PORK WITH PEDRO XIMENEZ

Long time without writing a post. Been far too busy - all Brexit's fault!! 😂

Pedro Ximenez is a sweet wine from the region of Andalucia in Spain. You can buy it in most UK supermarkets. It is meant to be made with grapes that were introduced in Spain when Spain was ruled by the Arabs (many people forget that Spain was under Arab ruling for more years than under Christians)

You can use Marsala or Porto or indeed any other sweet wine, though Pedro Ximenez goes particularly well with pork as it has a depth that other sweet wines do not have.

You need:
- two pork loins (cut into thick medallions - I normally flatten them a bit with the back of a big knife)
- 2 onions
- 300 ml water
- 150 ml Pedro Ximenez
- a teaspoon of corn flour
- olive oil
- salt

Heat a pan with a teaspoon of olive oil. Salt the  medallions of pork and fry them on both sides until they are golden (2-3- minutes on each side). Take them off the pan and reserve them until later.
In the same pan add two more tablespoons of oil and fry the onions over very low heat for 15-18 minutes until they are very soft. Then add the water and Pedro Ximenez and let it all boil until you get bubbles. Take a quarter of a glass of the sauce, add the teaspoon of corn flour, mix well and return the mixture back to the pan. Add the pork back to the pan and let it all bubble for 8-10 minutes until the sauce becomes thick (I cannot stand thick sauces, so I often miss the corn flour step) It is great served with squared fried potatoes and swiss chard but also with mashed potatoes or even rice.

SUMMER CHICKEN

I thought I would post a 'proper' summer roast chicken as I am in the US for a few days and all we can get here is the chlorinated chicken (surrounded by mountains of fries) that the UK Government seems so keen to allow into the UK as part of their desperate attempt to agree a deal with the US at any cost. Pity that otherwise perfectly sensible people, like the head of the UK administration, seem to have fallen for that nonsense too. The thing is this:  if the UK government  allows US chlorinated poultry into the UK, no UK poultry will be allowed in the EU. That will mean we will have plenty of chlorinated chicken to eat in the UK, but  we may need to cross the channel to eat a proper chicken. Apparently in fantasy planet Brexitland this is called 'taking back control'… taking control of all but your chicken that is!

You need:
- one chicken
- half a glass of water
- two table spoons of olive oil
- salt
- four sweet potatoes
- 200 gr butternut squash
- three onions
- a jar of pesto (see our recipe http://www.mumandsons.com/2011/03/green-pesto.html)

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees. Cut the onions in six chunks (vertically). Cut the sweet potatoes and butternut squash in big chunks. Put both the onions and sweet potatoes on a roasting tray. Add a bit of salt and the two tablespoons of olive oil. Toss it all well.  Salt the chicken (including inside) and put it on top of the onions and sweet potatoes. Add the water (not on top of the chicken, just on the side of the roasting tray). Roast for 1.30 minutes. Serve it with the pesto and a salad. Simple and wonderful.

DUCK WITH CHINESE PANCAKES

This is a very simple family dish that never fails to please. You just need:

-       - a duck

-       - a couple of packets of Chinese pancakes

-       - salt

-       - 2 tablespoons of olive oil

-       - four tablespoons of chinese all spice

-       - a cucumber

-       - a bunch of spring onions

-        - plum or hoisin sauce (whatever you prefer)

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees. Salt the inside of the duck. Then make a paste with the olive oil, all spice and salt. Rub this paste all over the duck. Put it in the oven for 1.30 hours and then lower the heat to 175 degrees for another hour. When the duck is ready let it rest for 10 minutes covered with foil, take the meat out of the bone and then shred the meat with two forks.

When you are about to serve the duck, cut the cucumbers and onions into thin sticks. Heat the pancakes in the microwave for 30 seconds and let everybody assemble the pancakes (cucumber, spring onions, duck and sauce) It really could not be any easier.   

