Category: Local meat

Pork cooked in milk (Maiale al latte)

We tried this recipe from Elizabeth David. It is a little tricky, and needs watching at the end. But it was fabulous

INGREDIENTS:

  • About 900g pork, preferably loin or boned leg, without the rind
  • For each 450g of meat, allow 550ml of milk, 25g butter and 25g of pancetta
  • Salt and pepper
  • An onion, finely chopped
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp marjoram, basil or fennel

Method

  • In a pan that fits the meat neatly, melt the butter and brown the onion in it: the onion should be well cooked.
  • Add the pancetta to the onion and fry until the fat is browned.
  • Stick a clove of garlic inside the rolled meat, along with the coriander seeds and herbs. Rub the pork with salt and pepper and then brown it off in the butter along with the onion and ham.
  • In the meantime, heat the milk to boiling in a separate pan. When the meat is browned and heated up, pour the boiling milk gently over the top. Do not add any more salt and pepper from here on in
  • Keep the pan simmering at a moderate pace on the stove top, uncovered. Gradually the milk will form a skin over the meat, and the milk may curdle to make a grainy broth. Do not disutrb this until it has been simmering for a good hour.
  • After an hour or so, break the skin round the meat and scrape the sides of the pan, and stir it all in. The sauce should be beginning to thicken and reduce down at this stage. Keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn or start to stick. The sauce will reduce down to a very thick, granular texture, full of bits of onion and ham, like a tasty ricotta. The meat will be encased in a fine crust formed from the milk.
  • to serve, pour the sauce over the meat, and then slice it. It is divine hot or cold

We served it with leeks, broccoli and potatoes.

Rabbits in cider

This is a third recipe combining the flavour of rabbits with apples. The rabbits were stored in the freezer, having been shot last month. Malcolm tells me that this is prime rabbit shooting time: they are fat and ready for winter, and good eating. Susannah found the recipe and it was very tasty.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 tbsp organic olive oil from the wholefood co-op
  • 300g bacon, freerange, diced
  • 1 rabbit, cut into joints, available locally
  • 12 carrots, homegrown for preference
  • 8 shallots, homegrown for preference
  • 4 garlic cloves, homegrown for preference
  • 2 tbsp organic honey from the wholefood co-op or fairtrade from the scottish co-op
  • 1 sprig of thyme, homegrown
  • 1 bayleaf, homegrown
  • 400ml cider
  • salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

  • Fry off the bacon in the oil and remove to a large casserole dish
  • Fry off the rabbit in the same oil, and put in the dish with the bacon
  • Fry off the carrots, shallots, garlic and honey, on a low heat, until the mixture looks caramelised
  • Put the caramelised vegetables on top of the rabbit, and add cider, herbs and seasoning.
  • Cook at 120C for 2-3 hours, until the rabbit is cooked.

We also had bread and butter pudding afterwards, but that is another story.

Rabbit with white wine and mushrooms

This recipe is from Norman Tebbit’s book The Game Cook. He advises that cider can be used instead of wine, and suggests mashed potato as a good accompaniment. We had rice which was also good, but not very local.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Organic plain flour
  • 1 rabbit, skinned andjointed
  • 1 tbsp organic olive oil
  • 50g butter
  • 8oz diced salt bacon or streaky bacon or pancetta
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 450g mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 large glass dry white wine
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • bouquet garni
  • 300ml ‘marigold’ stock
  • salt, pepper and parsley to garnish

METHOD:

  • Preheat the oven to 170C gas 3
  • Season the flour with salt and pepper, and coat the rabbit joints in the flour
  • Heat the oil and butter in the bottom of a large stainless steel saucepan. Fry off the onion until soft.
  • Add the bacon then the rabbit, and continue frying until the rabbit is brown on all sides and the onions are golden
  • Next, add the herbs, wine, garlic and mushrooms, along with the stock. Bring to the boil and stir it well.
  • If the pan is suitable, cover and put into the oven. Otherwise, transfer to a casserole dish. Either way, make sore the rabbit is covered
  • Let the casserole simmer in the oven for 2 or more hours. When you are ready, drain off the gravy and reduce by boiling. Alternatively, add a little beurre manie (butter and flour mixture) and simmer untuil thickened.
  • Serve the rabbit with the sauce poured over the top, and with vegetables and potatoes.

Polpette, meatballs, or ….

