Pork, Pumpkin & Tomato Laksa

Holy moly - it's been ages since my last recipe post! November has always been my least favourite month for many reasons: Remembrance Day rehearsals (actually, I don't mind that, it's just that they take up a ton of time), report cards, and that weird in-between stretch of blahness that stretches from Thanksgiving (Canadian) through Christmas. There's just nothing to celebrate about November. The leaves have fallen, the sky is dark in the morning when you leave for work AND when you get home, and there's no snow to lighten the whole place up.

Which is what makes warming, vibrant recipes like this one so important. It's easy to subsist on soothing comforting food throughout November - wrapped in a blanket of polenta, smothered with tomato sauce. But, it's important, in my oh-so-humble opinion to mix together the comfort with something zingy and exciting.

Laksa (that's a spicy, coconut based curry soup) is where it's at.

This was one of those meals that started off one way and then ended up very differently. I'd intended to make pork burgers. And then I'd changed that to pork lettuce wraps. But I really, really wanted some noodles (there are rice noodles buried under that soup) and so this recipe ended up being the winner.

It's a variation of a Nigel Slater recipe I've been thinking about making for a couple of years now, but never got around to. Thanks to a pie pumpkin I've had sitting in the corner of my kitchen (bought with grand intentions that have long been forgotten), it was finally possible!


Pork, Pumpkin and Tomato Laksa

(adapted from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries)


Ingredients

½ lb peeled and seeded pumpkin (squash would be equally at home here)
1 lb lean ground pork
4 cloves garlic
3 hot peppers, seeded if you want a milder laksa
1" thumb of ginger, grated
1 bunch cilantro, both leaves and stems washed
5 lime leaves
zest of one lemon
1 tbsp canola oil (approx)
4 tomatoes, cored and cut into hunks (I got 16 from each tomato)
1 14oz can light coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock
juice of half a lemon
2 tbsp fish sauce
4 oz (125 grams) rice vermicelli
small palmful mint leaves, chopped
¼ cup cashews, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Over a pot of boiling water, steam pumpkin for about 12 minutes, or until flesh is almost tender. Set aside

2. While the pumpkin is steaming, place garlic, ginger and peppers into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, scraping down sides as necessary. Add in half of the cilantro, both leaves and stems, lime leaves and lemon zest. Pulse again, adding a little canola oil to bring mixture together into a paste. Set aside.

3. In a large wok over high heat, cook pork until almost browned, stir in spice paste and stir fry for 1 minute. Add in tomatoes, pumpkin, coconut milk and chicken stock and cook for 7 minutes, or until tomatoes begin to fall apart.

4. While laksa is in the last few minutes of cooking, cook rice vermicelli according to package directions.

5. Add lemon juice and fish sauce to laksa and let cook 2-3 minutes further.

6. To serve, divide rice noodles between bowls. Ladle laksa broth over noodles and top with extra cilantro leaves, mint leaves and chopped cashews. Eat with chopsticks and a spoon!

You know what else depresses me about November? The disappearance of natural light. Bah humbug.

Mario Batali's Polpettine di Tacchino

Oh, Mario Batali. Having just cooked from one of your cookbooks for the first time, I can understand why you weigh what you weigh. Your recipes are outstanding.

And seriously, 2 lbs of meat to serve 4 people? Holy moly man, that serves way more in our household.

I don't know what possessed me to pick up Batali's cookbook Molto Italiano from the library a couple of days ago. Italian food just doesn't excite me. I would choose just about any other kind of restaurant before I would choose an Italian one. But, I'm beginning to think there are two reasons for that:

1) I haven't had a lot of great Italian food. President's Choice Lasagnes clearly don't give an accurate representation of the possibility for deliciousness.

2) Pasta makes me go "meh".

But, one of my friends was raving about his Batali iPad app, and so I picked up the book to see what the fuss was all about.

The best meatballs ever. That's what this cookbook is about. It's going on my Christmas list for this recipe alone.