PARTRIDGES ESCABECHADAS

This is a really great way to cook partridges. I was recently served this at a dinner and decided to try gain this recipe with the help of my mother.

You need:
- 3 partridges
- 2 carrots - cut in big chunks
- 2 onions - cut in half moons
- 4 bay leaves
- 5 garlic cloves
- 80 ml olive oil
- 150 ml white wine
- 50 ml water
- 2 springs of thyme
- 10 black peppercorns

Put half of the olive oil in a frying pan. Salt the partridges and fry them in the olive oil for a few minutes on all sides (they should not get golden).

Take the partridges out. Add the rest of the oil and fry the onions for 5-6- minutes over medium heat until soft. Then add the garlic, carrot, thyme and peppercorns. Add the water and wine. Put back the partridges in the pan. Cover with a lid and let them bubble oven low heat for 35 minutes. Put the partridges, vegetables and sauce in a glass jar and let it rest for one or two days before eating them.

Before you serve the partridges just heat them a little (not too much) . In the summer you can also eat them cold with a salad.

CHISTORRA

Chistorra is a great Spanish product. Similar to chorizo but thinner (because it was normally made with the tripes of lambs) It comes from the North of Spain and it is difficult to find it in the UK, but Brindisa is now selling it (as well as 'presa iberica' which is truly delicious iberico pork meat). All you need to do is to heat a pan (with no oil), cut the chistorra in 2 cms chuncks and fry it for 2-3 minutes until it is crispy on all sides. Just eat it with bread (crusty is best). Serve it as a snack or as an appetiser with drinks or on the side of fried eggs. It is always a success.
 

OXTAIL - RABO DE TORO

This is a truly typical Spanish dish. Very humble, and yet fierce, as it used to be made in the past with the tails of fighting bulls. Spanish food at its very best. If you are lucky to be in Andalucia you should go to Cordoba to try this dish. It is a beautiful town with one of the most stunning mosques in the world (though my favourite mosque is still the Great Mosque in Damascus) and the best 'salmorejo' and 'rabo de toro' in the whole of Spain.

You need:
- 2 kg of oxtail (chopped in thick chunks)
- a large onion (in big chunks)
- two clove of garlic (whole)
- 2 carrots (in 2 cm chunks)
- a red pepper ( in chucks)
- a stick of celery (in chunks as well)
- 2 bay leaves
- 700 ml red wine
- 300 ml water
- a quarter of a teaspoon of parsley
- salt
- plain flour
- olive oil

Salt the ox tail and dust it well with the plain flour. Heat a pan with a generous amount of olive oil over medium heat and fry the oxtail on all sides until it gets golden (this should take 3-4 minutes). Reserve it.

In a deep pan, put the same oil that you have used to fry the oxtail (I normally get rid of half the amount as otherwise the dish is very heavy) and add the onion, celery, carrots, pepper and garlic. Let the vegetables fry. After 10 minutes, add the oxtail and then the wine, water, parsley, bay leaves and a bit more salt. Increase the heat to maximum, wait until it starts boiling and then lower the heat to minimum. Let it simmer for 3.30 hours.

I usually let the dish rest overnight so that the fat solidifies at the top and it is then easy to get rid of it. However if you do not mind fat then eat it as such (the more fat, the more flavour…).

Take the oxtail off the pan. Put all the vegetables and sauce in a blender so that you get a very thick sauce.

Best way to eat this is with fried cubed potatoes.

CHICKEN WITH TOMATO SAUCE

This is a dish that brings most Spaniards back to their childhood. In the villages our grand-mothers used to prepare it with home grown chickens (pollos de corral) and sun ripen tomatoes and then in the seventies, on the account to modernity, our mothers did it with 'factories' chickens' and shop bought passata. The recipe below is a compromise between both.

