Chinese 5 spice pork scratchings

A perfect snack whilst watching the football with a bottle of beer

Ingredients:

top layer of a small square of pork belly

tea spoon of chinese 5 spice

sea salt

oil (olive or sesame)

• Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees
• Cut the pork belly skin into bite sized pieces and put in a mixing bowl. Mix with a splash of oil, the Chinese 5 spice and a good pinch of sea salt.
• Then place the marinated pork in an oven tray and place in the pre heated oven
• Roast for approx 30 minutes until they start to look like pork scratchings
• For extra crunchy scratchings place under the grill for the last 5 minutes

Rabbit stew

Ingredients (serves 2):

diced wild rabbit

3 rashers of pancetta, diced

1 large clove of garlic, crushed

1 white onion, roughly chopped

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 large potato, cut into large chunks

1 rosemary and 2 thyme sprigs, stalks removed and leaves finely chopped

1 anchovy fillet

1 glass of red wine (we used claret which worked well)

150ml beef stock

salt and pepper

olive oil

• Pan fry the rabbit, pancetta, garlic and onion in olive oil until browned
• Add the carrot and potato and fry for a further 5 minutes
• Add the herbs and anchovy fillet and then finally the red wine and stock
• Put the pan on a low simmer and leave to cook for 1.5 hours
• Check seasoning towards the end and add salt and pepper if necessary

Rillettes

This was the first time we'd made rilletttes but it definitely won't be the last. We researched various recipes before coming up with a combination which we liked best. We had ours with hot toast and cornichons. Chutney is optional but I think it would have gone nicely with an apple or caremelised onion chutney.

Ingredients (makes about 4 greedy portions):

1 square of pork belly (approx 10cm by 10cm)

2 duck legs

1 bay leaf

leaves off 2 thyme sprigs

3 garlic cloves

1 large glass of white wine

tea spoon of mustard seeds

salt and pepper

• Pre-heat the oven to around 160 degrees
• Place the pork and duck legs in a roasting pan
• Add the herbs, garlic (peeled but not chopped), mustard seeds, seasoning and finally the wine.
• Cover loosely with foil and cook for approx 2 hours. Turn the meat over after an hour.
• Once cooked, drain the fat/liquid into a bowl and reserve.
• Using two forks, pull the duck off the bone and gently shred the pork belly into bitesized pieces. Mash the soft garlic into the shredded pork and duck mixture.
• Press the meat into ramekins and leave to cool slightly.
• Once cooled spoon the reserved fat on top of the meat in a thin layer (if the fat has started to solidify just warm it through gently in the microwave for 20 seconds).
• Place the ramekins in the fridge for at least an hour before eating but it is best to cook them a day before you want to eat them. I'm told they last a week in the fridge but I wouldn't know!

Potato and celeriac rosti

Rostis can be fiddly to make and have a habit of falling apart but I think we've mastered the art of the perfect rosti now. We had ours with pork and apple sausages, mixed greens and an apple and cider gravy. I think next time we'll have it with a thick slice of ham and a fried egg.

Ingredients (serves 2):

1 large potato, peeled and grated

1/2 celeriac, grated or finely chopped

4 spring onions, chopped

1 egg yolk

a handful of grated parmesan

salt and black pepper

olive oil

• Put the grated potato in a sieve over a bowl and add salt. After a couple of minutes, squeeze the excess liquid out by pressing down with a spatula or wrapping the potato in a clean tea towel and wringing it over the sink.
• Combine the potato and chopped celeriac in a bowl. Microwave for a couple of minutes before draining off any more excess water from the bowl.
• Now add the remaining ingredients to the potato and celeriac mixture... egg yolk, parmesan, spring onion and black pepper and give it a good stir.
• Heat olive oil in a non stick frying pan, spoon the rosti mixture into the pan and press down firmly with a spatula so it is compacted.
• Cook on quite a high heat for 2-3 minutes without touching it so that the bottom seals. After 3 minutes turn the heat down slightly and continue to cook for approx 5 minutes or so.
• To cook the other side you can either put the pan under a moderate grill for 5 minutes or invert the rosti using a plate and then slide back into the frying pan the other way up.

Meat & potato pie

Ingredients (serves 4):

shortcrust pastry

2 onions, diced

2 garlic cloves, diced

2 large potatoes, grated

1 large carrot, grated

2 celery sticks, diced

250g minced beef

bay leaf

small handful of thyme leaves

1 beef oxo cube

2 tbl sp tomato ketchup

2 tbl sp Worcestershire sauce

olive oil

salt and pepper

100ml hot water

• Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees
• Fry the onion, garlic, carrot, potato and celery in olive oil until soft
• Add the beef and brown
• Add the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, thyme and bay leaf, follwed by the oxo cube dissolved in the water
• Turn the heat down to a low heat, season and leave to simmer for 30 minutes, then allow to cool slightly
• Line a pie dish with shortcrust pasrty and add the cooled mince mixture. Add a lid of shortcrust pastry and brush with egg or milk and some extra thyme leaves.
• Cook the pie for approximately 30-40 minutes until golden brown on top.
• Serve with whatever you like... mash or chips, extra veg and gravy