Sicilian Sausage Meatballs

Packed full of Sicilian flavours...the fennel, lemon, garlic and thyme work perfectly together in these incredibly tasty, succulent meatballs.
Rather than losing the meatballs in a vat of tomato sauce, I love to serve them on top of pasta simply tossed in creamy leeks (cooked slowly in butter and white wine with a touch of cream).  Top the finished dish with a grating of pecorino cheese and you have a very happy bowl of Sicilian heaven.

Serves 6

Ingredients

Olive Oil and Butter

1 Large Onion, diced

3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced

Salt and Black Pepper

1 tablespoon Fennel Seeds

75g Breadcrumbs

Fine zest of a Lemon

1 tablespoon Fresh Thyme, roughly chopped

500g Pork Mince

450g Sausage meat

1 egg

• Heat a glug of olive oil and a knob of butter in a frying pan until bubbling, then add the diced onion and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper.
• Turn the heat down and cook slowly for about 10 minutes until the onion is soft, add the garlic and cook for another few minutes, then turn the heat off and allow to cool.
• Heat a small dry frying pan then tip in the fennel seeds.  Toast the seeds for a few minutes, shaking the pan around until they are starting to smell aromatic and nutty.  Transfer them to a pestle and pound them into a powder (if you don't have a pestle and mortar you can crush the seeds on a chopping board with a rolling pin).
• Put the pork mince and the sausage meat into a large mixing bowl.  Add the cooked and cooled onion, the pounded fennel seeds, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, thyme and egg.  With a fork mix everything together lightly but thoroughly until all the ingredients are incorporated evenly through the mixture.
• Shape them into balls about the same size as golf balls, you should get approximately 18.  They can now be chilled until you need them or cook them straight away.
• Preheat the oven to 220C (fan).
• Lightly oil a large baking tray and place the meatballs on it, evenly spaced.  Roast for 15 minutes then turn the meatballs and return to the oven for another 10 minutes until the meatballs are golden brown, sizzling and cooked all the way through.

  

Pork 'Moruno' Kebabs

I have always been drawn towards Spanish cuisine, however I've been particularly gastronomically inspired over the last few months following a couple of trips to Spain.  With flavours that are quite simple but punchy, fresh with the occasional touch of spice, this is food packed with passion.
These juicy, flavourful kebabs can also be made with chicken and are known as Pinchos Morunos or Pinchitos in Spain.  They can be served on little skewers as a tapas dish or packed tightly onto long skewers and served with a salad and maybe some rice or potatoes for a main course.
They are perfect cooked on the barbecue but are also great cooked in a griddle pan or under a hot grill.  Please do try this, it is a fantastically tasty way to cook pork and the flavours will blow your socks off, I promise!

Feel free to reduce the amount of salt if you want to however it is a traditional and integral element of the marinade, so please don't leave it out completely. Do be aware that the meat requires a long marinating time, preferably overnight. 

Makes 5-6 Long Kebabs



Ingredients

1 Pork Tenderloin/Fillet, approx. 500g

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Pimenton de la Vera Dulce (Smoked Sweet Paprika)

2 teaspoons Salt

Several generous grindings of Black Pepper

Half a teaspoon of Ground Cumin

Half a teaspoon of Ground Coriander

Juice of 1 Large Lemon

4-5 Cloves of Garlic, minced

Approx. 1 tablespoon of chopped Fresh Thyme leaves

Approx. 1 tablespoon of chopped Fresh Parsley

• Cut the pork fillet into cubes approximately 1 inch square.
• Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together in a bowl then tip in the cubes of pork.  Stir it and mix it around to thoroughly coat the pork then cover and chill in the fridge for (ideally) 8 or more hours.
• When you are ready to cook the pork, thread the cubes of meat onto metal or wooden skewers (if you are using wooden skewers make sure you soak them in warm water first), packing them together.
• Cook the kebabs for 15 to 20 minutes on a hot barbecue, griddle pan or under a hot grill, turning them regularly.  If you are doing smaller skewers as a starter or tapa/canapé they will not take as long.
• Serve as soon as they are cooked, eaten deliciously straight from the skewer.

 

 



Pork Satay

I like to make satay as bite-sized morsels and normally use pork loin steaks for this, with the fat cut off and sliced into thin strips then threaded onto cocktail sticks.  The tenderloin works well too, you can cut it into bigger chunks and skewer them kebab-style.
I first tried cooking the satay meat in the oven years ago when I made masses of them for a party that I was catering for and found that it worked really well.  I always use this method for nibble-sized satay but if I'm making kebabs with bigger pieces of meat I'll cook them on the barbeque or griddle pan.
This recipe can easily be replaced with chicken or (raw) prawns.  The sauce is particularly easy and so very delicious, you'll find yourself dipping lots of foods into it in addition to the satay meat just as vessels to eat more!  I must recommend dipping cucumber into it, so good!

 

 This weight of pork loin steak makes about 16 bite-sized skewers

Ingredients

For the Marinade

350-400g Pork

 3 tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce
Juice of 1 Lime
2 tablespoons Sunflower Oil
1 large (or 2 small) Garlic Clove, minced
2 tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
3 Spring Onions, finely sliced
For the Satay Sauce
4 tablespoons Peanut Butter (I like crunchy but you can use smooth if you prefer)
4 tablespoons Coconut Milk
1 tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
Juice of half a Lime
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Red Chilli, finely chopped (less or more depending on how hot you want it

• Cut any fat off the pork and slice into thin strips, put into a bowl.
• Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together then pour into the meat, give it a good stir to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour until needed.
• To make the sauce simply put all the ingredients into a small pan and slowly heat until combined and glossy, you may need to add some water or more coconut milk if it seems too thick, try not to boil as it may start to separate.  You can make this ahead of time, you will probably need to add some water when you reheat it though.
• When you are ready to cook preheat the oven to 210C.
• To cook the pork, take each piece out of the marinade and space evenly onto a large baking tray or roasting tin.  Put in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.
• After this time check one to make sure they are done.  Serve with the sauce on the side sprinkled with some finely sliced spring onion.
• Watch them disappear within minutes!

Pork Chops with Mustard Cider Sauce

This is one of my favourite, foolproof recipes which is equally good as a quick midweek meal or as an easy dinner party dish.  It is speedy and easy to make, hardly a recipe really, more of an idea.

It is great served with simple buttered tagliatelle, rice or new potatoes and lots of greens.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 Large Pork Chops

Butter

100ml Dry Cider

1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

1 teaspoon Wholegrain Mustard

100ml Single Cream (or Creme Fraiche)
Salt and Black Pepper
Fresh Chives, chopped (optional)

• Heat up a large frying pan on a high heat.  When it is hot, pop in a knob of butter and, when melted and bubbling, place the pork chops in the pan.  
• Still on a high heat, sizzle the chops for 2-3 minutes without moving them then turn them over and do the same with the other side.  You may need to cut into the side of the chops if they curl up.
• After this time the chops should be sealed and coloured on both sides.  Pour in the cider and stir in the mustards, jiggle it all around a bit.  Turn the heat down slightly and simmer for 10 (ish) minutes, turning the chops over halfway through.
• After about 10 minutes, when the cider has reduced by half and is looking a little syrupy, pour in the cream, swirl it around to combine and bring back up to the boil.  Taste the sauce and add seasoning if you want to.  If you have some, throw some chopped chives in just before you serve.