Cochinillo (Roast Suckling Pig)

A favorite from the Spanish town of Segovia,  cochinillo (roast suckling pig) is incredibly easy to cook and incredibly enjoyable to eat.  Serve with a green salad,  fresh bread and copious amounts of Rioja to wash it down.

Ingredients
1 Suckling Pig (about 4 kilos / 10 lbs);   cleaned and halved lengthwise
Dash of Amontillado (Spanish Sherry)
Salt
1 cup of water

Green salad
2 Fresh baguettes
A bottle or two of good Rioja

Cooking time:  3-4 hours

Instructions

1.  1 hour before cooking,  remove pig from fridge, rinse and pat dry  (if the butcher hasn't already done so, you may want to crack the fore and back legs and ribs to make it easier to fit in the roasting tray)
2.  Pre-heat oven to 175 C (350 F)
3.  Put pig in a roasting tray,  season with salt and pour on a splash of Amontillado,  inside and out

4.  Add a cup of cold water to the roasting tray and put in the oven

5.  Roast for 3 hours,  checking every 30 mins to baste skin with the juices

6.  Check for doneness - the meat should be pulling away from the bone and the skin crisping

7.  If needed,  raise temperature to 250 C (485 F),  and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until skin is crispy
8.  Serve with green salad, bread and Rioja.

Surf and Turf Pizzas

It's Surf vs Turf,  with shrimp infused cream sauce, sausage and seafood going up against fried garlic and fresh tomato sauce with steak and pepperoni.  With a four different types of cheese to keep things interesting.

  

Surf Pizza Ingredients
1 small fillet haddock (or other firm white fish)
5 large shrimp with shells
1/2 Andouille sausage,  sliced thinly
1/4 cup bok choy,  sliced finely
1 spring onion diced

Cajun seasoning

1 cup mozzarella cheese,  diced
1/2 cup asiago cheese, grated
1/2 cup emmental cheese, grated

1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1 bay leaf
4 whole allspice seeds

1 x Pizza dough

Turf Pizza Ingredients
1 small filet mignon,  sliced very thinly
1 garlic clove,  crushed and chopped finely
Italian herb seasoning
salt

4 large slices pepperoni,  quartered
1 spring onion, diced
1/8 cup bok choy, sliced thinly

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, diced
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup asiago cheese, grated

3 large ripe tomatoes,  stem removed and diced.
4 garlic cloves,  crushed and diced
olive oil

1 x Pizza dough

Surf Pizza Instructions
1.  Remove shells from shrimp and combine in a small sauce pan with whipping cream,  bay leaf and allspice.   Bring to a simmer and cover.   Reduce to a low heat and let it infuse for 10-15 minutes,  then strain, discarding the shell mixture.  Add the sour cream and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and let the sauce thicken, then remove from heat.

2.  Remove skin from the haddock (if needed),  then dice into largish (1/2 inch) chunks.  Cut each shrimp into 3 chunks.  Sprinkle fish and shrimp with a little cajun seasoning, then cover with cling film and put in the fridge until ready to top the pizza.

3.  Heat oven to 450F with pizza stone.   Roll out the pizza dough,  then put in the oven to cook for 3 minutes.  Remove pizza from oven,  then add the toppings:  first the sauce,  then cheeses,  then bok choy and spring onions,  finally the sausage, fish and shrimp.   Cook in the oven for 11-12 minutes at 450F.

4.  Remove pizza from oven with pizza spatula.  You may need to gently tip the pizza over a sink to drain off juices from the fish, and put into the oven for a few minutes more to dry out the crust.

Turf Pizza Instructions
1.  Heat a small sauce pan with about 1/8 cup of olive oil.   Add the 4 crushed and diced garlic cloves and fry gently until turning golden.   Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.   Cook for 10-15 minutes covered.   Every few minutes prod the tomatoes until they are well broken down.  Then remove from heat and sieve the sauce into a heat-proof dish,  pressing down on tomatoes to move as much as the flesh through the sieve.  Scrape the bottom of the sieve.   Then return the sieved tomato sauce to the pan and bring to a simmer.  Continue simmering until the mixture has thickened enough to spread on the pizza, then remove from heat.

