char siu pork cheeks with breakfast noodles

i’ve had a pack of pork cheeks in the freezer for ages and have been trying to decide how to cook them. a long slow braise has seemed the most obvious choice but actually it’s not the only option. meemalee’s post about roast pig cheeks is well worth knowing about - an overnight marinating session followed by c30 mins in the oven is all you need to do, and the result is wonderful.

the recipes on meemalee’s blog include both english flavours and a char siu version. it is the latter that i love and have now made a couple of times. above it’s accompanied with a pak choy and shitake mushroom stir fry plus fuschia dunlop’s breakfast noodles, which are made in a really intersting way, based on the you lin (oil sizzling) method, that is widely used in cantonese cooking.

the noodles are cooked, drained and placed in their serving bowl then scattered with spring onions (and ginger, if you like). oil is then heated until sizzling hot and then poured over the spring onion and noodles. a bit of soy sauce (often diluted with hot water) is then added and the dish served. it’s incredibly simple but does produce a very particular flavour, which is quite delicious. the method can also be used on things such as blanched green vegetables and steamed fish.

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a different kind of beetroot and lentil salad

one of the new cookery books that i bought recently is anna hansen’s the modern pantry. i’m a big fan of anna’s restaurant, the modern pantry, in london and enjoy her imaginative approach to melding flavours from different cuisines to create intense and impactful dishes.

this approach reflects a range of things, including that she grew up in new zealand, was inspired by her danish grandma, embarked on a food career in london (as well as nz and australia) plus her long term links with peter gordon, who is known for having a creative and imaginative approach to cooking; mixing and matching flavours from around the world.

i think this dish reflects the book and her approach to cooking incredibly well – beetroot and lentils is fairly predictable. add to that mirin, miso and soy and the dish tilts towards japan, but then pomegranate molasses are added which sends it spinning off in an entirely new direction. fresh mint and orange zest add two more strong flavours which seem to come out of the blue, but just add more layers of deliciousness.

i originally made this to accompany a slow-roasted shoulder of lamb. leftovers were eaten on their own or as part of a salad, once with hunks of melty gorgonzola and once with sliced of fried halloumi. all worked incredibly well.

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arbroath smokie pate

the other half of my arbroath smokie was turned into a lovely pate, using a recipe that was suggested by graham hannah, a reader of this blog, back in 2008:

“i would recommend a mixture of haddock flakes from 1-2 smokies (minus the skin & bones); 1/2 - 1 garlic clove 1/2 -1 onion very finely chopped; mayonnaise and double cream to blend; lemon juice and some freshly ground black pepper. it's fantastic with melba toast or thin oatcakes, washed down gently with a glass of dry white wine! enjoy”

i used graham’s recipe but swapped the mayonaise for creme fraiche, as i needed to use some up, and a shallot for the onion. i really liked the balance of flavours especially the tiny pieces of shallot that i crunched on every now and then, and which added a real piquancy to the pate. thanks graham, i hope you’re still reading!

apricot stone sour

this is a great drink for the cold, gloomy and seemingly never ending winter that we’re having – it has a fresh summeriness that hints of the long warm days that are yet to come.

mix 2 shots apricot brandy, ½ shot freshly squeezed orange juice, 1 shot freshly squeezed lime juice and ¼ shot sugar syrup. shake with ice, strain and garnish with a slice of apricot (if they are in season!).

pickled lemons

i treated myself to a couple of new cookery books at the end of year and am trying to make the effort to cook from them, and learn new things. yottam ottolenghi and sami tamimi’s jerusalem was the easiest book to get into, not least because i’d seen so many recipes online, so when i got the book i marked up some “must cooks” and got stuck in.

it was also easy to do as o many of the dishes are very flexible, easily working as the focus of a meal (such as these meatballs with broad beans) or as one of many dishes (i adore these roasted aubergines). plus, as ever with ottolenghi recipes, the sweet options (such as this muhallabieh) are just as tempting as the savoury. also very delicious are the accompaniments – for me, the lemon pickle is what really made this starter of fish and caper fishcakes with burnt aubergine and the aforementioned pickle, so delicious.

the fishcakes were wonderfully light – a combination of white fish (i used haddock), finely diced and mixed with capers, dill, spring onions, lemon juice and zest, a little cumin, tumeric, salt and pepper plus a scant handful of breadcrumbs and a little beaten egg to hold it all together.

the burnt aubergine was the a combination of charred-over-gas-until-blackene,d and then peeled, aubergine flesh enriched with a little greek yoghurt and balanced with some crushed garlic and chopped parsely. this is a flavour that appears in so many north african and mediterranean dishes, and i really do love it.

in this dish the richness contrasted wonderfully with the fresh-flavoured fishcakes and the tang of the pickled lemons, which obviously had the sourness of lemon but also hints of garlic, paprika, cumin and tumeric, to make them so much exciting than you might have expected; they are the sort of thing you will want to have in your fridge all the time.

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