Three Pepper Ghoulash

The pepper theme continues with this great pork ghoulash recipe. Three types of pepper (fresh, roasted and dried) combine with pork shoulder cooked sloow and looow (patience is required!) to make a really tasty dish. Serve with mashed potatoes and stir-fried courgette.



















Ingredients

• 1 large cut of pork shoulder (eg 5lb)
• 3 fresh peppers (red or green)
• 1 jar roasted peppers (pimientos piquillo)
• 1 tbs pimienta ahumado (Smoked Spanish paprika)
• 1 tbs pimienta dulce (Sweet Spanish paprika)
• 1 red onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 800g tinned tomatoes
• Salt and olive oil

Instructions
1. Wash and pat-dry the pork. Score the fat side in a criss-cross pattern and season well all over with salt.










2. Heat a large pan (needs to be oven proof) and add a 1/4 cup of olive oil. Place pork fat-side down and then sear on all sides, 3-4 minutes per side.




















3. Remove pork from the pan, and add chopped red onion. Lower heat and saute for 5 minutes, then add the crushed garlic. Cook a minute or two more, then add the chopped peppers. Cook for a couple more minutes, then add the pimientos piquillo, 2 tablespoons of Spanish paprika, tinned tomatoes and chicken stock. Stir well and add the pork and bring to a simmer.









































4. Heat the oven to 350F, then cover the pan and put in the oven. Cook until the meat is literally falling apart -- you should turn the joint a few times during the cooking time. I cooked it for about 5 hours at 350F, then left it overnight to cool down (still in the oven). It was still a little warm in the morning. Move to a container and place in the fridge until you are ready to serve.











5. Before serving, remove the fat from the surface of the container - it will have congealed on the surface. Put as much ghoulash as you want to serve in another pan and slowly reheat. Meanwhile, prepare your sides -- mashed potatoes and stir-fried courgette in olive oil and garlic work well, though I'm sure fresh baked bread would also go well. Serve and tuck-in!!

Home-made hot pepper sauce

30 minutes is all it takes to make this hot and tangy pepper sauce!

But, a word of caution -- after you've tried this recipe, you'll find that store-bought manufactured hot sauce just won't cut it anymore... 'cause of the taste of all the preservatives.



















Ingredients

• 15-20 fresh chili peppers (eg Jalapeno)
• 2/3 cup apple-cider vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic
  
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• sprig of fresh oregano
• Sterilized jar/bottle (placed in boiling water for 30 mins)
  

Home-grown chilis: I grow my own Jalapenos and wait until they turn from green to red before picking. The longer you leave them on the bush, the hotter they get!










Instructions

1. Prepare the chili peppers. Cut off the stems, slice in half and remove membrane and seeds (or leave in, if you want an eye-wateringly hot sauce...). When finished, make sure you wash your hands before touching anything or anyone...










2. Crush and peel garlic and place with chilis, salt, sugar and vinegar in a small saucepan.











3. Bring slowly to a simmer, and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You'll want the extractor fan on maximum, unless you're a fan of hot chili-vinegar fumes...











4. Remove from heat and let cool. Finely chop the oregano.












5. Put chili mixture and oregano into a blender, and puree.













6. Put into the sterilized jar/bottle and enjoy!!

Coq Au Vin: Lite Edition

Here's a low calorie version of the French classic: Coq Au Vin. Lo-cal? By means of not only swapping out the mountains of butter in the original version for a dash of olive oil in this version, but blanching the bacon before frying... but it's just as tasty!




















Ingredients:

• 5 chicken legs
• 5 chicken thighs
• 6 rashers of bacon
• 16 button mushrooms
• 9-10 small shallots
• 600 ml chicken stock
• 1/3 cup brandy/cognac
• 1 tbs tomato puree
• 1/3 cup flour

Marinade:

• 600 ml red wine
• 2 bay leaves
• bunch of fresh parsely
• salt & pepper

Sides:

• Dauphinoise Potatoes or freshly-baked bread

Marinate the chicken (day before)
1. Remove skin from the chicken and add to bag with marinade ingredients



















2. Leave in the fridge overnight











Next day

1. Blanch the bacon. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add chopped bacon for 2 minutes, then remove and drain. Pat dry with kitchen paper.




















2. Heat a frying pan and add the bacon, cook for a few minutes until well browned (not burnt!)











3. Remove bacon from pan. Peel the shallots and add to the pan. Cook for5 minutes mixing well with the bacon juices. Then remove from the pan.











4. Brush the mushrooms, then add to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes. Then remove and add to a casserole pan (dutch oven) with the bacon and onion, heat gently.










5. Remove chicken from the marinade (check out the red colour!) and drain and pat dry with kitchen paper. Then add to the pan (in which you cooked the bacon). When the chicken has browned, stir-in the flour until well covered. Cook a couple of minutes more, then transfer to the casserole pan.





























6. De-glaze the frying pan with some cognac, then add the mixture to the casserole pan.













7. Add the reserved marinade, chicken stock to the casserole pan, tomato puree and chopped parsley to the casserole pan. Cover and simmer gently for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.




























8. Serve with either Dauphinoise potatoes (thinly-sliced, layered with parsely and chicken-stock and baked) or with freshly-baked bread. Both are winners, though the bread-option won most plaudits in our household.