Inspired to be a better cook...

Meat, glorious meat. So far most of the carnivore recipes that I've posted have been pork. Strange. It is not as though we eat only pork, or that we have it all that often. But when cooked with some consideration, it sure is good. Something about the sweet flesh and salty fat. Oh, tasty.

As I've been watching more than my fair share of MasterChef, I've been encouraged to consider cooking a little more than usual at the moment. The question the judges on the show often ask is, "how does it look on the plate?" While I've not gotten too fussed about this question, I have tried to experiment with techniques and tastes. Such as rhubarb and pork. Such as pounding up some herbs, rubbing them over meat before making a passel by wrapping in bacon. And this worked. It looked interesting, it had depth and variety of flavour. Plus it didn't take too long to make, perfect for a fancy meal mid-week.

Pork passels with rhubarb.

Serves 2

Handful of herbs - I used garlic chives as they are growing in the garden

1 clove garlic

2 tbs olive oil

2 pork loin chops

salt and pepper to taste

2 rashes middle bacon, thinly sliced

two handfuls diced rhubarb

In a mortar and pestle, combine the herbs and garlic, pounding to form a smooth paste. Add the olive oil to loosen the mix. Season with a little salt and a good grind of pepper. Rub over your pork chops and leave to marinate for around an hour.

Pre-heat oven to 220* C. Wrap a rash of bacon around each pork chop. Heat a frying pan over low heat with a little extra oil. Gently fry the bacon-wrapped chops until they get a little colour. This is simply to start the cooking process and ensure your bacon is not too pastey.

Line a roasting tray with baking paper. Heap the rhubarb in the centre of the tray and place the pork passels on top. Wet a piece of baking paper and scrunch it up. Open out and place over the top of the pork. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and bake for a further 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with super fresh veggies. Enjoy!

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's Happy Days with the Naked Chef.

This little pigy went to market...

Off to market we went, exploring the joys of the Vic Markets on a cold Saturday morning. Yep, despite it being summer, it was cold - as it always is at the markets. Apparently the markets were build on an old cemetery, so you could think of the cold as the spirits blowing up unsettled from the ground. Or rather it is an open space that the fresh wind rushes through.


Now these markets are great. There is the usual souvenir rubbish, most of which is made the China. Then there are live ducklings and chicks, rabbits and goldfish. There is an organic vegetable section, a few covered pavilions of the freshest fruit imaginable, a deli hall, eels and muscles in the fish section, a food court and a few stalls that sell bratwurst. Delicious! I think I will get one for lunch...


As previously mentioned, the fella went nuts with pork. He found a leg selling for $5 per kilo. What he was to do with it, I'm not sure. He wants to master the roast, and is always hankering after some crackling. But I convinced him that what we should make is a slow cooked vindaloo, with the bone added for flavour. Spices, marinating the flesh, slow cooking to produce tender falling apart meat, hot rice and lots of left overs. He agreed and spent considerable time dicing the meat. What a star!


To make your own delicious vindaloo a pork leg is not necessarily needed. I've made it with beef, you could try chicken on the bone also. And the bone is not particularly needed, but I love the wholeness of cooking with the bone, and I imagine that it imparts considerably more flavour. Whether it actually does is another story for another day.


Pork Vindaloo
Serves 6

1 kg pork diced, plus pork bone
6 cardamom pods, crushed to remove seeds
1 tsp peppercorns
4 dried chillis
1 tsp cloves
1 stick cinnamon
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
4 tbs white vinegar
2 tbs brown vinegar
oil - a good splash
2 onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
5 cm piece ginger, sliced
400 g tin whole tomatoes
4 red chillis, chopped
2 tbs brown sugar

Combine the spices - cardamom, peppercorns, dried chilli, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, coriander and fenugreek - and blend until somewhat ground. I use a heavy mortar and pestle, but you could use a small food processor. Add the vinegars to the spices and pour this fragrant mix over the meat (don't worry about including the bone at this stage). Mix it together well, cover and refrigerate. Marinate for at least 6 hours, but but to 2 days. The longer the better.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until lightly browned. Add the garlic, ginger, tomatoes and chilli. Stir to combine and cook until fragrant. Add the pork with its marinade, increase the heat to high and fry to seal the meat. Reduce the heat back to medium, add 250 ml water and return to the boil. Add the brown sugar and pork bone. Cover the mix, reduce the heat to low and simmer for a few hours, stirring occasionally.

To serve, discard the bone, pour over rice and add a dollop of natural yoghurt on the side.

Adapted from A Little Taste of India published by Murdock Books.

Pork, thinly pounded please.

Meet hammer at work, originally uploaded by the_bashful_owl.

My favourite item in the kitchen may just be the meat hammer. Strange, as I simply adore my Ruby Red KitchenAid (I think that Ruby Red is her name, which is tragic) and would rescue her if a cyclone was coming. Ruby Red's twin-brother food processor comes close. As does the microplane (oh for perfectly grated cheese, garlic, ginger, chocolate, etc). I have some heart-shaped measuring cups, which are kitch and cute. I have an amazing heavy-based frying pan, which even the fella values. So why the meat hammer?

It is rarely used for one. It is old fashioned and speaks of my grandmother's era for another. I recall one as a child, peaking out of mum's utensil canister. It was one kitchen item I longed to play with, and often was permitted to. I love the big squares on one side and the little ones on the other - patterns, texture... I love the sound it makes when you are whacking your meat. I love the idea of being part of making your meal, so although I'm not doing the butchering I'm part of getting the meat to the table.

My pork intake is limited. At times it really puts me off in its porky form. Bacon, yep, ham, mmm hmm, pancetta, absolutely. But slabs of pork I'm not so sure about. Pork squashed thinly with a meat hammer, coated in crumbs and cheese, lightly fried until golden sounds okay though. When we need a "traditional" meal midweek at our house, this is what we eat. And my fella could consume up to half a dozen of these babies in one seating if they were offered to him. We also cook this dish as it is something we can prepare together. Someone has to make the breadcrumbs in the processor while someone is smashing up the pork chops. The fella cooks to pork to perfection, while I steam the veggies in the microwave and rummage for the mayo in the fridge. And whole egg mayo it must be please.

Fryin' up the pork, originally uploaded by the_bashful_owl.

Crispy Pork Chops
Serves 2 – 4 (4 at a pinch).

2 pork loin chops, bone in around 150 g each
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp dried thyme
2 ½ c. freshly made breadcrumbs
½ c. grated pecorino cheese
Pepper to season
Olive oil
Butter if desired

Using a meat hammer, thin out your pork chops until they are a bit less than 1 cm thick. If they end up huge in size, chop them in halt to have one bony bit, one fleshy bit.

Beat together the egg, mustard and thyme in a wide shallow bowl. Combine the breadcrumbs, cheese and pepper on a plate. Dip your pork pieces into the egg mix, making sure they are covered well. Place on top of breadcrumb mix. Pat down, turn over and repeat. Try to get a thick even coating all over the pork. Place on a wire rack to dry while you prepare the remaining meaty bits.

Heat oil in a solid frying pan. Add a little butter if you wish. When things are hot, yet on a medium heat, cook the pork chops for around 5 minutes per side. You made need to cook them in batches.

Serve with freshly steamed broccoli, plenty of real mayonnaise and some more mustard. A slice of bread is nice too, as is some boiled potatoes.

From Nigella’s Feast by Nigella Lawson.

Crispy pork chops, originally uploaded by the_bashful_owl