You need:

- a chicken thigh per person (buy the best quality chicken you are able to afford)
- a large onion
- a tin of tomatoes
- half a green pepper and a quarter of a yellow red pepper
- a clove of garlic
- a glass of wine
- a glass of water
- a bay leaf
- a quarter of a teaspoon of chopped rosemary (if you do not have rosemary do it without it as it is not worth buying it just for this - I always have a have a rosemary plant in my kitchen, which is good for cooking and in Mediterranean culture is also meant to bring good luck, though only if somebody gave you the plant as a present)
- olive oil
- salt

Salt the chicken. Heat a bit of olive oil (4 tablespoons more or less) in a frying pan and fry the chicken on both sides (2-3- minutes each side) until it becomes golden. If you do not mind carbohydrates you can dust the chicken thighs in flour before you do this and as a result you will get a heavier sauce at the end. When the chicken is golden on both sides take it off the pan and reserve it .

In a large pan add a bit of the oil that you have used for frying the chicken. And the onion (diced)  and peppers (also diced) and let them fry over low to medium heat for 4-5- minutes. Then grate the garlic, add it to the pan and wait for another 3-4 minutes. Increase the heat to maximum hight. Put the chicken on top of the vegetables, add the tin of tomatoes, the glass of wine, water, bay leaf and rosemary. Let it all bubble for a couple of minutes and then lower the heat and let it simmer for a good half an hour.

I do not want to enter into the polemic about deep-fat- fryers that seems to have gripped parts of the country, but the most authentic way to eat this is with fried cubed potatoes or french fries.

STUFFED PEPPERS

This is a great Spanish Dish.

You need:
- 2 jars of piquillo peppers
- 400 g beef mince meat
- 2 onions (diced thinly)
- 2 heaped tablespoons of plain flour
- 500 ml milk
- 30 gr of butter
- 8 tablespoons of tomato sauce ( or good passata)
- 80 ml of white wine
- half a glass of water
- a teaspoon of chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- salt

Put the olive oil in a pan and fry the onion for 8-10 minutes (low heat) until it is soft. Then add the mince meat and salt,  increase the heat and let it all fry for another 11-15 minutes stirring from time to time until the meat is brown.

Separately, heat the butter in a pan. Add the flour and let it fry for 3 minutes while stirring it. Then add the milk. Put the heat on medium, and keep stirring until you see that there are bubbles. Lower the heat and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes until it gets thick and smooth. If you are not confident preparing the béchamel sauce, blend the mixture with a hand held blender as soon as you add the milk to the butter and flour - it always comes out perfect this way.

Add a bit of salt to the béchamel, mix it with the meat and let it cool down a little.

Take the piquillo peppers out of the jar discarding the water. Stuff the peppers with the meat and béchamel mixture. Put them on a shallow pan. Then pour the tomato sauce on top. Heat it until you get bubbles on the tomato sauce. Add the wine and water and let it all simmer for 10 minutes. Before serving it sprinkle the parsley on top.

CHICKEN IN PEPITORIA

In moments of sadness one resorts to comfort food.  This recipe is indeed Spanish comfort food at its very best. Though not even the best food in the world will get rid of the sadness and the feeling of powerlessness that I feel today.

Pepitoria is a really traditional Spanish sauce made with saffron and eggs. My grandma used to make a very light pepitoria for fish (see our salmon in pepitoria recipe) and a thicker one for chicken. In fact, the traditional dish is 'hen in pepitoria' but since hens are very difficult to find nowadays most Spanish who like this dish have turned to chicken instead.