Once again, I reached into the gastronomic lucky dip that is our freezer, that great storage zone for all things local and perishable. The day before yesterday I fished out a bag of locally produced beef mince. I used it to make polpette. This is probably not worth making with cheap mince, but they were great with what we had. I used the mixture to make polpette (small meat balls) the first night, and then formed the rest of the mixture into patties and had them as burgers in buns. The following recipe will serve six. I got it from ‘Italian Food’ by Elizabeth David.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 450g good quality organic local mince
  • 2 slices white bread
  • milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • A small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
  • salt and pepper
  • nutmeg
  • a little lemon rind
  • plain flour
  • olive oil

METHOD:

  • Cut the crusts off the bread, and soak for fifteen minutes in milk
  • Squeeze the excess milk from the bread, which should be really mushy.
  • Add the garlic, parsley, tiny strips of a little bit of lemon peel, seasoning and spices and blend in a food processer. It is possible to do this by hand as well.
  • Add the bread mixture to the mince, and beat in the egg, until everything is well mixed
  • Next, flour a board and your hands. Form little slightly flat meat balls from the mixture, each just over an inch across, and coat with flour. Make a little dent in the top of each meat ball.Fry in hot oil. I think you can deep-fry these, but I just fried them in a pan. When they are done drain them on paper before serving.

I served these with pasta and tomato sauce. The book suggests serving them with a green salad. The next night, as I said, I made small burgers out of the mixture, possibly a culinary crime, but it was very tasty.

Spicy venison meatballs in a tomato sauce

I made this with some left-over roast venison, but you can also make it with venison mince. I have found that having a mechanical mincer is a game-changer. I think this would also work really well with minced beef. The recipe is from Norman Tebbit’s book, The Game Cook. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 450g minced venison
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 50g breadcrumbs (I used panko)
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 red chilli, finely chopped
  • 1 egg
  • ground black pepper
  • chopped parsley
  • salt 
  • olive oil
  • Another onion, finely chopped
  • 1 can of chopped tomatoes
  • 4 tbsp tomato puree
  • 300ml red wine
  • 2 tsp sriracha sauce, or 1/2 tsp paprika and 1/4 tsp chilli powder
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • preheat the oven to 180C
  • Start making the tomato sauce. Fry one of the chopped onions in olive oil over a medium heat. 
  • When the onion is soft and beginning to brown, add the tomatoes, tomato puree, red wine and sriracha sauce. Season with salt and pepper if required. Simmer over a low heat while you make the meat balls. If it looks too thick, add a little stock or water. I like to blend the sauce with a soup blender. 
  • Mix the minced beef with the onion, beaten egg, cumin, coriander, chilli, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well by hand and then mix in and combine the bread crumbs. 
  • Form the mixture into golf-balls (or slightly smaller). Fry in olive oil until browned. They should be handled carefully as they have a tendency to fall apart.
  • Put the meatballs in a casserole dish with the tomato sauce, put the lid on and cook in the oven for around 40 minutes. 
  • Serve over spaghetti, with a green vegetable on the side, and a grating of parmesan on top. 

Roast Venison with red wine and rosemary

I’ve made this twice now, using a large piece of loin from a red deer. This is a very easy and quick recipe, good with mustard mashed potatoes, and green vegetables. The timings given are for a rare to medium rare roast. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 700 to 800g venison loin or haunch
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 to 4 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
  • 1/2 celeriac, peeled and cut into large dice
  • 1 red onion, peeled and cut into 8+ wedges
  • 2 tsp red current jelly
  • 1 to 2 large sprigs of rosemary
  • 100ml red wine
  • 250ml stock
  • 1 tsp cornflour (optional)

METHOD:

  • Preheat the oven to 220C
  • Heat the oil in a large oven-safe pan, and brown the meat on all sides, and season with salt and pepper.
  • Pack the chopped vegetables around the meat, and roast in the oven for 15 minutes
  • After 15 minutes, turn the heat down to 180C and roast for another 20 minutes (less for a smaller cut of meat)
  • Remove the pan from the oven, and take the meat out. Put it on a dish and cover with a lid or tin foil.
  • In the pan, add the wine, redcurrant jelly and rosemary to the vegetables, and bring to the boil, stirring to mix in any bits of meat from the bottom of the pain.
  • Simmer for a couple of minutes, and then add the stock and cornflour. Simmer for another ten minutes and adjust the seasoning.
  • Serve the venison sliced with the gravy and vegetables, mustard mash and a green vegetable such as cabbage or broccoli.