2.  Mix the finely sliced steak with Italian herb seasoning,  a little salt and the garlic.  Leave to combine at room temperature until pizza is ready for topping.

3.  Heat oven to 450F with second pizza stone.  Roll out the pizza dough and cook in the oven for 3 minutes.  Remove pizza and add the toppings:  first the tomato sauce,  then the cheeses,   then the bok choy and spring onion,  finally the pepperoni and steak slices.  Cook in the oven for 11-12 minutes at 450F.

Serve pizzas with a good New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or an Aussie Zinfandel.

Roast chicken with pancetta-herb stuffing

Don't throw out bread/buns if they start to get stale - put them into the freezer and use for breadcrumbs!

I don't think I've ever bought breadcrumbs from the store - just warm up and dry-out (but not toast) the frozen bread/buns in an oven at a low temp (eg 275F) and then food process.  Voila - breadcrumbs.

Adding white wine and stock to the roasting tin keeps everything moist and makes great gravy. 

Ingredients

Stuffing

• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• 2 thick (1/4") slices of pancetta, diced
• handful of fresh herbs (basil with some oregano and mint)
• 2 hot dog buns (frozen)
• Dash of Amontillado (Spanish Sherry)

• Large (5lb) chicken
• 2.5 lbs red potatoes
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup white wine

• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1.  Remove chicken from the fridge to bring to room temperature whilst you prepare the stuffing.

2.  Heat the oven to 275F,  and put the frozen hot dog buns on the rack for 10 minutes

3.  Heat a frying pan with dash of olive oil,  then gently fry the red onion for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.  Add the pancetta and continue to fry until the pancetta starts to turn golden.

4.  Add a healthy dash of Amontillado, lower heat and reduce for about 3 minutes.   Remove from heat.

5.  Take the hot dog buns and put them into a food processor,   add the herbs and process for a minute or so until you have breadcrumbs.

6.  Put the herb breadcrumbs into a large mixing bowl and add the pancetta-onion mixture.  Stir well.

7.  Heat oven to 450F.  Put a large roasting tin with dash of olive oil into the oven to heat up.

8.  Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the stuffing.   Drizzle olive oil over the chicken and season skin with salt and pepper.

9.  Put the chicken into the hot roasting tin and put into the oven for 10 minutes.

10.  Meanwhile,  prepare the potatoes - cut into quarters and wash.  Leave peel on - it's healthy!

11.  Take out the roasting tin,  add the potatoes,   coating them in the oil and juices from the chicken.  Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.

12.  Pour the wine and chicken stock into the roasting tin,   put back into the oven and reduce heat to 350F.

13.  Cook for another 60-90 minutes,  checking every 20-30 minutes to turn the potatoes.

14.  Serve with vegetables,  eg steamed corn on the cob and green beans.

The Three Cs: Cod, Cabbage and Chorizo

Sorry, no pics - the meal disappeared too fast!!

Ingredients:

• 1 large cod fillet (about 1.5 lbs),  cut into 1.5" slices
• 1 Spanish chorizo,  1/4" slices  (alternative: coarsely chopped bacon or pancetta)
• 1/4 head white cabbage,  coarsely chopped
• 4, yes 4, cloves of garlic,  crushed and coarsely chopped
• 6 medium potatoes,  finely sliced (about 1/4")
• 5 large mushrooms,  quartered
• Spanish brandy for deglaze,  about 2 tablespoons
• Spanish sherry (Palo Cortado or Amontillado) for sauce - about 1 cup
• Water for sauce, about 1 cup
• Salt for seasoning
• Handful of fresh parsley (or oregano), finely chopped
• Plenty of olive oil

Fresh bread or baguette (for mopping up sauce)

Instructions:

