Cookbook Challenge: Spicy Pork Stew

It's finally starting to feel like autumn around here so for this week's Cookbook Challenge I thought it was the perfect time to crack open a book I purchased several years ago and completely forgot about. Seriously though, how cosy does this cover look?! Really looking forward to trying more dishes as Britain settles into the colder seasons. I'd never tried using pork in a stew before since I usually fall back on my favorite beef stew recipe when I'm feeling like something warm and comforting. Therefore, this recipe was a delicious revelation. The spices add a nice background of heat while the sweet potatoes bring that addictive sweetness.

Fireside Feasts and Snow Day Treats: 

Indulgent comfort food for winter eating and entertaining

Edited by Ellen Parnavelas

Ryland Peters and Small, 2012

This recipe was also great because it includes kidney beans which serve to keep you full for longer. After talking to my sister about it, we decided that you could easily add in a can of black beans for added protein if you're looking for a low carb option. I served the stew with couscous because it was easiest but I also had the leftovers on their own and they were equally tasty. Definitely give this one a try - particularly since pork shoulder is one of the cheaper cuts of meat so it won't be causing any pain to your wallet. I'll warn you though, this recipe makes an absolute ton of food! I froze half of it and still struggled to finish all the leftovers before they went off. As a result, I think this could be a great option for easy entertaining or if you want to have leftovers for work week meals. 

Prep Time: 5-10 min

Cook Time: 75 min

Serves: 4-6 

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

700g/1 1/2 lbs pork shoulder, cubed

1 tsp clear honey

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 red chili, sliced

1 can chopped tomatoes

500ml chicken stock

800g / 1 3/4 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed 

1 bay leaf

1 can red kidney beans

a handful of fresh coriander/cilantro, chopped

Salt

Pepper

Plain yogurt, to serve 

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 150C / 300F.

Over a medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large casserole dish. If you don't have a dish that is safe to use on both the stove and in the oven, then start this recipe off in a large pot and then decant into a casserole dish. Add the onion and cook until it starts to soften. Next add in the ciim and oregano and cook until fragrant. Remove the onion mixture from the dish and set aside.

Add the remaining oil and the pork into the dish and cook for 5-7 minutes or until it starts to brown. Next add in the honey, garlic, and chili. Season with salt and mix well. When everything has combined nicely, add in the onion mixture along with the canned chopped tomatoes, stock, sweet potatoes and bay leaf. Bring to the boil, then cover and move to the preheated oven. Cook for forty minutes.

When forty minutes have elapsed, remove the dish from the oven and add in the red kidney beans. Cover and return to the oven for a final twenty minutes.

To serve, sprinkle with fresh coriander/cilantro and a dollop of yogurt. Enjoy! 

Sausage, Spinach and Chickpea Stew

In news that will surprise no one, life is pretty hectic at the minute with school and work so blogging hasn't really been a priority. However, spring has finally sprung and I'm getting excited about cooking lots of tasty treats so hopefully I'll be able to share a few of those with you all along the way. I might have to cut down on the step by step photos for recipes but I'll try to include at least one picture of the finished product for each post.

Finished product!

While this recipe is not the most spring oriented, it does make for a quick and tasty weekday dinner. However, the herbs add a much needed dash of green and, let's be honest, spring in Britain requires holding on to a few comfort dishes to warm you up. I made this for my flatmate and her friend and it was a hit - easy to make while chatting, super fast and delicious. Plus, add it a slightly sad attempt to artfully place the toast and you have a dinner party dish. I love this recipe because it works for most of the year and is pretty cheap (so perfect for those midweek meals!). This time, I doubled the recipe so I'd have plenty leftover to take to work for my lunches. Of course, I did this before remembering that the current tube strike means I'll be working from home today and tomorrow! Oops. Oh well, still delicious! If you'd like to skip the bread, this could be good with couscous or rice as well. You just want something that will let you soak up all that saucy goodness. Finally, try and get sausages with a high percentage of meat. I went with the Waitrose pork and leek sausages because they were on sale and, at 75% meat, they were perfect. 

Delicious and Prosecco... can't complain! 

