Day 7 : Tandoori pork burgers with tomato & coriander raita

Tandoori Pork burgers with tomato & coriander raita

recipe: Janine Ratcliffe

Olive Magazine, August 2009

According to the recipe, it should take 20minutes, serve 4, and is classed as 'easy'.

Ingredients

500g lean pork mince
1 red onion, grated
2 tbsp tandoori curry paste
coriander, small bunch, chopped
150ml pot natural yoghurt
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 spring onions, sliced
mini naans and crisp lettuce leaves to serve

Method

Put the mince, onion, curry paste and half the coriander in a bowl, season and mix real well. Form into 4 burgers.

Chargrill for about 4-5 minutes each side until cooked through. Meanwhile mix the rest o the coriander with the yoghurt, tomatoes and spring onions. Serve the burgers with warm naan and the raita.

What it should look like...

Original photograph: Lis Parsons

What mine looked like...

The facts:

Once the mix was combined, this actually made 5 good-sized burgers. I didn't have the tandoori paste, but instead used dry tandoori seasoning with a splash of oil and yoghurt. The raita recipe looked great, and was again very simple. I chose to leave out the tomatoes and have them on the side as I didn't want the raita going watery, and I'm not than keen on raw tomatoes - its the texture not the flavour! Both husband and friend said they were very filling so no-one went hungry!

Taste:

Again, these were a winner. Fresh and tasty and a real change from beef burgers which I make quite regularly. They were light and spicy! I'd use more tandoori seasoning next time, but enjoyed the raita without the tomatoes, to which I also added a dash of lemon juice. The flatbreads turned out better than earlier in the week, but I did have to call them fat-breads as I didn't roll them out quite enough before grilling! All three of us thoroughly enjoyed these as a tea-time treat, liked the fun of making up your own filling combinations and decided they were delicious!

So, all in all, a successful week's cooking, thanks to Olive, which I'll review as a whole in my next blog!

Herb Pork with Bean Puree - from the garden!

As we move into Summer, I find myself using more and more from the garden in my cooking. One recipe I tried out this week was, unusually, an Ainsley Harriot one from this week's SFTW. Simon Rimmer is still off with his poorly achilles tendon snap, but I tuned in none-the-less. All the recipes looked good, in particular the Herb Pork with Bean Puree. I used parsley, thyme, rosemary and cabbage spring greens from the garden and will soon be able to add garlic and onions to the list. The only thing left now is to grow the pig itself!

The recipe link is above, but I'll paraphrase and alter it to make it briefer here! It's really not as complicated as it looks. As you know, I tend not to add quantities as it's up to you and your tastes how much of what you'd like! Herbs - you need enough to cover the pork. Onions and garlic - again, as much as you would like to mix with the the can of beans. Easy!

Ingredients

chopped fresh rosemary
chopped fresh thyme
pork fillet, fat trimmed
apple, cut in half, core removed
brown sugar
onion, finely chopped
garlic cloves
canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
cheddar cheese, grated
chopped fresh parsley
chicken stock
cabbage, shredded
caraway seeds - I used fennel seeds instead and it still tasted good!

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Cover the pork loin in olive oil then roll in the chopped rosemary and thyme. Fry for 1-2 minutes until browned.
2. add a blob of butter to the pan and place the apples halves in , cut sides down. Fry off til golden brown, turn over and sprinkle with a little sugar.
3. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 10-12 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through and the apples have caramelised. Remove the pan from the oven and set the pork aside to rest (reserve the pan juices). Keep warm.
4. Fry the onions and garlic and fry for 4-5 minutes, or until softened but not coloured. Add the beans and continue til warmed, then the grated cheese and stir until melted. Blend with the parsley until smooth and puree-like. If you need to add a few tablespoons of the chicken stock to loosen, then do!
5. Ainsley used caraway seeds but I only had fennel seeds (again, from the garden!) so used those instead. Fry off for a few seconds, then add the shredded cabbage. I used a few outer leaves. If it begins to catch, add a few spoons of the stock and continue to fry until the liquid evaporates. Season according to taste.
6. To serve, spoon the bean and cheese purée into the centre of two serving plates. Pile the wilted fennel cabbage on top. Arrange the pork slices on top of the cabbage. Place one caramelised apple half alongside each serving. Drizzle over the reserved pan juices.