You need:
- a chicken cut in 12 chuncks (2 from each leg, one for each wing and then cut the breast in three). You can also buy just drums or thighs, but if you buy the whole chicken you can also make chicken soup with the carcass and also it is interesting for the older children to see how to cut a chicken)
- three tablespoons of olive oil
- 3 eggs
- a pinch of saffron
- three tablespoons of powdered almonds
- 2 onions ( diced thinly)
- 2 cloves of garlic (diced very thinly)
- half a glass of wine
- 2.5 glasses of water
- salt
- a bay leaf

Boil the three eggs.
Heat the oil in a wide shallow pan. Salt the chicken on both sides and fry it in batches until it is golden (on both sides).
Reserve the chicken. In the same oil where you have fried the chicken fry the onion and garlic for 5-8 minutes (low heat) until they become soft.While they are frying,  toast the powdered almonds by putting them on a frying pan while stirring them a little for a couple of minutes (watch this all the time as it can burn easily). Mix the almonds with the egg yokes (reserve the egg whites) and the wine so that it becomes like a thick paste. Toast the saffron for a few seconds on the pan of the almonds and add it to the almond and egg yokes paste.
Put the chicken back into the roomy pan with the onion and garlic. Pour the egg yokes paste on top of the chicken and add the glasses of wine, a little bit ore salt and the bay leaf. Let it all boil and then lower the heat so that it simmers for 50 minutes to an hour.
Before you are going to serve it get rid of the bay leaf, cut the boiled egg whites into little bits (best way to do this is to smash them with the back of a fork) and sprinkle them on the chicken.
It is just delicious (and improves if you let it rest for a few hours or even a day). We serve it with fried cubed potatoes but you can serve it with plain rice too.

    

TART LORRAINE

This is a very simple tart-version of quiche Lorraine that works well for the Summer, whether for lunch of for a brunch. You need:
 - a packet of puff pastry
- two handfuls of grated cheese
- 150 gr bacon or pancetta (diced)
- half a teaspoon of salt
- 125 gr cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees.  Roll out the puff pastry to make a rectangle (if you buy ready-rolled out pastry, roll it a bit more between two pieces of baking paper so that you get a very thin base-. Put the pastry on top of an oven tray covered with baking paper and prick it with a fork all over. Bake for 10 minutes.
Take the pastry off the oven. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Arrange the tomatoes on top of the cheese (do not cut the tomatoes as otherwise the tart will become too watery and the pastry soggy). Heat the pancetta on a frying pan for 3-4 minutes (on in the microwave for minute). Get rid of the recess fat (by putting the hot pancetta on a bit of kitchen paper) Sprinkle the pancetta on top of the tomatoes. Sprinkle a tiny bit of salt on top of it all and paint lightly the tomatoes with the olive oil (with a brush). Bake for 15-17 minutes until golden.
My youngest likes to put the tomatoes on top and paint them with the oil.

BACON AND CHEESE MUFFINS

Have been travelling lots so could not cook much, but we are now back on track. I tried a mini version of these at a very stylish cocktail party, one of those Martha Stewart inspired events that only Americans seem to have the flair to put together. This is the less elegant but more substantial version of the muffins - ideal for breakfast or for an English picnic (if only the weather held up...)

You need:
 - 300 gr self raising flour
- 1 teaspoon of bicarb
- 120 gr bacon (into small cubes)
- 100 gr grated cheese (manchego or cheddar)
- a pinch of salt
- a pinch of paprika
- a pinch to dried thyme
- 1 egg
-200 ml milk
- 50 ml single cream
- 2 tablespoons olive oil

A muffin tray.

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees.

Heat the pan and fry the bacon until it becomes crunchy (4-5- minutes over medium heat). Pour it on kitchen paper to get rid of the fat.
Mix the flour, bicarb, cheese, salt, paprika and thyme.  Then add the bacon.
Separately mix the eggs, oil, cream and milk. Pour it over the flour mixture and combine it all without over-mixing.
Put the mixture into the holes of the muffin tray ( this makes 12). Bake for 35-40 minutes. Let them cool down a little before you eat them.

MY CHRISTMAS TURKEY

In Spain celebrate Christmas Eve with a big dinner. Due to the Hollywood influence, turkey has become the food of choice though luckily (this was a really clever move) we did not import the tradition of eating brussels-sprouts.  I have cooked this turkey recipe for as long as I can remember.