I won't lie, I made a ton of adjustments to his recipe (2 tablespoons of salt?!? No one needs that much salt in a dish), mostly to the sauce. Given Gwyneth Paltrow's friendship with Batali, I figured he wouldn't mind if I replaced his tomato sauce recipe with hers (it was much simpler and I was out of carrots). Use your own recipe, use Paltrow's (found here) or use some store bought stuff. Just make sure it's low sodium, because these meatballs pack a punch.

And don't be turned off by the long ingredient list. Everything comes together relatively quickly!


Polpettine di Tacchino

(aka Turkey Meatballs)

from Mario Batali's Molto Italiano

serves 6-8

Ingredients

meatballs

1 lb lean ground turkey
1 lb lean ground pork
1½ cups panko
½ cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp hot pepper flakes
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

sauce

3 tbsp olive oil
1 large sweet onion, cut in half vertically and thinly sliced horizontally to form half moons
6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tbsp hot pepper flakes
½ cup water
½ cup red wine or dry sherry
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tbsp parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475º.In a large bowl, mix together all meatball ingredients. Use a light hand to do so. Form into 24-30 golf ball sized balls. Place on a large, sturdy, rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 350º.

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and sauté until golden brown, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in red pepper flakes, then water, wine and rosemary. Scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan, and let liquid reduce to approximately half. Stir in tomato sauce and let mixture simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Add meatballs to sauce, tossing well to coat and bake in oven for 45-55 minutes, or until sauce is thick (and really, almost gone).

Serve in shallow bowls with a sprinkle of parsley.

Thai Pork Lettuce Wraps

A friend of mine posted this recipe on the now abandoned August Cooks blog, and I've really loved it for ages, though haven't made it since last summer.

Lime, sriracha, jalapeno, shallots, brown sugar, fish sauce... This recipe hits all the right notes, sweet, spicy, salty, sour. Amped up with some pickled carrots (leftover from a batch based on Gwyneth Paltrow's recipe) and cucumber, these wraps are pretty much heaven on a plate for me.

What I love most about it is how messy they are! Be prepared for dripping juices.

Thai Pork Lettuce Wraps

(adapted from August Cooks)

Ingredients

½ tbsp canola oil
1 lb ground pork
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium shallot, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
juice of one lime
1½ tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp sriracha

pickled carrots
sliced cucumber
washed, separated leaves boston or bibb lettuce (about 12-16)
handfuls of chopped fresh mint, cilantro and basil

Directions

1. Heat canola oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add pork, garlic, shallot and jalapeno. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pork is browned and fat is rendered. Drain fat from pan. Return to heat, reducing temperature to low while preparing the lime mixture.

2. Mix together lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar and sriracha. Pour over pork. Return heat to medium and stir until liquid has mostly been absorbed. Remove skillet from element.

3. Using lettuce as a cup, place some carrots and cucumbers inside, then top with a couple tablespoons pork mixture. Sprinkle herbs over top, and repeat with remaining lettuce leaves and pork.

Serves 3-4.

Nikuman: Japanese Steamed Buns

I was over on the blog La Fuji Mama earlier this week, and stumbled across this recipe for nikuman. If you haven't seen the blog, it's an interesting one, though I prefer her more traditional recipes to the hybrid ones she does.

And I won't copy her recipe over here. That would be tacky, right?

Now, I have fond, fond memories of these pork buns - the curry flavour was my absolute favourite, so this past weekend, I decided to try my hand at making them.

Let's just say the results were mixed. The filling was amazing. My husband claims it was better than any basic nikuman he'd had in Japan, and I think I agree with him. Totally tasty, if a bit greasy.

pork, soy, bamboo, onion, sugar, chile-garlic paste, ginger

But that is how they're supposed to be!

