Pork, aubergine & porcini ragu - natural umami!

I have a very embarrassing confession to make. I can't remember what inspired hubby to make this Italian style, porky, auberginey, mushroomy deliciousness - not because I am singularly forgetful (which I am!), but because he made it *blush* on the 26th January 2013.  Yes, it is now the 8th of March 2015.  *hangs head in shame*  I'm a bit behind with some ~koff~ of my blog posts.

Because these "forgotten" posts (which aren't really forgotten, but have just slipped on by in the rush of other things) are burning their unsung presence into my brain, I have decided that I must bring them to the forefront of existence.  Hence, I am going to do my best to remember at least something of the why's and wherefores of their creation, but the more important thing is to get them out there where they can be enjoyed by others!

I do recall that hubby was really keen to make a dish which did justice to the wonderful woody, rich flavour of the porcini mushroom and who who better to pair it with than with pork?  After all, both of them live in wooded areas (well, given the chance the piggies would!).  The aubergine, we felt, would give the ragu a smokiness and subtle creaminess - and so it proved.  My memory of this ragu is of a really intensely mushroomy, savoury, umami-filled forkful that was both satisfying from a comfort food angle and complex from a flavour angle.  It wasn't a simple combination of flavours, but one that developed on the tongue depending on how much of what was in your forkful.  Now you don't find that every day!

I have a few Cook's Tips for you with regard to this one :

Firstly, when you're char-grilling the aubergines, always oil the aubergines and not the pan.  Aubergines are total sponges and will soak up as much oil as you want to give them, so make sure to brush on just enough to help them to cook, or you'll end up with a greasy ragu.

Secondly, with regard to soaking the Porcini mushrooms.  When it comes to adding them to the dish, take care not to disturb the bottom of the soaking liquid.  Porcini's are renowned for containing little pieces of grit which will sink to the bottom of the bowl as the dried mushroom softens.  Pour the liquid gently and leave the last little bit in the bowl and you will be as sure as you can be, that your ragu will be grit free.

Lastly, be aware that as the ragu sauce reduces, the intensity of salt and pepper will change accordingly, so be sparing with the salt to begin with.

We didn't serve ours with any Parmesan cheese for sprinkling, but if you particularly enjoy a dash of Parmesan, then by all means feel free.  The flavours can certainly cope!

I have just received notification that this recipe has been awarded "Recipe of the Day" by eRecipe.com!  ~curtseys and composes a winner's speech~



PORK, AUBERGINE & PORCINI RAGU    (serves 3)

Ingredients :

Olive oil
500g minced pork
1 large aubergine, cut into 7mm slices and chargrilled
2 banana shallots, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
a handful dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in a little boiling water
3 chestnut mushrooms
75ml red wine
500ml pork stock (or 1 pork stock cube, dissolved in 500ml water)
400g tinned tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp dried sage
half a tsp smoked paprika
half a tsp dried basil
half a tsp dried rosemary
a dash of Worcestershire sauce
sea salt and black pepper to taste.
 
Method :
 
1.  Firstly, prepare the aubergines.  Using a blisteringly hot griddle pan, barbecue or cooker grill, cook the aubergine slices until they are softened, ideally with dark griddle marks.  Once cooked, place onto a plate, cover with clingfilm and allow to cool.
 
To make the Ragu :
 
2.  Dry fry the minced pork in a large wok or deep frying pan until lightly browned, then remove from the pan and set aside.

3.  Add a little olive oil to the pan and cook the shallots, chestnut mushrooms and garlic until soft but not coloured.

4.  Return the pork to the pan and turn the heat up to high.  Once the pan is sizzling, add the red wine and stir for five minutes to allow the majority of the alcohol to cook off.

5.  Add the tomato puree and stir well to combine with the pork for a couple of minutes.

6.  Now add the paprika, herbs, tinned tomatoes and stock.  Bring the pan to a lively simmer before adding the porcini mushrooms along with their soaking liquid.

7.  Season with the Worcestershire sauce and simmer until the ragu sauce has reduced to a thick consistency.  Once at your preferred consistency, taste for seasoning and add more if necessary.

Serve with freshly cooked pasta.

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It's never a meal plan? Yes - it is!

There you are, you see .....

We have been planning our meals all through the Christmas and New Year period - it's just that the meal plans have very regularly gone to pot as we've been either too poorly to make the things we've planned for, or just didn't fancy what we'd planned to have.

As a result, I've not been posting up the meal plans as it would be too confusing to try and follow what happened to various dishes that never saw light of day.

I have got to admit, though, that this situation hasn't improved much.  I reckon that for the seven meals that we plan, probably between 4-5 have been made just recently.  Last week was one of the better ones, but even then we've only managed five out of the seven!

