Pork shoulder is a fantastic cut. It is good value and has delicious flavour and will melt in your mouth. It is great in a slow cooker. Just put it all together in the morning and have a tasty meal waiting at the end of the day. Pork shoulder can be easily sourced at your local butcher. This is a good time of the year for root vegetables so use the ones you like. I like this meal with mashed potato, but I also use rice from time to time. This is as good as comfort food gets.
There is a lovely tartness in the orange sponge pudding with the raspberries. This same recipe can be used to make individual cup cakes or muffins, but you need to halve the cooking time. Going out picking blackberries is always a good outing. For the restaurant we are lucky to get ours (as well as our strawberries and raspberries) from Pat Clarke in Stamullen, Co Meath. I always freeze some blackberries as they are great in smoothies.
Happy cooking,
Neven
Braised pork with root vegetables
Serves four to six
2 tbsp olive oil
1kg (2 1/4lb) pork shoulder, trimmed and diced (bones removed)
2 onions, sliced
2 celery sticks, sliced
3 carrots, cut into chunks
2 parsnips, cut into chunks
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp plain flour
330ml bottle cider
850ml (1 pint/9fl oz) chicken stock (from a cube is fine)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
creamy mashed potato and green beans, to serve (optional)
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark four). Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole and quickly brown the pork in batches, then set aside on a plate. Add the onions, celery, carrots and parsnips to the pan with the bay leaves and sauté for 10 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle over the flour and give everything a good stir, then add back in the sealed pork with any juices.2 Pour the cider and stock into the pan, ensuring that the pork and vegetables are covered. Season to taste and bring to a simmer, then transfer to the oven for two hours until the pork is meltingly tender. Scatter over the parsley and bring straight to the table. Have separate bowls of mashed potato and green beans to serve, if liked.Orange sponge pudding with
blackberries
Serves four to six
100g (4oz) butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
175g (6oz) caster sugar
finely grated rind and juice 2 large oranges
4 eggs, separated
50g (2oz) plain flour
200ml (7fl oz) milk
225g (8oz) blackberries
icing sugar, to dust
crème fraiche, to serve
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark four). Beat together the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the orange rind and juice with the egg yolks, flour and milk – it doesn’t matter if the mixture curdles at this stage.2 Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks have formed, then fold into the lemon mixture until evenly incorporated.3 Scatter the blackberries on the bottom of a 1.5 litre (2½ pint) buttered pie dish and pour the sponge mixture on top in an even layer. Carefully place in a roasting tin half-filled with boiling water. Bake for 30–35 minutes or until well-risen and golden brown. Dust with icing sugar and serve straight to the table with a bowl of crème fraiche so that guests can help themselves.
Pork shoulder is a fantastic cut. It is good value and has delicious flavour and will melt in your mouth. It is great in a slow cooker. Just put it all together in the morning and have a tasty meal waiting at the end of the day. Pork shoulder can be easily sourced at your local butcher. This is a good time of the year for root vegetables so use the ones you like. I like this meal with mashed potato, but I also use rice from time to time. This is as good as comfort food gets.
There is a lovely tartness in the orange sponge pudding with the raspberries. This same recipe can be used to make individual cup cakes or muffins, but you need to halve the cooking time. Going out picking blackberries is always a good outing. For the restaurant we are lucky to get ours (as well as our strawberries and raspberries) from Pat Clarke in Stamullen, Co Meath. I always freeze some blackberries as they are great in smoothies.
Happy cooking,
Neven
Braised pork with root vegetables
Serves four to six
2 tbsp olive oil
1kg (2 1/4lb) pork shoulder, trimmed and diced (bones removed)
2 onions, sliced
2 celery sticks, sliced
3 carrots, cut into chunks
2 parsnips, cut into chunks
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp plain flour
330ml bottle cider
850ml (1 pint/9fl oz) chicken stock (from a cube is fine)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
creamy mashed potato and green beans, to serve (optional)
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark four). Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole and quickly brown the pork in batches, then set aside on a plate. Add the onions, celery, carrots and parsnips to the pan with the bay leaves and sauté for 10 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle over the flour and give everything a good stir, then add back in the sealed pork with any juices.2 Pour the cider and stock into the pan, ensuring that the pork and vegetables are covered. Season to taste and bring to a simmer, then transfer to the oven for two hours until the pork is meltingly tender. Scatter over the parsley and bring straight to the table. Have separate bowls of mashed potato and green beans to serve, if liked.Orange sponge pudding with
blackberries
Serves four to six
100g (4oz) butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
175g (6oz) caster sugar
finely grated rind and juice 2 large oranges
4 eggs, separated
50g (2oz) plain flour
200ml (7fl oz) milk
225g (8oz) blackberries
icing sugar, to dust
crème fraiche, to serve
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark four). Beat together the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the orange rind and juice with the egg yolks, flour and milk – it doesn’t matter if the mixture curdles at this stage.2 Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks have formed, then fold into the lemon mixture until evenly incorporated.3 Scatter the blackberries on the bottom of a 1.5 litre (2½ pint) buttered pie dish and pour the sponge mixture on top in an even layer. Carefully place in a roasting tin half-filled with boiling water. Bake for 30–35 minutes or until well-risen and golden brown. Dust with icing sugar and serve straight to the table with a bowl of crème fraiche so that guests can help themselves.
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