You need:

- a turkey, as big as possible, as the whole point of Christmas is to have as many people as you can fit  around the table.

- if you want to give the turkey a bath you need : a big (bigger than the turkey) bucket  full of water, two bay leaves, two mandarines, an onion, two oranges, one lemon, a big handful of parsley, a glass of port, a teaspoon of nutmeg, two cinnamon sticks a handful of coarse salt and a handful of sugar.

- 5 (big) cooking apples (peeled and quartered)
- two handfuls of raisins
- a handful of sultanas
- a handful of dried currants
- three handfuls of dried apricots
- 2 handfuls of dried figs
- three onions ( peeled and quartered)
- two handful of pine nuts
- 6 bay leaves
- 110 gr of butter (room temperature)
- a glass and a half of port

I normally give the turkey a 'bath' the night before the day I  cook it. To be perfectly honest, I am not sure it makes any difference to the taste, but it sort of gets everybody into the Christmas mood and the children, especially the little ones, love to throw the ingredients into the bucket. If you want to do this just get the turkey into the bucket, cover it with water and pour all the ingredients  (cut the onion, orange and lemon in quarters and squeeze them a bit as you are getting them into the bucket) into it. Leave the bucket (covered with a lid) in a cold place. One of my little nieces is absolutely convinced she has seen the turkey swim and actually move its legs in this bath - there you have the magic of Christmas!

The following day take the turkey our of the bath and pat dry it. Put it on a roasting tray (if you want a really moist turley then roast it in a clay roasting tray, as clay retains the water much better than metal trays). Salt the turley inside the cavities. Mix the dried fruit, apples, onions and pine nuts and stuff the turkey with them ( both the front and rear cavities). Put your hands between the breasts and the skin so that the skin becomes loose and massage the breasts (I know, just do not think about it!) with 80 gr of butter. Finally put the three bay leaves between each breast and the skin. Salt the turkey all around and cover with the rest of the butter. Put two glasses of water in the bottom of the tray together with the port. If you have any remaining stuffing add it to the roasting tray.

I do 50 minutes per kilo at 200 degrees and cover the turkey with foil after 50 minutes and then I uncover it for the last 20 minutes. I also let it rest for 20-30 minutes covered with foil before eating it. Eat it with roast potatoes and carrots or any other vegetable you like (as you may have gathered I detest brussels sprouts). It is a massive success year after year.

CHICKEN WINGS

It is party mood with my children and their friends when I make this.
You need:

- 500 gr chicken wings (kids love them, and teenagers can go through a mountain on these, so you may want to double the quantities…)
- two and a half table spoons of tomato ketchup.
- five table spoons of dark soya sauce
- three table spoons of honey

Mix all the ingredients together, put the wings in a roasting tray, cover the wings with cling film and leave them in the fridge (I normally make this in the morning and cook them at night). When yo are going to cook the wings preheat the oven at 200 degrees and cook for 45 minutes to an hour. Eat immediately.

PIG's CHEEKS IN WINE SAUCE

This is a truly gorgeous dish, and for very little money. Pig's cheeks are a very underrated cut - half a kilo of pig's cheeks feeds five people and costs under five pounds but if you cook it properly the meat is a real delicacy.

The best manner to each pig's cheeks is roasted, but that would require roasting a whole pig's head, which I think might be one step too close to the food chain for my kids.  Anyway, if you do want to try this, preheat the over at 200 degrees, put the pig's head in your sink and clean it well, pour boiling water over the head at least three times to get rid of any germs, dry it well, add salt (all around), cover the ears with foil and then put it into the oven for 1.5 hours (ears side down). After that time turn the head around, uncover the ears and roast for another 1-1.15 hours.