... we have been eating - and rather well, too!

We're setting off on this week's meal plan with determination to see it through.  Whether this determination lasts, depends on whether either of us parents go down with the sore throat that is currently keeping son & heir from his studies at school.  We whisked him down to the doctor this morning, just to make sure that it wasn't tonsillitis he'd got - which it wasn't, thank goodness.  He's now all sorted out with antiseptic gargle and penicillin, so fingers crossed it won't last long.

Hence, of necessity, the meals for the beginning of the week are non-confrontational and designed to be easily swallowed.  So what's on the agenda?

Tues : Bacon & leek pasta

Weds : 2 sausage paella

Thurs : Lamb & mozzarella stuffed aubergines with a side salad

Fri : Gammon steak, cheesey champ, courgettes, mushrooms & peas

Sat : Pork, aubergine & porcini ragu with pasta

Sun : Beef & beetroot curry with rice

Mon : Chicken pie and vegetables.

The bacon & leek pasta is there because it is one of son & heir's favourite dinners - and just in case he might need some tempting.  It is very easy to eat and just slips down with the minimum of bother, so shouldn't be too challenging for a boy with a sore throat.  Fingers crossed!  Of course the fact that it is one of our favourite "go to" quick dinners doesn't hurt either.

Wednesday's 2 sausage paella is an idea borne of having the remaining half of a very nice chorizo sitting in the fridge looking for a home.  Hubby is planning on putting it together with some good pork sausages, red pepper, mushrooms etc. into a paella type rice dish.  Sounds like it will be lovely - and again, easy to eat for son & heir.

The Lamb & Mozzarella Stuffed Aubergines is a Peter Gordon recipe from the Good Food channel.  We're going through a bit of an aubergine (hubby's favourite) patch at the moment and as soon as hubby clapped eyes on this recipe, he was as keen as mustard to try it.  It uses Sumac, which is a new spice for us - but we have liked the little we've tried of it so far.  The recipe also makes use of all our favourite spices along with lamb mince (my favourite) and mozzarella cheese (son & heir's favourite), so as you can see, it just had to be done.

Friday's gammon steaks with cheesy champ (mashed potato with spring onion) is entirely down to a certain Mr Rod Tucker of the Good Food Good People Facebook page.  He recently posted a couple of photographs of his gammon steak dinners that made my mouth water so much, I just had to include gammon in this week's list.  We've a few spring onions that needed using up, so mashed potato became Champ, then migrated into Cheesey Champ - the idea of which is making me very hungry.  I'll make my creamy courgette & mushrooms which will provide some lovely moisture to the combination, along with some peas for colour.

Saturday is another of hubby's recipes, where he's planning a rich minced pork ragu using smoky griddled aubergine and soaked porcini mushrooms.  The combinations sound delicious and this should be really good.

Sunday is a curry recipe that I found in the BBC Good Food Magazine.  The sheer idea of marrying up beef with beetroot and curry spices is intriguing me and I can't wait to find out how it will be.  I can imagine it will prove to be sweet, earthy and rather gorgeous.  I may very well do a small vegetable curry to go with it, along with the rice.

Monday's chicken pie and vegetables is a meal that has (so far) been moved along from the Monday spot for three weeks in a row.  You never know, we might even get to eat it this week!

I daren't even make the tiniest suggestion of other makes or bakes - probably best not to tempt fate, don't you think?

 

Springtime Pasta with Pork Meatballs

It was only a week ago that I cooked this dish, but it seems like it was months ago!  So much has happened - in the kitchen, anyway - since then!

So, scratching around in my brainbox, I seem to remember that I chose this recipe because a) I liked the "springtime" aspect of it and b) it was another "variation on a meatball", of which we must have quite a few, now.

I'm afraid that I rather killed the success of the dish for hubby, by using too much garlic in the meatball mixture (although the recipe states FOUR cloves of garlic - and I only put two!) and letting the sauce reduce too far before combining with the pasta .

However, son & heir and I both enjoyed our helpings - even if we were garlic-monsters for (probably) days afterwards.  I'm a bit confused over the garlic thing, truth be told, as even though I use jumbo garlic (with big fat cloves) the recipe didn't state "four small thin garlic cloves" - it just said "4 garlic cloves, crushed".  I reckon I'd have been fine with one clove of jumbo garlic and smaller meatballs, though.  The garlic flavour was a teensy bit on the side of raw garlic, which means that the cooking - although it had cooked the mince through - hadn't done justice to the grated garlic contained in the meatballs.  Smaller meatballs would solve that problem.