Beef and beer stew, prehistoric style

I so very nearly called this post ‘Prehistoric beef and beer stew’ but then thought at least one person might find that too funny to pass up for a joke.

This is one of the recipes from a book called ‘Prehistoric Cooking’ by Jacqui Wood. I picked this one because I was still experimenting with honey from last month’s article. My sister sent me the book, hopefully because she thought I would find it very interesting.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 500g stewing steak
  • 25g wholemeal flour
  • 25g butter
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 bunch of sorrel (grows wild, I have some cultivated in the garden)
  • 50g honey
  • 1 pint of ale

METHOD:

  • Cut the meat into 2cm cubes, and dust with the flour
  • Fry the meat in the butter until browned. Use a casserole dish with a well-fitting lid.
  • Add salt, chopped sorrel, honey and beer.
  • Put on the lid of the casserole and cook over a low heat for one and a half hours, until the beef is tender.

For authenticity, serve with wholemeal bread rather than potatoes. Carrots are a good side dish. 

Lamb in Cider

Once upon a time, I decided to try cooking a leg of lamb with cider instead of wine. It was delicious. I just found the recipe again.

INGREDIENTS:

  • A joint of lamb
  • 750ml cider
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 heaped tsp dried rosemary
  • a pinch of ground ginger
  • 1 onion, chopped

METHOD:

  • Rub the lamb with the salt, pepper and ginger, and put into a casserole dish that fits well. Sprinkle with rosemary and pour in the cider. Cover, and bake at 140 C for 3+ hours
  • We served with roast parsnips, roast potatoes and buttered cabbage

Roast Lamb with Oranges and Paprika

We have just finished eating this, and it was tender and delicious. I think this is a version of a Spanish recipe, I have a note that one of my daughters copied it from Gordon Ramsey’s Healthy Appetite .

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 leg of lamb, around 2kg – part-boned if possible
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 oranges, sliced
  • A sprig of thyme

METHOD:

  • Heat the oven to 220 C
  • Trim the joint of any superfluous fat. Mix the ginger, thyme and paprika with 1 tsp salt and a few good grinds from the pepper grinder, and rub this mixture all over the lamb, including the boned cavity, if it was boned.
  • Fill the boned cavity with the garlic and half the orange slices. If the lamb is not boned, create a pocket in the meat, and fill that instead.
  • Put the lamb on a rack in a pan, baste with olive oil, and put a bit of water in the bottom of the pan. Roast the lamb for 20 minutes in the hot oven, then replenish the water.
  • Turn the heat down to 190 C and roast for a further 25 minutes per 500g. If the top of the lamb is getting a little dark during the cooking, cover with foil. Keep the water topped up as well, if it is in danger of becoming dry.
  • For the last half hour, cover the lamb with the remaining slices of orange.At the end of the cooking time, transfer the lamb to a suitable platter for carving, and let it rest for 10 minutes. Carve thin slices and serve with potatoes and vegetables.

Organic Lamb Casserole with Ras el Hanout, Mint and Chickpeas

Here is another recipe for organic shoulder of lamb. These local lambs have a lot of shoulders! We have just finished eating this, and it was tender and delicious. We adapted it from Two Fat Ladies: Full Throttle and I used herbs and spices from seasoned pioneers.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 shoulder of lamb, about 2kg
  • 2 cans of chickpeas, drained
  • 100ml olive oil
  • 2 onions, finely sliced
  • 1 pint of water or stock
  • 1 tsp dried mint
  • 2 tsp Ras el Hanout
  • Salt and pepper
  • 450g local potatoes peeled and chopped into large dice (e.g. Charlotte potatoes)
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon, or more to taste.

METHOD:

  • Heat the oven to 140C
  • Trim the joint of any superfluous fat
  • Heat the oil in a large casserole and brown the lamb. Set the lamb aside. 
  • Add the onions and cook until they are soft but not brown.
  • Add the chickpeas and water, bring to the boil and then stir in the herbs, spices, salt and pepper, and the lamb. 
  • Put the casserole in the oven for 3 hours
  • Add the potatoes and lemon juice, cover again and cook for a further 45 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. 

Any left-over chickpeas and gravy are excellent as a separate dish. I served this with couscous and a salad.