Pork three ways

Posted by petra08 on June 17, 2018 · 7 Comments 

Summer seems to arrive a little at a time. We have a few hot days and then it goes really cold again, somehow it doesn’t quite get going. I invited some friends for dinner. I wanted to have a barbecue but the forecast was thunder storms and rain. The weather in the UK isn’t great for pre planning outdoor events.

I bought pork and planned to cook it in the oven. The day arrived and the weather was absolutely stunning. The storms were due to arrive in the afternoon so I stuck to my plan and cooked it in the oven. I had bought pork loin, ribs and pork belly, a bit of a pork feast.

 

I started by drying the skin of the pork belly, I cooked it like the Cantonese Pork Belly, it is an amazing recipe and it makes the best pork crackling.

I brushed the skin with Shaoxing Rice wine and placed it uncovered in the fridge for a few hours. Normally I would have left it over night but I didn’t have the time. The key to make the crackling taste good is a generous dusting of cayenne pepper, don’t worry it won’t get too hot when cooked. Add the cayenne pepper before adding the rock salt.

 

 

Add the rock salt on top before placing the pork belly in the oven.

 

 

This recipe is amazing, the meat is tender and the crackling delicious.

 

 

I did a quick cure of salt and sugar for the ribs, just for a few hours to infuse flavour. For the rest I used this recipe.

 

 

I cooked the pork loin first. I cooked Aleppo pepper crusted pork before, you can find the recipe here but I changed the cooking method in this recipe. I got introduced to Aleppo pepper by the SpiceKitchen UK and it is simply delicious.

 

Aleppo pepper crusted loin of pork

preparation time 5 minutes

cooking time 1 hr 30 minutes + 30 minutes resting

oven 70C or 158F

serves 3

Ingredients

• pork loin, 600 gr or 21.16oz
• salt & pepper
• Aleppo pepper, about 1/2 dl or 1/4 cup

Garnish

• Honeydew melon
• Coriander, chopped
• Coriander oil

Salt and pepper the pork and wrap it tight in clingfilm. The butcher had cut four pieces of pork loin in to the shape of pork tenderloin.

Place it on an oven tray and cook it for an hour and a half.

Once cooked leave it to rest in the clingfilm for a minimum of 30 minutes.

 

I cut a few slices of the pork to make sure it wasn’t dry but it was perfect.

 

 

When the pork is rested place it in the fridge until you are ready to prepare it. It needs about 40 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Before serving remove the clingfilm from the pork loin and place Aleppo pepper on a plate. Roll the pork in the Aleppo pepper, press it on generously to make sure you get an even cover before slicing it.

Plate the sliced pork and add thinly sliced honeydew melon, chopped coriander and coriander oil.

 

 

I love tomatoes and even more so in the summer when they taste so much more. This is a double tomato salad as I wanted it to taste more.

 

Double tomato salad

preparation time 10 minutes + 2-8 hours 

cooking time 0 minutes 

serves 5

Ingredients

• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• 5 tomatoes skinned and quartered
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• a pinch of sea salt
• Olive oil
• Nasturtium leaves
• Chive flowers
• Dill

Mix the chopped tomatoes and onion with the crushed garlic and a pinch of sea salt. Place them in muslin cloth and let them hang so that as much as possible of the “tomato water” as possible drips out. Leave it over night if possible.

Remove the water, you can use it for something else. Place the tomato mixture in a blender and blend until smooth.

Plate the tomato mixture on a serving plate and add the quatered tomatoes, olive oil, the nasturtium leaves, the dill and the chive flowers before serving.

 

 

I cut up the pork belly.

 

The pork ribs

 

I served the pork with a lemon and garlic labneh and a bulgur wheat and pomegranate salad. There was so much pork I wanted something light and stayed away from pasta or potatoes but I did some wild garlic za’atar crutons to go with the salad.

 

The evening was still warm so dinner was served up outside. It was the first evening we could spend outside. I love all seasons but this was a perfect summers evening and there is something about eating outside.

 

I am bringing this the lovely Angie’s Fiesta Friday, the most fun and delicious foodie party around! Come on over and mingle, get inspired, get hungry and meet some of the nicest people around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed under Allotment/Veg, Bulgur Wheat, Garlic, Grain, Herbs, Lettuce, Main course, Meat, Onion, Pork, Recipe, Side dish, Starter, Tomatoes · Tagged with Aleppo pepper, Aleppo pepper crusted pork, Double tomato salad, Glazed ribs, Labneh, Pork Belly, Pork belly with crackling, pork crackling, Pork Ribs, ribs, tomato salad, Trio of pork