As for the sauce, well it was one of those cream sauces where you sit and watch it reducing to a suitable thickness, then think "is it too thin?" and leave it a bit longer - by which time it goes over and becomes too thick.  I really should learn to keep a little bit of pasta water back, so that I can let a thick sauce down when it calls for it.  Hey ho.

I included some shredded Little Gem lettuce in the recipe.  Son & heir was aghast at this idea, imagining soggy wet hot limp lettuce.  However, I put it into the sauce just fractionally before it was due to be served - and by the time it was served, the lettuce had just wilted and was still crunchy.  Perfect!

The lettuce added an additional texture and flavour to the dish that sat well with the "Springtime" theme and meant that you didn't need to use quite so many peas to achieve the same appealing colour (or should that be "a-pea-ling" colour?).

Hubby also reckoned that the sauce lacked flavour, which I can see where he was coming from with it.  I felt that the flavour was very subtle - and had been stamped all over by the sheer power of the garlic in the meatballs.  As such, I've included a little Worcestershire sauce in my version of the recipe.  I know that in pasta dishes like our Bacon & Leek Pasta, a little dash of Worcestershire sauce makes all the difference.

I might give this one another go - with less garlic, as per the recipe below - very soon and see if hubby likes it a little better.  However, in the interests of sharing, you might find that husbands and fathers aren't so keen on this one, as the rest of the family are!

SPRINGTIME PASTA & MEATBALLS   (feeds 3)

Ingredients :

400g pork mince
1 small onion, grated
1 garlic clove, grated
1 tsp lemon zest
50g grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
400g pasta of your choice (spaghetti or spirali work well)
150ml double cream
a good splosh of Worcestershire Sauce (to taste, effectively)
150g frozen peas (petits pois work well)
1 Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated, washed well and shredded
handful of parsley, roughly chopped.


Method :


1.  In a bowl, mix the mince, garlic, zest and half the Parmesan, together with some salt & pepper.  Shape into 16 or so small (walnut sized) meatballs.


2.  Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs for 10-15 minutes, until a rich golden colour.


3.  In the meantime, put a large pan of lightly salted water on to boil and cook the pasta according to packet instructions.


4.  Drain and reserve some 150ml of the cooking liquid.


5.  Add the cream, Worcestershire sauce and a little of the pasta water to the meatballs, making sure the pan is deglazed at the same time.  Stir well to combine, then taste for seasoning and adjust if needs be.


6.  Add the peas and bring back up to temperature, bubbling until the sauce is thick and the meatballs are safely cooked through.


7.  Add a little more pasta water if the sauce has reduced too far, then add the lettuce & parsley, stir through, combine with the pasta and serve immediately with the remainder of the Parmesan sprinkled over the top.


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Smoky Pork & Bean Wraps - scrumpalicious!

We've done a very good line in swerving various recipes for various reasons, this week.  As a result, very few of those planned recipes have happened on the day they were supposed to - but this one got moved, moved again, then happened on the right day in the end.

All the "do we, don't we" was down to two things.  Firstly, we kept forgetting to buy a tin of smoked paprika - even though we'd gone to the shop specifically for that very thing - and secondly, because of son & heir's social engagements.

Having finally decided to do the Wraps on the Saturday evening, this necessitated another trip to a shop to buy the darned smoked paprika and some more pork mince, as we had another mouth to feed.

This time, we managed to leave the shop with the smoked paprika!  I swear, it's the onset of age.  Either that, or we've got too many things to think about and keep getting distracted.  Can't just be a bad memory.  :: shakes head ::  Oh no, definitely not.  What was I talking about, again? 

The "real thing"

Do you know, I reckon that 99% of alternative supplies of smoked paprika could very easily be disposed of, as none of the ones I've ever tried (mostly because I couldn't get the tin of "real thing") are just house dust by comparison.  The smell of the real thing is just so powerful - it promises so much by way of flavour, all of which it delivers.  In fact, hubby had a camp fire in his patio fire bowl on the Saturday night (with the sleepover boys all gathered around, feeling grown up and manly as they tended the fire and talked guitars), and that fire smelled almost exactly the same as the paprika did.  Maybe they were chucking teaspoonfuls on the fire - I hope not.  *chuckle*

Anyway, I'm supposed to be talking about dinner, aren't I?  See?  Easily distracted.

Well, this meal was another very satisfactorily easy to prepare one.  The original recipe came from ye good olde BBC Good Food Magazine, but they don't seem to have included it in the recipes on the website yet.

As ever (you should come to expect this now), I changed the recipe a little to fit rather better with being able to drain off the fat from the meat and because our guest hasn't got our fortitude where chilli is concerned, I used just a tablespoon of the barbecue sauce, then cooked the filling through to the finished product and decanted enough for one portion out into a separate pan.  I then included the three remaining tablespoonfuls of barbecue sauce into the rest of the mix for us.