The challenge lay in the dough. It was crumbly. Very crumbly. After attempting to get crumbs to stick together for about 15 minutes, I ended up adding 3 or so tablespoons more milk to the mixture just to be able to form something that would hold together. I was terrified the recipe would be a total disaster; that the dough would be tough and not soft and fluffy and that 9:00 pm would roll around and I wouldn't have any dinner.

After 20 minutes of kneading, this is what my dough looked like:

Certainly not the smoothest, prettiest dough I've ever made in my life. You can understand my concern.

After letting the darned thing rest for half an hour, I divided the whole thing into eight pieces and attempted to roll them out into circles. Due to the elasticity of this dough, it has a nasty habit of snapping back into place after you roll it out.

And once rolled, I divided the filling into eight balls and placed one at the centre of each dough circle (well, they were supposed to be circles).

And attempted to pinch the seams closed. Heavy emphasis on the attempted.

The dough was beginning to look a bit prettier though!

Once I had four done, I started the steamer up and placed them, along with their parchment paper bases, into the top and steamed them for 15 minutes.

With trepidation and the buzzer alarm sounding off frantically in my ear, I lifted the lid to the steamer off.

Hm. Although split, they looked like nikuman.

Yep. That's definitely a steamed bun. Heck, the dough even felt springy!

I think Phil and I bit in at the exact same time. His bun spurted orange oil over our freshly washed sofa cover.

But you know what? It was worth it, because these were delicious.

If only I hadn't pulled a wrist muscle trying to knead that stupid dough (which turned out pretty tender in the end)!

**edit: these freeze beautifully. You can steam them from frozen for 15-20 minutes and voila!**

Pork Fest Continues

It's safe to say that I come from a family of sausage lovers. Herb flecked and balanced with fat and meat, the fresh butcher's sausage is one of my favourite things.

I do not have the equipment to make my own sausages. No casings, no meat grinder, no stuffer. But, I can, (and you can too) make my own sausage patties.

They're super easy and a great way to impress yourself on a Saturday morning. I actually made these on my birthday as my perfect way to start being 31.

I won't reprint the recipe here, because I think you should go over and check out this blog anyway:

Herbed Sausage Patties Recipe

The general gist: ground pork (I buy an organic heritage one), salt, brown sugar, fresh sage, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, ancho chili powder, pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

Mix those in a bowl.

Divide the mixture in half, and shape each half into five palm sized patties.

You're not going for perfection here.

Fry the first five up in a cast iron skillet. I promise you'll get a better crust on them if you go the cast iron route!

It takes about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from heat when juices run clear and enjoy!

We froze our leftovers for breakfasts throughout the week.

Teriyaki Pork Burgers

Exciting news #1: The Zojirushi plays MUSIC whenever I turn it on (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star) and when it finishes cooking (a good 30 seconds of music that I'm not familiar with) another one. LOVE it. The sheer ridiculousness of it makes me so happy.
Exciting news #2: Teriyaki pork burgers are the awesome sauce. No. Seriously. Super awesome sauce.

This isn't exciting to anyone but me, is it?

Covered with glazed goodness.

Soy-Glazed Pork Burgers

(adapted from Elizabeth Andoh's Washoku)

Ingredients

1 small onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons saké, divided
1 lb lean ground pork (I used heritage pork from HOPE eco-farms)
½ cup panko
1 egg
1 tbsp miso

2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp hot water
3 tbsp soy sauce

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-low heat. Add onions and sauté for about 2 minutes, or until tender, but not browned (but if they do brown, it's not the end of the world). Add 1 tbsp sake to the pan and deglaze the whole thing, scraping up all of those delicious brown bits. Remove onions from pan with any leftover sake bits and let cool in a bowl.

2. In a large bowl, combine pork, panko, egg, miso and cooled onions. I get in there and use my hands to thoroughly mix it all together.

3. Divide the mixture into however many patties you desire (somewhere between 4 and 10 [I made 10 minis].

4. Return the same skillet you used for the onions to the heat, and cover again with cooking spray. Add patties and sear on the first side until browned, about 1 minute. [If you've done several patties, you may need to do the browning and steaming in two batches.]

