Vegetarian Ragu and turning it into meat Bolognese sauce

Vegetable ragu:

Ingredients:
3 large carrots
3 large stalks of celery
3 zucchini the same size as the carrots
1 large tin of whole peeled tomatoes
lots of herbs. I use marjoram, oregano, basil and thyme.
2 large onions

In a food processor whiz all veggies but the onions into mush. Do in batches if you only have a small hand processor.

In a large saucepan cook the onions in a small amount of olive oil until caramelised.

Add the vegetable mush, put the lid on, and simmer for 2-3 hours for the flavours to infuse.

Allow to cool and then store in an airtight container.


Bolognese Sauce:

Ingredients:

500gm (a pound, ish) lean ground pork. you can also use veal or beef if you want. Get the good stuff from the butcher tho, the grind is smaller.
3 slices lean bacon (it's a real thing)
a hand full of button mushrooms chopped
1 large onion
a few shakes of worchestershire sauce
a few shakes of raspberry vinegar (not even joking)
A few large ladles of vege ragu

in a large saucepan or frying pan heat olive oil until hot.

Add bacon, onions and mushrooms. Cook until well caramelised. (I cooked until just shy of burnt and it added a really nice smoky flavour).

Add ground pork and stir constantly to break up. Cook until partially brown and then sprinkle with worchestershire sauce.

Add vege ragu to the type of sauce you like (I add a whole batch of ragu to 500gm of meat because I like a thin sauce, lesss ragu, thicker sauce).

Add a few good dashes of raspberry vinegar and some wine (if you so desire, I use white because its a bit softer/sweeter), put the lid on and simmer for at least an hour. The longer you cook the better it'll taste.

Rhubarb pudding with orange brown sugar sauce

Rhubarb pudding with orange brown sugar sauce

Give it a shot, I just made it up today. Feeds two, or one if you're really hungry and don't want to share.

Pudding:

1/2 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup rhubarb, roasted with crystallized ginger*

Sauce:
2 large orange juiced (dump the pulp in the juice for extra flavor)
1/4 cup brown sugar

method:

Heat oven to 180 (160 fan forced)
Brush medium sized pudding or casserole dish with melted butter.

Put the flour, brown sugar in a bowl.
Heat the milk and butter.
Add milk, butter and rhubarb to dry ingredients and mix.
Place in a medium sized pudding or baking dish.

Heat the orange juice and brown sugar in the microwave for a minute until the sugar is melted.

Carefully pour the juice mix over the back of a spoon onto the pudding batter.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until a skewer put into the middle of the pudding comes out clean.

Serve with cream or ice cream.



*To roast rhubarb:

Heat oven to 160c, 140 fan forced.
Wash and cut rhubarb into cm size pieces.
Place a handful of crystalized ginger in a food processor and whiz until fine.
Put slightly damp rhubarb and ginger crumbs into a large bowl and mix with your hands.
Place a single layer of rhubarb in the bottom of a deep roasting pan.
Spread any remaining ginger over the top.
Cover the roasting pan with foil, do not allow the foil to touch the rhubarb.
Slowly roast for approximately 45-60 minutes until the rhubarb dents when you press with your finger.
Place in a heatproof bowl while hot and mix to separate the rhubarb fibers.
Allow to cool in the bowl before using in pudding.

Pulled Pork

Dry Rub:

      3 tablespoons paprika

      1 tablespoon garlic powder

      1 tablespoon brown sugar

      1 tablespoon dry mustard

      3 tablespoons coarse sea salt

      1 (5 to 7 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt

Cider-Vinegar Barbecue Sauce:

      1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

      1 cup yellow or brown mustard

      1/2 cup ketchup

      1/3 cup packed brown sugar

      2 garlic cloves, smashed

      1 teaspoon kosher salt

      1 teaspoon cayenne

      1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

      Pan drippings from the pork

Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend all over the pork. 

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. 

Put the pork in a roasting pan and roast it for about 6 hours. An instant-read thermometer stuck into the thickest part of the pork should register 170 degrees F, but basically, what you want to do is to roast it until it's falling apart.

While the pork is roasting, make the barbecue sauce. Combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Take it off the heat and let it sit until you're ready for it.

When the pork is done, take it out of the oven and put it on a large platter. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes. While it's resting, deglaze the pan over medium heat with 3/4 cup water, scraping with a wooden spoon to pick up all of the browned bits. Reduce by about half. Pour that into the saucepan with the sauce and cook 5 minutes.

While the pork is still warm, you want to "pull" the meat: Grab 2 forks. Using 1 to steady the meat, use the other to "pull" shreds of meat off the roast. Put the shredded pork in a bowl and pour half of the sauce over. Stir it all up well so that the pork is coated with the sauce.

Asian Master Stock

What you need:

2 cups water

1 cup light soy sauce
2 cups Shao Xing wine (Chinese cooking wine)
200 g palm sugar
a chunk fresh ginger
5 cloves garlic
5-10 cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks


The amount of ginger, garlic, and spices can vary on what flavours you prefer. 

Spices for bag
4 whole cloves
4 star anise
1 teaspoon sichuan pepper
1 teaspoon licorice root
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seed

What to do:

Combine everything in a pot and bring to the boil. Lower to a simmer and allow to cook for at least 4 hours to allow the flavour to develop. 

Keep in the fridge and ladle over pork rashers, pork belly, add to stir fry and slow cook. 

White Wine & Cream Pasta

Serves 1-2

What you need:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 slices of prosciutto diced
1/3 of a leek thinly sliced
splash of sweet white wine (moscato is good)
2 tablespoons cream or sour cream
1/4 cup parmesan
pasta cooked according to packet directions (enough for two)


How to do it:

Swirl a pan with olive oil and butter over high heat until the butter has melted. Add prosciutto and leek and cook until the leek and prosciutto start to brown and the leek collapses.

Add a small splash of wine, just enough to deglaze the pan. If cooking for two add an extra splash. Take the mix off the heat and put aside until the pasta is nearly cooked.

Just before pasta is finished stir cream or sour cream and parmesan to the wine mix until combined. When the pasta is cooked add to the sauce and stir to coat.