Recipe - Sous Vide cooked Pork Tenderloin with Mrs H.S. Ball's Creamy Sauce

Some of you that follow me on Twitter have probably already cottoned on to the fact that the newest weapon in my arsenal is a Sous Vide machine. For those of you that don't know what that is, have a look here.

Recipe - French Onion Soup

French onion soup is such classic dish for me. I'm not sure how many times I've eaten it, be it a poor version or a very nice rendition from a decent restaurant.

Shockingly enough this is the first time I've ever tried making it myself. I took my normal approach and had a look both in my library of cookbooks and online. What I learned from this is that there's as many ways of making French onion soup as there are people cooking it. I also got some great tips and advice from people like kingpieb on Twitter.

Review - Cold Smoking Course

Another weekend, another course. Recently I've spent quite a lot of time at various cookery courses, well spent time in my view. There's even some more courses lined up for later in the year.

This weekend it was time for the Food Smoking Course arranged by Turan of Coldsmoking.co.uk fame, a course I was given as a Christmas present.

Recipe - Red Wine Braised Ox Cheeks

Food magazines and cookery shows have been hailing the cheaper and more forgotten cuts of meat for some time now. It's not like the cuts have not been available, they have just been more likely to be ground down as part of some kind of processed offering.

Even with the quite frequent mentioning of these cuts they can be a bit hard to chase down if you have to rely on the 'bag openers' in what the supermarkets call their butcher/meat sections.

Recipe - Merguez Sausages with Couscous

As readers of this blog might remember, I recently made a batch of home made sausages for the first time. If you haven't read this post, or need a refresher, have a look here.

Having sausages on their own is one thing but cooking them and having them a suitable accompaniment is a completely different thing.

Recipe - Swedish Apple Cake / Recept - Svensk Äppelkaka

Another trip down memory lane...

There's been quite a few recipes recently where I've revisited old flavour memories (if there's such a term) from my childhood and years in Sweden. They've all been savoury recipes so far, this will be my first sweet recipe from Sweden.

Recipe - Hunters Pie

The normal flow when I cook something that ends up on the blog is that I cook it, take photos of it and not until then is it time to eat it. As you can see, that flow was somewhat different this time. The smell that this dish spread in the kitchen just made it impossible to stop and take pictures before eating.

Recipe - Cheatscake

The title of this post is a bit of a play on words, nothing worse than that. ;)

Recently I was asked if I was interested to head up to London to take part in a product launch that Philadelphia was arranging. Sadly, as quite often is the case, the event was during daytime and due to work commitments I was not able to attend.

Recipe - Meatballs and Spaghetti en papillote

Most people just goes for something quick and easy to throw together when it comes to dinner on a weekday. As you might have figured out now, I'm not most people. Or very normal for that matter.

The night I cooked this I started with two tubs, pork and beef, mince that needed using up and it all ended with a fairly involved dish. Don't let that turn you off though, it is well worth the effort - even if I say so myself.

Cooking en papillote is quite easy and can be varied to you hearts content. Personally I would probably mostly associate it with cooking fish. However, as I am showing you here it doesn't just have to be fish. I've also cooked chicken en papillote for example.

The meatballs I made are made the way I'd call typically Swedish. That means that they are made with a 50/50 blend of pork and beef mince. Other variations are of course also welcome. Heck, if you don't have the time, just use pre-made meatballs and a jar of shop bought tomato sauce.

Yes, I did just say that - you can use some pre-made stuff if you feel like it. Go for it, at least you assemble the dish in a slightly more interesting way than a nuked ready meal of meatballs and spaghetti. It could be a good start down the slippery road of cooking from scratch.

After that bombshell, let's have a look at the recipe.

Ingredients (made far too many meatballs but freeze the leftovers)
Meatballs
500g pork mince
500g beef mince
Salt
Pepper
1 egg, beaten
Breadcrumbs

Tomato sauce
500g Passata
1 onion, diced
Salt
Pepper
Smoked paprika
Worcestershire Sauce
Brown sugar, optional

Olive oil

Spaghetti, cooked according to the instructions on the packaging

Parmesan cheese, grated

Fresh basil, torn

Method
Meatballs
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Shape meatballs about 3cm or so in diameter. Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Fry the meatballs in batches, without crowding the pan, until nicely browned on all sides.

Tomato sauce
Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Let the onion sizzle away until it starts to soften but not gaining any colour.  Add in the passata, stir well and season to taste. Add sugar if you think it is a bit too tart .Let this simmer away until it has gained the thickness you desire.

Assembly
Stir in the spaghetti and torn basil with the tomato sauce. Place spaghetti and sauce on pieces of parchment paper, top with meatballs and grated parmesan. Make a small bag out of the parchment paper and tie together with butcher's twine or use silicone rubberbands to close it together.

Place the parcels in a oven preheated to 180c. Let cook for about 15 - 20 minutes or until the parmesan have melted sufficiently.

Place the bags on heated plates and open at the table.

Enjoy!

Recipe - Pork Mince Chili Soup

This is a soup that I recommend on a cold winter night, it is sure to heat you up and give you a warm and cosy feeling.

At times I start doing things in a new way in the kitchen. One of these things is that I've changed the order of how I apply my spices in stews, soups and curries. I used to fry the meat and veg and then add in the spices. These days I do it a bit differently, I start by heating the pan and then adding in the oil. Once the oil is warm as well I add in the spices and fry them off for a while, almost making a spice past. Only then do I add in the meat and veg. It might just be imagination but for me that gives me a deeper flavour to the dish. Why not give it a go in your kitchen next time?

This is, as quite often happens on this blog, a dish that you can freestyle quite a bit. Use beef mince, whatever vegetables you got at home, make it yours. This is just an indication as to how you can cook it, the way I did it. I did add quite a bit of different spices but use what you got in the quantities you think will suit you.

If you kick it up a bit you can always have some sourcream on the side for the spicily challenged. Either that or make a wimpy version and serve it with some chillies and hot sauce on the side. Whichever way you think you can get way with.

Time for the recipe? I'd say so.

Ingredients (serves 4)
Olive oil
Ground coriander
Ground cumin
Dried oregano
Smoked paprika
Chilli powder
500g pork mince
1 - 2 onions, sliced
1 - 2 celery sticks, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
2 - 3 garlic cloves, diced
3 tbsp tomato purée
1 can chopped tomatoes
450 ml chicken stock
Salt
Pepper
Fresh coriander

Method
Heat a large saucepan or cassserole pan on a medium heat on the stove. Once hot, pour in the olive oil and let it heat up too. Add the spices and stir well and let this cook for a while, forming a paste. Keep stirring and don't let it burn.

Add in the pork mince and fry this until no longer pink. Now it is time to add in the onion, celery, pepper and garlic. Let this cook together for five minutes or so, stirring now and then.

Add in the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes and the stock. Give it all a good stir and let it come to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer under a lid for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the vegetables have softened to your liking.

Ladle into soup bowls, garnish with coriander leafs.

Enjoy!