If the head is not for you, then try this much more civilised recipe which is divine. You need:
- 10 pig's cheeks
- salt
- flour ( 3-4 tablespoons)
- 2 carrots (diced)
- 2 onions (diced)
- 1 clove of garlic (sliced)
- a stick of celery (sliced thinly)
- a red peper (diced)
- a leek (chopped thinly)
- a pinch of parsley leaves (chopped thinly)
- a bay leave
- half a litre of red wine though I prefer to use 250 ml of red wine and 250 ml of sweet wine, like Malaga, Pedro Jimenez, Marsala or even port.
- one glass of water
- one and a half tablespoons of vinegar
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil

 Salt the cheeks, dust them with flour and fry them in the olive oil on both sides until they get golden (a couple of minutes on each side). Take them off the pan and reserve them. Then add all the vegetables, fry them for 5 minutes over medium heat, add the checks, pour the wine and water, wait until there are bubbles in the sauce, cover with a lid, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 1 hour. Then add the vinegar and let it simmer for another 45 minutes.  The result should be really tender, buttery meat with a thick sauce.

This tastes better if you eat it the following day. I serve it with potato cubes fried in olive oil (just heat the oil, fry the potato cubes for 3 minutes on each side, put them on kitchen paper to get rid of excess oil and add salt).

DUCK BREAST

Duck is always a winner with my children. Best if roasted and served with chinese pancakes and shop bought plum sauce.  But this recipe with duck breast is a big success too and  it is very easy to make.

You need:
-two duck breasts
- 1.5 onions (diced thinly)
- 250 gr red berries (either fresh or frozen)
- 100 ml red wine
- 20 ml balsamic vinegar
- 150 ml water
- a table spoon of honey
- two tablespoons of olive oil
- salt

First prepare the sauce: fry the onion in the olive oil until it is soft (12 minutes, firt medium and then low heat) Add the red fruit, a pinch of salt and the honey . After two minutes add the wine and vinegar and after another two minutes add the water. Let it all simmer for 20 minutes so that it reduces by half. Then blend it (I like this with the pips in, but if you prefer it smooth - as my children do-  then sift the sauce through a colander). If you prefer it sweeter then just add a bit more honey…simple!

For the duck, score the fat in a diamond shape and addsalt. Heat a grilling pan until it is almost smokey, put the duck on the pan (fat size down), reduce the heat to medium and let the fat melt for 8 minutes. Turn the breast around and cook for a further 5 minutes while pouring the liquid fat on top. Get rid of the fat and serve the breast cut in diagonal slices.  

You can serve this with raw apple slices (slice them very thinly and sprinkle them with lime juice) or put the apples in a pan with a tablespoon of butter and let them fry for a couple of minutes over medium heat (this is what my children prefer and therefor what you see in the picture). You can also serve it with a lentils salad  (mix a tin of lentils with a handful of chopped parsley, a handful of mint, a handful of basil, a handful of coriander, the juice and grated zest of half a lemon, salt, pepper and two tablespoons of olive oil; toss it all together)

PICADILLO - CHORIZO MINCE

Sorry for the long silence, but have spent most of the free time on the holiday writing the book. Have also made lots of progress on Inspiring Women, especially on trying to launch the campaign internationally  - with a bit of luck you will hear more on this in the next few weeks.

Anyway, back to food and to the blog: this is a recipe for picadillo, the meat that is used to make chorizo.

You need:

-       1 Kg pork shoulder and 50 gr pork belly (minced together – ask the butcher to mince them)

-       1.5 teaspoons of salt

-       1 clove of garlic (minced)

-       4 generous teaspoons pimenton (paprika)

-       3 teaspoons white wine

-       a pinch of cumin (powdered)

-       a teaspoon of oregano (dried)

Mix all the ingredients (use plastic gloves for this or you will smell of paprika for the rest of the day) and let them rest for 24 hours in the fridge covered with cling film. Fry it in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil for 10 minutes until it starts getting a bit brown.

Serve with eggs or bread or on its own.