Flip, and sear the patties on the second side. If the surface cracks a bit, don't freak out. It'll all work out in the long run. Add the remaining sake, 1 tbsp, to the pan, cover quickly with a lid and let cook for 5 or so minutes (for minis - 8-10 minutes for larger ones). If you're doing two batches, use ½ tbsp sake for each batch.

5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the sugar with the hot water, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the soy sauce. Return the skillet to med-high heat and pour the soy sauce over the burgers into it. Shake the skillet to coat the beef patties and flip them after a minute to make sure they're evenly glazed.

If you're like me, you'll probably spend 4-5 minutes with the flippy and glazing. I love me a thick sauce.

See? That's some mighty fine thick sauce. I had a hard time not licking the plate!

Serve over rice, with a side of sugar-free carrot kinpira.

Stuffed Pork with Prosciutto and Lemons

I think my love of pork prevents me from ever becoming a vegetarian. And, as the weather turns cold, I find myself turning on the oven more often so I can slow roast.

I won't lie to you. This recipe had... erm... challenges.

One: I am not a butcher. My pork looks... well... not that pretty.

Two: My oven sucks and took twice as long to cook the stuff.

Three: Neither of the above two should matter because it was delicious, right?

Lemon and Prosciutto Stuffed Pork Loin with Broccolini


Ingredients

1 4-pound boneless pork loin roast, trimmed
12 thin prosciutto slices (about 6 ounces)
1 large lemon, very thinly sliced
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 1/2 pounds broccolini, trimmed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
1 cup Pinot Grigio or other dry white wine
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Place pork, fat side down, on work surface with 1 short end facing you. Using long thin sharp knife and starting 1/2 inch above underside of roast, cut 1/2 inch in along right side. 

Continue cutting 1/2 inch above underside, unrolling roast like carpet. 

Yeah, it's not pretty. I know. Amateur + dull knife = less than amazing butchering.

Arrange prosciutto evenly over pork, overlapping if necessary. 

Arrange lemon slices over prosciutto. 

Sprinkle with panko, then chives. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. 

Turn pork so 1 short end faces you. Beginning at 1 short end, roll up pork; arrange seam side down on work surface (fat side will be facing up). 

Using kitchen string, tie at 1- to 1 1/2-inch intervals. Transfer pork, fat side up, to roasting pan. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Meanwhile, place roasting pan over 2 burners on medium-high heat. Add broth and wine; bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Boil until reduced to 1 cup, about 8 minutes. Stir in butter. Add cornstarch mixture and stir until sauce thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Strain sauce into small pitcher. Season with salt and pepper.

Using kitchen scissors, cut string along top of roast; discard. Cut pork into 1/2-inch-thick slices; arrange on platter. Drizzle lemon juice over broccolini; season with salt and pepper. Serve pork with broccolini, passing sauce alongside.

Divide broccolini between 2 rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle olive oil over, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Place in oven and roast until tender and lightly browned, about 10 minutes, reversing sheets halfway through roasting. 

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 450°F. Place pork on lower rack; roast 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F; roast pork until instant-read thermometer registers 145°F when inserted into center of pork, 45 to 60 minutes longer, depending on thickness of roast. Transfer to cutting board. Increase oven temperature to 375°F.

Cook broccolini in pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain; cool. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover pork; chill. Wrap broccolini in paper towels, then plastic; chill.

Is your house clean enough?

I ask because while my surface areas are pretty good... apparently I need to deep clean more. My parents are currently in my apartment cleaning my oven "in exchange for having seconds of that delicious pork" (recipe coming Tuesday).

I don't know what I should feel more embarrassed about. The oven that I haven't cleaned in 3½ years? The fact my mother is so appalled that she enlisted my father to help her clean it? The fact that I'm sitting here blogging and LETTING them clean it?

In my defence, I think seconds of the pork make for a fair trade.