1.  Sprinkle chopped herbs and pinch of salt on the fish;  press herbs down into the fish
2.  Pre-heat oven to 400 F
3.  Heat large french oven (le creuset) and add plenty (say 1/4 cup) of olive oil
4.  Gently fry potatoes for 5 mins, stirring frequently to coat well in oil and prevent sticking
5.  Add the garlic and mix well;  cook for a further 2 minutes
6.  Move potatoes and garlic to edge of the pan and add chorizo in the middle;  cook for a few minutes then stir well
7.  Cook mixture for another 3 minutes then add the brandy to deglaze
8.  Add the cabbage and mushrooms and mix well
9.  Add the sherry, turn up the heat and bring to a boil
10.  Reduce the sauce a little,  then add the water and bring back to a boil,  then cover with a lid and simmer;  monitor level of the sauce - it shouldn't be soup, but should be enough to steam the fish
11.  Heat a frying pan and add a dash (1 tbs) of olive oil
12.  Gently put the fish chunks in the pan and sear for a few minutes
13.  Take the frying pan off the heat and carefully add contents (fish and juices) to the potato/chorizo mixture - leave on top
14.  Add a lid and put in the oven for 10 minutes
15.  Serve with fresh bread

'Heat from Down Under' Chili

This is the recipe we tried at the last company chili cook-off. It will take about 3 hours to cook - assuming all the prep (meat and veg) has been done beforehand. We made 20 gallons, the recipe below is for 5 to 6 gallons. You'll need an 8 gallon pot to cook it in.

It didn't win, but we got good feedback and had fun cooking it!

If ordering in bulk, have the butcher and produce departments do as much prep as possible. If you do have to prep the chilis, wear gloves. Or if you do (like me) end up with capsicum burns - washing hands with rubbing (Isopropyl) alcohol seems to work well.

Ingredients (5 to 6 gallons of chili)

• 5 lb Beef chuck roast (cubed)
• 10 lb Beef tri-tip (coarse/chili ground)
• 5 lb Turkey Breast (or Thigh) (coarse/chili ground)
• 5 lb Chicken Breast (coarsely chopped)
• 1 lb Pancetta (diced)
• 3 x 8oz Chorizo Picante (skin removed, diced)
• 1 bulb garlic - cloves removed, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 lb Onion (diced)
• 1 lb Celery (diced)
• 2 lb Carrots (peeled and sliced)
• 1 lb Jalapeno Peppers (stem & seeds removed, sliced in half lengthwise)
• Handful of Thai red peppers (stem & seeds removed, sliced in half lengthwise)
• Handful of Banana peppers (stem & seeds removed, coarsely chopped)
• 4 Habernero peppers (whole)
• 1/2 lb Serrano Peppers (stem & seeds removed, coarsely chopped)
• 1/2 lb Cherry Peppers (stem & seeds removed, try to leave whole)
• 2 x 5lb Tin Diced Tomatoes (drained, but reserve the tomato liquid)
• 1/2 Gallon Beer or Lager
• 3 QT Chicken Stock
• 2 cups Chili Powder
• 1 cup Chili Powder to season meat
• Salt to taste
• Olive oil for frying

Chili Powder (makes several cups)

1 lb Dried Ancho Chilis

1 lb Dried Cascabel Chilis

1 lb Dried Colorado Chilis

7 oz ground cumin

Instructions

• Remove stems from chilis, slice open and remove seeds. Chop coarsely.
• I put the chopped chilis through two different-sized food processors, ending with a hand-blender - each time breaking down the chilis into smaller and smaller pieces.
• Finally, use a spice-grinder (or coffee grinder) to get the mixture into a coarse powder.
• Then mix with the ground cumin and your chili powder is ready.
• The powder will be *hot* - so wear gloves or wash hands frequently.

Instructions for Chili (day of cookoff)

(assuming all prep work has been done, and you have two cooks..)

1. Get 2 burners fired up, one with a large wok/frying pan, the other with the chili pot.

2. In the chili pot, get the sauce started: add Olive Oil (say 1/2 cup), then add the pancetta. Cook for a few minutes, then when it starts to brown, add the onion and chorizo. Cook a few minutes, then add the remaining veg (including chilis) stirring well. Add the 2 cups of chili powder and mix well. Cook a few minutes more then the drained tomatoes, stirring well.

