This is our take on a traditional dish from Northern Spain - Far from traditional in our case….
Ingredients:-
4 Slices / Steaks of Rump (there’s a story about how we came by rump steak, perhaps for later….) Beaten out with a meat hammer and seasoned with Salt & Pepper
Slices of Polish Garlic Sausage
Sliced Chorizo
Sliced Emmental Cheese
Batter (Gluten free in our case)
Breadcrumbs (Gluten free in our case)
Method:-
(1) Lay one of the Steaks on a board.
(2) Layer the Cheese, then the cured Meats, followed by a second layer of Cheese.
(4) Place the second Steak over the top.
(5) Immerse in Batter so it is evenly coated.
(6) Dredge in Breadcrumbs.
(7) Deep fry at 170c until golden brown.
(8) Drain and cut diagonally.
We like our Beef quite rare. If you prefer it well done your Cheese will melt more.
Sometimes an experiment works! This was supposed to be a food joke, but actually we both really liked them!
Ingredients:-
50g of Frozen Peas
2 Tbsp of Gram Flour
2 Tbsp of Cornflour
1 Tbsp of Mint Sauce
1 Tsp of Dried Mint
1 Tsp of Garlic Granules
1 Tsp of Baked Powder
½ a Tsp of Turmeric
Soda Water
Salt & Pepper
Method:-
(1) Mix the dry ingredients.
(2) Add the Soda Water, enough to make a thick batter.
(3) Add the Peas.
(4) Spoon into a fryer in small batches and fry at 170c, until they float.
(5) Drain on kitchen paper and re-dunk when you’re ready to serve.
Although this is an obvious sign of our (OK my) decent into madness. It’s actually well worth the effort and really tasty…...
Serve with Fish & Chips with DIY Tartar Sauce. Jobs a good un….
We think this technique created the best Cracking from the lowest priced bit of Pork. If your Pork has ribs in, it’s wise to cut them out, you can always make spare ribs another day.
Ingredients:-
500g of boneless Belly Pork
Spirit Vinegar
Salt
Cumin
Five Spice
Garlic Powder
Pepper
Brown Sugar
Mixed Herbs
Method:-
(1) Turn your Pork skin side down and with a sharp knife cut almost all the way to the Rind at about 2 ½ Cm spacing in both directions. You should have a series of cubes stuck to the Rind.
(2) Mix Salt, Cumin, Five Spice, Garlic Powder, Pepper, Brown Sugar and Mixed Herbs into a dry rub.
(3) Rub this over the meat and specifically into the cuts you have made in the meat.
(4) Turn the Pork over and pat the Rind dry.
(6) Place in an over proof dish Rind side up.
(7) Massage Spirit vinegar over the Rind.
(8) Place in your Oven or Air Fryer at 98c for 30 minutes.
(9) Remove and massage Oil and Salt all over the Rind.
(10) Cook for a further 45 minutes at 200c.
It’s unlikely we’ll be doing the scoring the Rind thing again, this worked and tasted so much better. Crispy Crackling with tender and well seasoned meat beneath.
Generally you might expect to be able to get Battered and Breaded meat and fish either chilled or frozen. But the Gluten free options are really quite poor and very expensive. So we’ve been tinkering. We’d already got the Batter part of the gig sorted, but sometimes you just fancy that crispy bite.
Often Gluten Free recipes suggest an Egg wash to secure the Bread Crumbs. But that doesn’t hold any flavour you’ve imparted into the meat and the Crumbs often float off and ruin your Oil.
We think it’s fair to say we’ve fixed it!
These are approximate measures because the amount of Batter you need will depend on the quantity of Meat or Fish you are battering. The ration of Cornflour to Gram Flour is the most important part.
Batter Mix:-
1 Part Gram Flour to 3 Parts Cornflour
1 Tsp of Garlic Granules
¼ Tsp of Asafoe Tida (If it’s pure from a wholefoods shop go steady with it!)
1 Tsp of Hot Chilli Powder
1 Tsp of Baking Powder
Salt & Pepper to season
Soda Water – Sufficient to make a thick batter
Bread Crumb Mix:-
Wuzzed up Bread (Gluten free for us)
1 Tsp of Mixed Herbs
Salt & Pepper to season
Cornflour to dress the meat.
Method:-
(1) Marinade your Meat or Fish to suit the style of your meal.
(2) Whisk all the batter ingredients for make a thick batter.
(3) Heat a fryer to 170c.
(4) Dredge the Meat / Fish in Cornflour.
(5) Dunk individual pieces in the Batter.
(6) Coat in the seasoned Bread Crumbs.
(7) Fry in small batches until golden brown.
(8) Remove and drain.
(9) When you have fried everything re-dunk so they are all at a universal temperature, drain and serve.
This recipe works really well with Chicken, Pork, King Prawns etc. But be aware that it really bulks out the quantity of the finished product, so you might need to reduce the amount of Meat / Fish you would expect to use. Or just snack on them for breakfast, as we do!!!!!
This take on a Mexican Beef Casserole was really good. A bit of ‘Low & Slow’ winter warmer sort of gig.
Ingredients:-
500g of Beef, cut into cubes
1 Onion, diced
1 Red Pepper, sliced
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
½ a Tsp of Chipotle Paste
1 Jalapeño Chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 Tbsp of Cumin Seed, toasted and ground
1 Tbsp of Sweet Paprika
1 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
200ml of Red Wine
450ml of Beef Stock
1 Tbsp of Brown Sugar
2 Tsp of Dried Oregano
2 Bay Leaves
Salt & Pepper to season
Oil to fry
Method:-
(1) Heat a little Oil in a Butch Oven or flameproof casserole dish.
(2) Add the Beef and brown on all sides.
(3) Remove and set aside.
(4) Add a little more Oil and add the Onions & Peppers.
(5) Add the Chipotle Paste, Jalapeño Chilli, Cumin and Paprika.
(6) Fry for a further minute.
(7) Return the Beef along with the Chopped Tomatoes, Wine, Stock, Sugar, Oregano and Bay Leaves.
(8) Season with Salt and Pepper, cover and transfer to a preheated oven at 150c.
(9) Allow to simmer for 3 ½ hours or until the Beef is tender.
Serve the Casserole with Chimichurri Sauce as a side, Rice and Tortillas.
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