Prog Chefs Unite!!!

I usually score and salt the skin, then flip it over and season the underside with pepper and a few herbs (sage is best and fennel works well too), I then lay sliced apple over that and cover it tightly in aluminium foil. Flipping it back over the pork now sits in a foil tray with the skin exposed. I place that in a roasting tin and then blast it in the oven for half an hour at 220°C (430°F) then drop the temp to around 150°C (300°F) for a couple of hours. After that if the skin is not crispy, I whack the heat back up to 220°C (430°F) for another 20 minutes.

That's the basic method, you can play around with that to your hearts content - honey, Chinese 5-Spice, star anise, fennel seeds, wedges of garlic stuffed into the meat all work well; cook it on a bed of sliced onion or leeks or squash or sliced potato; or use Shaoxing rice wine, soy sauce, honey and hoisin for that char sui flavour....

...drool...

...I think I know what I'm cooking tonight. 

 

...while watching Great British Bake Off on Monday Debs joked about the Opera cakes they were baking as being what she'd like for her birthday, and undeterred by the inordinate mess that the contestants created in 4 hours baking, I thought I'd give it a go. Opera cakes look very complex, having seven layers, each of which are techniques that I've never attempted before - Joconde biscuit of almond and hazelnut flour, bitter chocolate ganache, lemon creme au beurre, tempered chocolate, lemon & Cointreau syrup and glacage chocolat glaze. And decoration. For one who claims to be "artistic", cake decoration is not part of my skill-set. I also find the science of baking too close to chemistry than physics and engineering, which also puts me in unfamiliar territory and out of my comfort zone... especially when the recipe calls for 75g of egg white and 80g of whole egg (sans shell) ... that kind of precision (and in such small quantities) is just a little daunting (and if you've ever tried whisking 75g of egg white to "stiff-peaks" you'll relalise just how little egg that is and how difficult it is to whisk with an electric blender...). So, one afternoon and two evenings later ... having created more washing up than I care to mention, the final result looked like this:

 

 [five candles because it is her "Britvic" year ... some may get the connection and I know better than to reveal a lady's age in public]

 

...as I said, decoration is not my strong-point, writing "Debs" in chocolate glacage is a lot harder than I imagined (and my cursive handwriting is never "neat" at the best of times but I somehow managed to forget how to write an "s"), especially when the piping nozzle blocks then splatters chocolate sauce all over the place (hence the covering of edible gold-leaf). [I also think I need to take issue with Alex over her photographic prowess, or lack of]

 

However, the verdict was remarkably positive - a success in fact - it looked presentable and tasted amazing (even though I say it myself) - was it worth all the effort? You bet it was.

 

 

Happy Birthday Debs.

 

 

Dead simple, dead quick and drop-dead scrumptious. 

Leeks cut into thin rings and sweated in butter over a gentle heat (don't want these to caramelise as you would onions). Lamb steaks seared in a hot skillet for a few seconds on each side, then brushed with Dijon mustard and sprinkled with a thin layer of chopped rosemary and pine nuts and then returned to the pan to finish cooking. Small portion of Udon noodles cooked in boiling water as per instructions on packet. Once lamb is cooked, remove from skillet and slice into thin slices, return to pan - add leeks and noodles and toss them in the meat juices- grate over Caerphilly cheese (or just crumble it if you've got the good stuff that crumbles easily) and serve with crusty bread.

Remember to eat it caerphilly.