3. In the wok/frying-pan, add olive oil. Season 5 lb of chuck roast with tablespoon or so of chili powder, add pinch of salt and start frying. When browned, add to the chili pot, including the juices (tasty fat!) from the meat. Repeat this for the remaining meat, turkey and chicken. It'll take about 20-30 minutes to get all the meat browned and into the pot.

4. Meanwhile, in the pot, start adding some of the liquids: 1/4 gallon of beer, 2 QT chicken stock and a few cups of the tomato liquid - stirring well. Bring to a boil, stir, then reduce heat to a simmer.

5. This should have taken about an hour, now you just leave the chili simmering (uncovered), stir every 5 minutes and add more liquid as needed (chicken stoc, beer or reserved tomato liquid). Do remember to keep stirring, or you'll burn it like our neighboring team did!

6. After about two hours simmering, the chili should be ready to serve. At this point, you can cover with a lid and turn off the heat - it will keep warm! Serve with lime, cheese, chopped cilantro, bread and butter.

Healthy Chili Orange Garlic Butter

This is a healthier version of regular garlic butter.... because of the vitamin C in the chili and orange! Well, it proved successful at our last company chili cookoff, with several requests for the recipe - and here it is!

Just scale down the quantities if you don't want 4lb of the stuff....




















Ingredients (makes 4lb)

• 4 x 1lb Organic Unsalted Butter
• 1 bulb (yes, a bulb) of garlic
• 2 dried Ancho chilis
• 2 dried Cascabel (or similar) chilis
• 2 clementines
• chili salt to taste (or regular salt)

Instructions
1. Put the dried chilis in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover and let it steep for 30 minutes so that the chilis rehydrate.

2. Meanwhile, remove garlic cloves from the bulb, peel and place in a saucepan with cold water. Bring to the boil, then drain and replace with cold water. Repeat three times. This helps take the edge of the garlic - giving a smoother taste.

3. Drain chilis and remove stem. slice in half and gently remove and discard the seeds. Using a knife carefully scrape away the rehydrated "flesh" from the skin and put into a large mixing bowl, discarding the skin. Don't worry too much if you can't remove all the skin - just dice finely and put into the mixing bowl.

4. Zest the clementines and add to the bowl. Squeeze juice from one of the clementines into the bowl (not two, or it might get too runny). Use a garlic press to press the blanched garlic and add to the bowl. Add a pinch or two of chili salt to taste.

5. Coarsely chop the butter and heat gently in a microwave to soften.

6. Add the butter to the chili-orange-garlic mixture and mix well.

7. Cover and put in the fridge until ready to serve. Serve at room temperature on good bread.

Cordero Asado - Castilian Roast Lamb

If you're travelling in the Castilla-Leon region of Spain be sure to try "Lechazo Asado" - roast lamb cooked in wooden stoves.

Here's an attempt to create the same flavour at home - the trick is to cook it slowly and simply; with only salt, water and wine for about 3 hours at a low temp.
















Ingredients

• 3-4lb leg of lamb
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white wine
• salt (or chili-salt)

• Potatoes, halved
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

• Salad

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 375 F. Place lamb in a roasting pan, sprinkle with salt and add water and wine. Prepare potatoes - place in another pan with the oil and vinegar, add dash of salt and mix well.





















2. Put lamb and potatoes in the oven and cook for 60 minutes, then reduce temperature to 275 F and cook for 60 minutes more. Add a little more water and wine if needed to the lamb.

3. Then reduce temperature to 225 F and cook for a further 90 minutes. Add a little more water and wine if needed to the lamb. Use a meat thermometer if needed to see if it is done. Remove lamb from the oven to rest 5 minutes.

4. Turn on the convection function (or grill/broiler) and increase heat to 425 F to crisp up the potatoes whilst the lamb rests.

5. Serve lamb with sauce from the pan, along with roast potatoes and salad, and of course a good Rioja.