This really isn't as phaffy as it sounds and is absolutely delicious. It's a case of frying the meat and apples, frying the onions, garlic and beans, then frying the cabbage. Ok, reading it back it sounds like a lot of frying, but use olive oil and leave out the butter if you're worried about the amount of fat! You could steam the cabbage and add the fried fennel seeds? I believe that the taste is the most important, however, and this really was good. I'll definitely be making it in the near future.

Petatou

Wanted to blog these photos as this really was a delicious meal! It was inspired by a lovely-sounding recipe from Dan, potato Petatou, from Bourdain's Les Halles cookbook. Dan served it as a starter but I thought it held its own well as the potato dish of a main course.

I chose to grill a pork chop, serve with potatoes and spinach, and I added a little twitst to the parsley oil which was a little balsamic vinegar to give a sharpness to the meal. The balsamic was already in the potatoes themselves, so I knew it would complement the potatoes and the pork.

Thanks Dan, it really was good!

Deconstructed Pork Stroganoff

Having spent Sunday gardening and planting, see my other blog to find out more, I thought a well deserved rest and book catch-up was in order in the hot tub. The garden looked great, dad had mowed the lawn for me last week and the birds were tweeting away, mainly at the cat who was upset he couldn't get into the spa with me!

It arrived at half past five without me realising, and I began to wonder what I was having for tea as I knew there was little in the fridge. Having investigated the freezer, (which didn't take long as I only have a small fridge with a tiny freezer compartment at the top!) I found a pork chop. I also had some left-over creme fraiche from the night before and mum had bought me a pot of smoked hot paprika, so stroganoff it was!

I began by frying off some leeks, mushroom and garlic until tender. I then 'swapped' these for the pork and fried until just cooked. This I then rested and returned the vegetables to the pan with a sprinkle of hot smoked paprika, seasoning and a large splodge of creme fraiche. I served this mixture on top of the pork chop, rather than cutting it up and popping into the sauce, and a green salad. Considering it was something out of nothing, it was really delicious, and the smoked hot paprika was actually very subtle, and not at all like it tasted when I tried a bit on the end of my tongue after first opening!

Winter Warmers

Oh no - we've got no food in. It's ok, we can walk to the supermarket. No we can't, it might not be open...you get the point how I was feeling this morning, after I'd been informed that there was no school today! Hurrah! I have been up since 6.30 am though in order to update the website so the parents know as well as the staff. I've watched the snow all morning and pottered in the Cabbage Patch to clear the snow so I might have a few veggies this spring / summer to cook with!

I'm into the wintery, warming dinners at the moment and last night was no exception. It was inspired by 2 pieces I'd read or watched this week - 1) Jamie cooking a shoulder of pork on t.v. the other night, and 2) a recipe from the Food Stories blog. I bought an incredibly cheap cut of British Pork (cheap because it was shoulder and everyone prefers a leg joint), scored the fat on top, rubbed in salt and olive oil, blazed in a very hot oven for 20 minutes, then put on low for several hours. It was delicious, the crackling being the best part as you can see - or not see, as I'd actually picked off most of it by the time I remembered to take this photo!

I also made Jamie's Baked Onions, (I do have other recipe books, but his are so warming for this snowy weather.) I found that the Parmesan flavour was overpowering and would use a mature cheddar next time.

The World's Best Baked Onions

Jamie's Book "Happy Days with the Naked Chef. - serves 4.

4 tennis ball sized white onions, peeled

olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, peeled & finely chopped

4 twigs of fresh rosemary, lower leaves picked & chopped

8 tablespoons double cream

a couple of handfuls of grated Parmesan

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

4 slices of pancetta or smoked streaky bacon rashers

Boil the onions in plenty of water for 15 minutes until slightly tender.

