• Savoury,  Spicy

    Creamy curried pork with apples


    My plan had been to cook these pork chops on the open fire, but since I had let the fire go out (there are limits to my multi-tasking talents) and it’s hard to justify rekindling a fire when it’s over 20°C outside, I decided to cut the meat into strips and cook them on the hob.
    Ingredients  (serves 4)
    4 pork chops
    1 apple
    2 shallots
    3 mushrooms
    2 cloves of garlic
    1 bay leaf
    3 tablespoons’ calvados
    olive oil
    thumb size piece of fresh grated ginger
    1 cinnamon stick
    salt, pepper, tumeric, curry powder
    cashew nuts
    100ml pouring cream
    Chop the shallots, garlic, mushrooms and apples and fry until golden brown in olive oil.  Add the stips of pork and then the grated ginger, cinnamon stick and cashew nuts. Season to taste (I tend to like things hot and spicy). Keep frying until the pork is cooked (roughly five minutes) and then add the calvados and cream. Cook for a further two or three minutes until the cream is bubbling and slightly thickened.
    Serve with rice or shredded cabbage.

  • French,  Savoury

    Toulouse sausages and Tarbes beans


    I prepared this today for lunch as our son had a friend to stay and ‘bangers, mash and beans’ is always a great favourite with little boys. The advantage of Toulouse sausages is that they are so substantial and meaty that chewing time is longer than less ‘manly’ sausages. Increased chewing time = longer (blissful) silence at the table! What’s not to like?
    Ingredients (serves 4)
    4 Toulouse sausages
    olive oil
    can of peeled tomatos
    1 onion
    2 cloves of garlic
    sprig of rosemary
    5 medium-sized mushrooms
    250g of Tarbes beans (precooked)
    Lee and Perrins sauce
    Seasoning (sea salt, pepper, cayenne pepper)
    Chop the onions, garlic and slice the mushrooms and add to the olive oil in a casserole dish. Sear the sausages for a few minutes on either side on a griddle if you have one, if not in a frying pan and then add to the casserole dish. Once everything is golden brown, add the tomatoes, beans and the rosemary. Season to taste (salt, pepper, cayenne and Lee and Perrins). Cook for about an hour and a half in a medium oven (150°C), until the tomatoes begin to caramelise.