Recipes

Easy Pork Fillet Recipe

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Pork fillet is one of my favourite cuts of pork. That is despite the fact that it has no rind. It’s easy and quick to prepare and usually retains a degree of moisture that will disappear in other cuts with sloppy cooking (although see my recent pork chop post for a way of avoiding that problem!).

I’ve previously blogged a pork fillet recipe, where the meat is served with a white wine and cream sauce. This time I give you something which is very much a one pot meal – it’s both easy and easy on the washing up.

This Rose Prince recipe comes from the Telegraph where it’s called “peppered pork fillet”. That’s because in the UK what we in Australia call a “capsicum” is called a “pepper” – not because this is a spicy dish.

Begin by preheating your oven to 180°C (fan, 200°C convention).

In an oven safe frying pan, heat some light olive oil and fry up about 500g of pork fillet. The original recipe says to cut the fillet into small dice but I cut it into discs a cm or so thick. I think this way you run less risk of the meat overcooking and you get satisfying pieces of meat on your plate. I also note that in the photo that accompanies the original article the pork hardly looks like small dice!

When the fillet is browned nicely, add half a red capsicum, finely chopped, a clove of garlic (chopped) and a pinch or two each of paprika, ground coriander and allspice. Give this all a stir around, then add 5 tbsp of risotto rice (the recipe specifies Carnaroli, but I always use Arborio because that’s what I have in the cupboard). Then add stock to the pan – I use one of the little pots of stock jelly and top up with water. You need add enough water to cover the rice by a cm or so.

Bring this all to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook on the stove top for 8 minutes (and yes, I do actually time this!).

When the 8 minutes is up, cut a cartouche from baking paper (that means “cut a circle of baking paper to cover your pan”) and cover the pan with it (no lid required) before putting it in the oven.

Cook in the oven until the rice is done and the stock has been absorbed. The recipe says 10 minutes, but I never find that quite long enough (more like 25!) – but I do like to make sure plenty of the stock has been absorbed so that the finished product isn’t too soupy.

Serve straight away, with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil.

I love this dish – it uses so few ingredients, it tastes fantastic (which suggests to me that allspice is underused in my kitchen) and it takes very little time to put together. I have used other cuts of pork – such as pork loin steaks – and while they will do in a pinch they do end up a bit tougher and drier than fillet.

A perfect mid week supper.

Xinjiang Lamb Recipe

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A super quick and easy recipe that I’ve had earmarked for ages. This lamb recipe is perfect for the BBQ – so definitely keep it in mind as the weather warms up.

The recipe comes from the New Zealand Herald, and I had no idea who/where/what Xinjiang is. It transpires that it’s a region in north west China that’s home to many ethnic groups, but the Uyghur make up roughly 45% of the mix. Given how much we enjoyed the food at Tangritah Uyghur back in 2010 (hmmm, really must go back there), it’s no surprise that we both thought this recipe was top notch.

You do need to start this a day ahead, to give the lamb time to marinate. But other than that, this is insanely easy and quick.

Begin with approximately 1kg of lamb shoulder, cut into bite sized cubes. In a bowl, mix 2 tbsp ground cumin, chilli flakes to taste (the recipe calls for 1 tbsp, but perhaps the chilli flakes in NZ aren’t quite as hot as they are here …), 1 tbsp of black pepper (freshly ground is always best), 2 tsp of ground ginger and, if you have it, 1 tsp of ground Sichuan pepper. We couldn’t track this down in a hurry (which means the supermarket didn’t stock it) so left it out and I don’t think we missed it at all. Perhaps with it dinner would have tasted even better!

Add 4 tbsp of peanut oil, 4 tbsp of soy sauce, 4 cloves of garlic, minced, and salt to taste. Toss the lamb through the marinade, ensuring every piece is well covered and then refrigerate overnight.

The recipe is a bit more exacting about what to do and the order in which to do it. I had already cut up the meat and dumped it in a bowl, and Andy just mixed all the marinade ingredients through the meat – so assemble it whatever way suits.

If you’re going for the kebab look, soak bamboo skewers in water for at least an hour and then thread on the lamb and grill. We couldn’t be bothered and were going to just BBQ it until we discovered we were out of gas! So we ended up pan frying the lamb – which worked a treat except you do need an industrial strength extractor fan, otherwise your house will end up smelling like a lamb frying factory.

We served the lamb with spicy fried potatoes and some steamed vegetables. It would work just as well in a wrap with a yoghurt sauce, or served with a couscous salad.

We had a ton of leftovers (although not as much as you might expect!) and it turns out that the meat is almost as delicious, the next day, straight from the fridge!

Marcus Wareing’s Pork Chops

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Pork Chops & Cabbage

I get a bit annoyed when people go on about pork being dry. It’s only dry if you overcook it.

Modern pork can also be a bit lean (and sometimes it is sold without rind – I’m convinced that’s a sign of the decline of civilisation), and, of course, fat helps keep anything moist.

This excellent way of cooking pork chops comes from Marcus Wareing’s How to Cook the Perfect…. I’m a huge fan of Wareing’s books – I’ve had very few failures and even bothered to make his Gâteau Opéra more than once.

Wareing credits his mum with this recipe. I say, my goodness, these Lancastrians have no fear of fat. If you are on a diet of some sort … don’t bother reading further!

Preheat your oven to 160°C (fan, 180°C conventional).

Take your pork chops – I used three (one each for everyone, including the baby). If they have rind on them, remove it with a sharp knife and keep it for later.

Lay the pork chops in a baking dish that will fit them reasonably snugly. You need a dish with a close fitting lid, or you will need plenty of tin foil. You don’t need to grease the pan.

Cover the chops with finely sliced (brown) onions. For our three chops I used 2 small-medium onions – I would argue in this case that more is better. Grab some fresh thyme and spread it across the onions, a sprinkling of dried sage and then dot generously with unsalted butter.

Now you need to seal it up. As I wouldn’t describe my lid as ‘tight fitting’, I used a layer of tin foil followed by the lid. Cook for an hour and a half (yes, you read that correctly!) and baste with pan juices (butter and fat!) during cooking (I basted every half hour). Always ensure that you lift the lid/foil so that it opens away from you, because it will all be hot!

Erm, that’s it – how easy is that? The chops will look a bit anaemic but they taste fantastic and they are moist! However, this doesn’t reheat well, so I’d recommend only cooking what you need and ensuring you have plenty of sides for topping up extra hungry tummies.

Serve with vegetables – for extra porcine goodness, try my favourite way of dealing with white cabbage!