.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and fry until soft. Remove the onion to a plate. Put the pan over high heat and fry the mince until brown. Add the onion back to the pan, along with the curry powder and turmeric. Mix well and fry for a minute or two or until fragrant. Add the bread, raisins, almonds, apricot jam, chutney and about 1/2 - 1 cup of hot water. Lower the heat and simmer for a couple of minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice.

Place the meat mixture in a large casserole dish and pack down firmly. Whisk the milk with the eggs and a pinch of salt. Pour the egg mix over the flattened meat. Decorate with the bay leaves, lemon slices and a good handful of slivered almonds.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the egg is just set - do not overcook. Serve with yellow rice and banana with coconut.

Banana with Coconut

Stir sliced banana with desicated coconut. Serve immediately. Two bananas is enough for 3-4 people depending on your appetite.

Yellow Rice

Add a teaspoon of ground turmeric to the rice before you cook it.

Keftedes with Fasolakia (Meatballs with green beans in tomato sauce)

I found some delicious green beans and super fresh tomatoes in the markets in Bunbury. This inspired me to try to make Fasolakia. Fasolakia is a Greek dish of green beans cooked until delicious and sweet in tomatoes and onions. Lamb is a very Greek accompaniment - so we decided to buy lamb mince and make meatballs. The mint and the lemon in the keftedes are just fantastic and cut through the fattiness of the lamb.

Fasolakia

2 small or one large brown onion, sliced

A large handful of green beans, top and tailed and cut into 5cm sections

About 8-10 small tomatoes, chopped into small wedges (use a 400g can of tomatoes if you cannot get very tasty fresh ones)

1 tbsp chopped parsley

A large pinch of dried Greek oregano

1-2 potatoes, sliced - optional

Salt and Pepper

Fry the onion over low heat in a generous amount of olive oil until soft. Add the beans, tomatoes, parsley, oregano, potato, salt and pepper and about 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a gentle simmer.

Simmer for about 45 minutes. The beans should be very soft and the sauce thick and sweet. The sauce may seem oily - this is how it is meant to be. Adjust the oil next time to suit your taste.

Keftedes

750g lamb mince - try to find mince that is not too fatty

1 egg

2 tbsp chopped mint

1/2 tbsp chopped parsley

zest of 1/2 a lemon

Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together well. Knead lightly - this changes the protein of the mint and allows it to bind better. Shape into patties.

Cook gently on a griddle pan until just cooked - they should still be slightly pink in the middle. If overcooked they may become dry.

Serve the keftedes on top of the fasolakia with a squeeze of lemon and some crusty bread.

This would also be nice with a dollop of thick Greek yoghurt or tzatziki on top.

Chicken Stock

It is always nice to make your own stock for things like soup and risottos. It only takes a few minutes of preparation and then you can just leave it to bubble away on the stove. It is cheaper, more delicious and more healthy than store-bought stock so definitely worth the effort. Ask your butcher for chicken carcasses - they should only cost about $1 each. We always have onions in the cupboard and parsley and carrots in the garden. All we need to pick up is a couple of sticks of celery and the chicken - so cheap and easy. Just remember that this stock is not salty like the commercial ones so you may need to adjust your seasoning.

2-3 chicken carcasses

A few sticks of celery

A couple of carrots

2 onions, cut in half - I don't even bother to peel them

A large handful of parsley stalks and leaves

A turnip cut in half - optional

1-2 bay leaves

Sprinkle of peppercorns

Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover with water. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 mins to 2 hours depending on how long you have. While it is simmering some people like to skim the surface to remove any scum - I don't bother most of the time and haven't noticed any bad effect. Strain the mixture. You can squash the veg and add them back to the stock if you want extra body and flavour. Usually I eat the carrots for a snack- they are delicious! Skim the fat off the top - or even easier refrigerate it overnight and the fat will solidify on top for easy removal.

Soupy Tomato and Meatball Risotto

This is a really easy and tasty risotto. It doesn't require stirring. The result is a cross between a soup and a stew. I love it tending more towards soup so are quite heavy-handed with the stock. For something like this I think it is best to make your own chicken stock or use a very high quality bought stock.

500g good quality beef/pork sausages or meatballs - raw, we used italian style meatballs

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs butter

1 onion, sliced

250g arborio rice

125mL white wine

1.25L - 1.5L chicken stock

400g can chopped tomatoes - we used the equivalent in fresh tomatoes which was delicious

4 tbsp chopped basil leaves

2 tbsp chopped parsley leaves

Fresh parmesan cheese - to serve

First you need to make your meatballs. We made nice little delicate ones about the size of a cherry but you can make them however you prefer. Squeeze the meat out of the sausages or section up your meatballs to the desired size and roll up. Frequently wetting your hands with water stops the meat sticking.

Heat 1tbsp of the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat (this is the pan that the risotto will end up in so make sure it is big enough - a non-stick pan makes this job much easier). Fry the meatballs in batches until golden brown on all surfaces. Don't worry if they are still rare in the middle - they cook for more time later. Remove all the meatballs and set aside. If the pan has black bits in it give it a wipe out with a paper towel. Pour out excess oil.

Lower the heat and add remaining 1 tbsp oil and butter to pan. Gently fry the onion until soft but not brown. Add the rice and cook for 1-2 minutes to coat in oil and get a bit toasted. Deglaze the pan with the wine and scrape up any bits from cooking the meatballs. When the wine has almost been absorbed add 1.25L of the stock, the tomatoes and half of the herbs. Bring to the boil. Simmer covered over low heat for about 10 minutes or until the rice is almost cooked.

Return the meatballs to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the rice is al dente. Adjust the consistency of the risotto to taste with extra chicken stock. Stir in the remaining herbs and season with salt and pepper.

Serve with a nice crusty bread, a green salad and lots of freshly grated parmesan on top.