I stayed pretty true to the recipe on Real Simple but added parmesan cheese to the final product. This is optional but, if you're like me, you probably have some in the fridge already! Sprinkle a bit of the leftover herbs on top and you're good to go!

Recipe via www.realsimple.com

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 sausages, casings removed
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro/corriander, chopped
500ml chicken or vegetable stock
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
500g spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese, grated
Crusty bread to serve

Method: 

In a large pan with high sides, heat a dash of olive oil over medium heat and add the chopped onion. Cook until softened and then add the sausages. Use a wooden spoon to break up the sausages as they brown so that they look more like mince than sausages. Once browned, add the tomato paste and cook for a minute or two, stirring continuously so the meat doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. If necessary, lower the heat to medium-low.

Next, stir in the herbs and continue to cook for another minute. When the herbs have been incorporated, add the stock and chickpeas. Increase the heat and bring to a boil.

Finally, add the spinach and simmer for ten minutes until wilted and well mixed. Serve with toasted crusty bread and enjoy! 

Sweet and Spicy Ribs

I have had ribs lots of times. In restaurants, at my parents' house... but I'd never thought to try making them myself. I think part of my reluctance was the expectation that any attempt would take a lot more effort and hassle than I was willing to deal with. However, this recipe was pleasantly surprising. The only fiddly bit is the mixing of the spices and sugar and then patting it onto the ribs. After that, it's straight into the oven and they basically sort themselves out. Genius. And since they're wrapped in foil, the clean up is ridiculously quick. Smitten Kitchen calls these ribs sweet and smokey but I found the smoked spanish paprika definitely gave it a kick so sweet and spicy is how I think of them.

Ribs

Spices

Spice/sugar mix 

Ribs ready for spices

As with most recipes from Smitten Kitchen, this doesn't need much in terms of adaptation. The only issue I had was that my chili powder was the normal boring kind and so I played around with a mixture of chili powder and paprika. I also added some finely chopped dried peppers to the mix because my supermarket had them and I've never tested them out in a dish before. I happened to have two types of paprika in my cupboard (normal and smoked) so I went ahead and used both but one or the other would be fine. While the cooking time (6 hours) is definitely long, these ribs literally don't need anything done to them while they're in there (except for changing the temperature after 4 hours) so you can go about your day as you normally would. I bought three racks of ribs (500-600g each) and managed to get about 4 meals out of them when they were basically the only part of the meal except for a simple salad. If you were serving these with french fries and other add ons, then they might go further. Smitten Kitchen suggests you plan about a pound for each person. Finally, she also suggests increasing the salt content if you prefer a less sweet version.

Ribs with spices

Rib packets

Fresh out of the oven

Ready to eat!

Recipe by www.smittenkitchen.com

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 6 hours

Serves: 4

Ingredients: 

1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder  
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dried ancho chili, finely chopped
5 pounds spareribs, cut into 4 slabs, rinsed and patted dry
2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Kitchen foil 

Method: 

Preheat oven to 200F / 93C.

Mix the sugar, chili powder, paprika, salt, garlic powder, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, and dried chili in a small bowl. Place a slab of the spare ribs onto a piece of kitchen foil that is large enough to create a sealed packet around it (I had to use two pieces on some of them). Pat the spice/sugar mix generously onto all sides of the ribs and fold the packet tightly around them. Repeat with all the ribs and all of the spice/sugar mix. Place in the oven on a rack over a baking tray that has been lined with foil to catch any drips/make clean up easy. Bake for 4 hours and then reduce the  temperature to 175F / 79C and bake for a further 2 hours.

When the ribs have finished in the oven, open the packets carefully and pour the juices into a pot. Simmer until they have reduced and coat the back of a spoon easily. Stir in the cider vinegar and smoked paprika. Serve alongside the ribs.

Enjoy!

*Sorry for the lack of posts this week! It's been crazy busy but hopefully things will be more manageable this coming week. Also, I haven't quite figured out the best place to take food photos in my kitchen so some of them are still a bit dodgy as far as lighting/framing goes... will work on that too!*