Remove from the pan and allow to cool.

Then, with a sharp knife, remove the top 2.5cm/1 inch of each onion, finely chop and place to one side. If need be, slightly trim the stalk end of the onions so that they will sit flat on a roasting tray.

Cut about a heaped tablespoon out from the inside of each onion, keeping the outside intact.

Finely chop and add to the rest of the chopped onion.

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

Heat a frying pan and add a little olive oil, your garlic, the chopped onions and just a little chopped rosemary.

Fry for a couple of minutes until softened, then turn the heat down, add the cream and remove from the heat.

Stir in the Parmesan and season. I (Jamie) like(s) to wrap a nice slice of pancetta around the middle of each onion and just spike it in place with a sharpened twig of rosemary or half a cocktail stick. The rosemary and pancetta will make the onion taste lovely as it cooks.

Place the onions on a roasting tray and spoon some of the chopped onion mixture inside each one.

Bake in the preheated oven for around 25 minutes until soft and tender, depending on the size of the onions. It's cool to experiment with different cheese, so give it a bash.

I have got food in, btw; I'd forgotten I'd bought several pieces of fish for fish pie. Will save it for something to do a little later on!

Three Little Pigs!

Dinner was lovely - much better than expected! The pork rolls needed quite a lot of holding together with cocktail sticks, but tasted scrummy - the pan-frying first really helped develop the flavour. We didn't have pasta or potato with it but a simple rocket and watercress salad with a honey and mustard dressing.

Three Little Pigs

pork escalopes
apple sauce - you could even make your own!
cinnamon and nutmeg
cheese

Honey and Mustard Dressing

honey
wholegrain mustard
olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

For the pork, mix a sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon to the apple sauce and stir well.
Spread a little onto each escalope and cover with a thin layer of grated cheese.
Season and, here comes the difficult part, roll, try to keep all the stuffing inside! Seal with cocktail sticks but don't forget to tell the guests to take them all out!
Pan fry to seal the meat, then place into a hot over for about 10-15 minutes.

For the dressing, put a dollop of the mustard, a squeeze of the honey, a large splash or two of oil and a smaller splosh of the vinegar into a jar.
Add salt and pepper, screw the lid on tight and shake!
Pour over the salad and drizzle over the pork.

Life's Too Short for Making Mayonnaise

As the title suggests, I may have cheated when making the mayonnaise - cheated as in, didn't make any of it, apart from adding a squeeze of lemon! It was delicious, however, so thanks to the River Cottage shop in Axeminster who supplied the jar of aioli, or garlic mayonnaise. It's a good job life's too short as the cat had most of it anyway, getting too close to my boyfriend's plate, cooly dipping in his paw, then proceeding to cavort around the lounge, leaving mayonnaise paw-prints as he went (the cat, not the boyfriend!) He now thinks it might be nice if he apologies by snuggling up as close to my laptop as possible, whilst sitting on both arms as I write!

The Pot au Feux were delicious, but I would suggest only putting them under a hot grill rather than back in the oven if you want a slightly runny yolk!

As for the schnitzel, they went very well, but as suspected, the meal was quite dry and would have benefitted from a sauce of some sort - maybe sweet chilli?! Other suggestions welcome. Jamie (Oliver, hitherto simply known as Jamie!) suggests a spiced apple sauce. The recipe is very basic: buy good quality pork escalopes, coat them in plain flour, then beaten egg, then breadcrumbs ( again, I cheated and bought mine in a packet, but they're very easy to make: just lightly toast, then crumble some bread or break up a few slices into a coffee grinder or electric chopper!) Heat a good few slugs of oil into a heavy based frying pan, wait until hot, and fry for a couple of minutes each side. If it's good quality pork it doesn't matter if it's slightly pink still in the middle - honest! The colcannon is simply finely chopped leeks and cabbage, fried off in a little butter and added to mashed potato with a little more butter and milk.

And for today? We're having the extra Pot au Feux I made yesterday for lunch and then tuna steak, which my boyfriend is cooking this evening.