The barbecue sauce I used, was one of Levi Roots' products - his famous "Reggae Reggae" BBQ/Jerk Sauce.  I've not used this before and blimey but it's good!  To say it is frisky is an understatement - our poor guest was even a little over-challenged by the one tablespoonful in his wraps.  We are all great chilli hounds, so the friskiness of the sauce was very welcome for us.

I also used Tarantella tomato passata, which is just streets ahead of other passatas for flavour (in my opinion).  I know I've rattled on about Tarantella products before, so I won't bore you again now - but if you can find them, try them.

These wraps don't quite measure up to "The best Enchiladas evar!", but I can tell you, it was a close run thing.   It was interesting to have a wrap filling made with pork mince - which naturally goes so well with the spices, tomato and barbecue sauce.  I don't doubt it would have been nice made with any kind of mince (turkey comes to mind, for economy), but the pork mince gave it a particular texture that invited you to "get your teeth into it" in a most satisfying way.


If like our guest, you aren't so good with chillies, then I suggest you get a mild barbecue sauce, as there isn't much spicy heat involved other than that.  However, if you're a chilli hound - definitely go with the Reggae Reggae sauce, you won't regret it!


SMOKY PORK & BEAN WRAPS    (makes 8-10 wraps or 8 wraps and 2 lunches!)


Ingredients :


750g pack of pork mince
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
400ml passata
5-6 tbsp barbecue sauce
400g red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
small bunch of coriander, chopped
8 corn wraps.


Method :


1.  Dry fry the mince in a large frying pan or wok, until all the meat has changed colour and the fat has rendered out.  Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and keep it warm.  Drain away the fat and discard.


2.  Add the oil and the onion and cook over a medium heat until softened but not browned.


3.  Sprinkle over the spices and stir well, cooking for one minute more.


4.  Add the passata and barbecue sauce along with 4 tablespoonfuls of water.  Add the minced meat back to the pan along with the beans and some seasoning and stir until thoroughly mixed.


5.  Allow the mixture to simmer and reduce, until the sauce is clinging to the meat and not pooling around the meat.  You will need to stir at regular intervals, to prevent the mixture catching on the bottom of the pan and burning.

6.  At the last minute, stir in the coriander and serve by taking a warmed wrap, then placing on some shredded lettuce, then some soured cream and enough of the meat filling that the wrap will comfortably hold.  Roll it up, put it on a plate along with some tomato salsa and some potato wedges.  Yum!


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Sicilian Pork Ragu with Chocolate : c/o "A Glug of Oil"

Just how lovely does that look?

I found this recipe on the excellent "A Glug of Oil" blog some two or three months ago.  It immediately intrigued me in its use of dark chocolate, not least because of the conjunction with pork mince, but the use of tagliatelle instead of the more usual accompaniments of rice or vegetables.  (More usual, that is, when accompanying mince - rather than accompanying a Sicilian dish).

I held onto it for two reasons.  Firstly, because I needed a little time in which to "get my head around" the idea of using chocolate in this context, and secondly because we never seemed to have the right ingredients around at the same time.

I found myself, this week, with not only some red wine in the fridge but a small block of dark chocolate too.  Bingo!  I could break out the recipe at last.

I loved the result.  The juxtaposition of the cinnamon and the dark chocolate beside the rich tomato and pork mince is not one I have experienced before, but boy oh boy is it good.  I felt that the dish needed some herb input and opted for parsley (as that was the only remotely suitable herb I had to hand), but in retrospect I think that basil would have sat more easily beside the chocolate - which isn't a strong flavour, but is evident nonetheless.

This one will definitely re-appear on the menu list, as it resulted in clear plates all round.

SICILIAN PORK RAGU WITH CHOCOLATE (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

1 onion, chopped

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

500g pork mince

175ml red wine

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp ground cinnamon

500g Passata

15g dark chocolate

1 tsp sugar

salt & pepper to taste

knob of butter

3-4 basil leaves, shredded

Method :

1.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onion.  Cook over a medium heat until soft but not coloured.

2.  Now add the minced pork, stirring and breaking it up as you go.  You may need to increase the heat to prevent the pork from braising.  Allow the meat to brown slightly, but not burn.

3.  Stir in the tomato puree, then the wine and turn up the heat to simmer for 2 minutes.

4. Add the passata, cinnamon and sugar, then taste and season.

5. Simmer for around 10 minutes, then stir the chocolate in a little at a time.

6. Taste and adjust the seasoning and sugar if required.

7. Reduce the heat and slow simmer until the sauce is nice and thick.

8. Stir in the butter and basil leaves and serve immediately with Tagliatelle pasta.

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