Crispy Pork Belly Roast

Ingredients 

• 1kg fresh pork belly
• sea salt & black pepper
• 4 - 6 potatoes, peeled, halved or quartered depending on size
• 2 - 4 carrots, peeled, halved lengthways and cut into large chunks
• 1 head of garlic, skin on, broken into cloves (optional)
• 500ml stock     

Method

1. Preheat oven to at least 220°C.
2. Place your pork on a clean board, skin-side upwards. With a sharp knife
   make scores about a centimetre apart through the skin into the fat, but not into the meat.
3. Rub salt right into all the scores you’ve just made, turn it over and season the underside of the meat with a little more salt and black pepper.
4. Place your pork skin side-up, in a roasting tray big enough to hold the meat and the vegetables (later), and place in the hot oven.
5. Roast for 30 - 40 mins until the skin has started to blister and you can see
   it turning into crackling.
6. Turn the heat down to 180°C and roast for another 45 mins.
7. Remove  from the oven and baste with the fat in the bottom of the tray then lift the pork out and transfer to a chopping board.
8. Add the potatoes, carrots & garlic to the tray.  Place the pork on top of the vegetables and return the tray back in the oven. Roast for another hour.
9. Now the meat should be soft and tender. Remove the pork to a board, cover with tin foil tent and leave to rest while you make the gravy.
10. I like to add about 8 -10 ice cubes to the tray to remove any excess fat, as the fat sticks to the ice cubes, just gently remove, then add the stock and place the tray on the hotplate, bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to scrape up all the bits on the bottom of the tray. When you’ve got a rich gravy, pour it through a sieve into a gravy boat.
11. Place all the vegetables and meat on a platter and serve.





Pork 1/3rd cooked and the veg added

Pork rested and sliced

Ready for the table

Chilli Crab

Ingredients

• 2 -3 Blue Swimmers/Mud Crab cleaned and cut into pieces
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 - 4  Red chillies sliced
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 420g can chopped tomatoes
• 50 - 100mls water
• Crusty bread

Method

1. Heat the oil in a wok, add the garlic and chilli and stir fry for a couple of minutes,
2. Add the sugar, salt, tomatoes and oyster sauce, plus a little water and bring to the boil,
3. Add the crab, cover the wok and cook for 5 minutes or until the crab is hot and cooked through.
4. Serve with Crusty bread..

Serve with plenty of paper towel and a bowl of warm water and lemon for cleaning hands!!! 

Mussels

Tomato Chilli Mussels

Serves 4
Ingredients

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 lrge brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 x 450g can tomatoes, diced
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 1 Red Chilli, diced or 1tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2kg mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
• crusty bread, to serve 

Method

1. Heat oil in a large, deep pan, Add onion and garlic and cook gently over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add white wine and bring to the boil. Simmer for 3 minutes.
2. Add tomato, tomato paste, chilli and sugar. Stir well and bring to the boil.
3. Add mussels to pan. Cover with a lid and cook for a few minutes over high heat, shaking pan occasionally. Removes lid and using a slotted spoon, remove mussels as soon as they open and place in a serving bowl.      Discard any mussels that do not open.
4. Remove pan from heat, add parsley and stir well. Pour sauce over mussels and serve immediately with crusty bread.

Creamy Garlic & White Wine Mussels

Servings: 2

 

Ingredients:

• 2kg mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 1/2 cups of white wine
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 small onion
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup of cream

Method

1. Finely chopped onion, celery and garlic. Place into a large pot and gently sauté in butter.
2. Add the wine and bring to the boil. Drop in mussels, stir once and place on the lid. Steam until they open.        Discard any mussels that do not open.
3. Remove pot from heat, add cream and serve with crusty bread to soak up the juices!!

 

 

Pork Kofta's

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500g Pork mince
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/3 cup Chutney or a Tomato Relish
• 2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180*c
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl until well incorporated.
3. Divide mixture into about 8 - 10 depending on size required, roll into oval shaped balls and thread through (pre-soaked in water for 20mins) bamboo sticks.
4. Bake in the oven for 20mins until golden, turning once during cooking,
5. Serve with steamed rice, curried peas and poppadoms!

Autumn

Autumn is a great time of year, we still have the lovely warm days to enjoy outdoor activites and then slightly cool nights to start enjoying warm meals again and snuggling up!  The rains also start and the dry summer garden is replaced with greenery and life. 

Below you will find a list of the produce available in Perth during Autumn to help you decide what you and your family eat, don't forget all these foods will be at there best price and best taste right now!!

Fruits

Apples (Fuji, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Hi Early,)	Autumn
Bananas	All Year
Bananas	All Year
Custard Apples	Autumn
Figs	Autumn
Grapes	Autumn
Guavas	Autumn
Kiwifruit	Autumn
Kumquats	Autumn
Mandarins	Autumn
Melons (Rockmelon, watermelon)	Autumn
Nashi Pears	Autumn
Olives	Autumn
Passionfruit	Autumn
Pawpaw	All Year
Pears	Autumn
Quinces	Autumn

Vegetables

Artichoke (Jerusalem)	Autumn
Beans (Climbing)	Autumn
Beans (Dwarf)	Autumn
Beetroot	Autumn
Broccoli	All Year
Cabbage	All Year
Capsicum	Autumn
Carrots	All Year
Cauliflower	Autumn
Celery	All Year
Chillies	Autumn
Cucumber	Autumn
Eggplant	Autumn
Kale	Autumn
Kohl Rabi	Autumn
Lettuce	All Year
Onions	Autumn
Parsnips	All Year
Peas	All Year
Potato	All Year
Pumpkin	Autumn
Radish	All Year
Rhubarb	All Year
Silver Beets	All Year
Spring Onions	Autumn
Squash	Autumn
Swedes	Autumn
Sweet Corn	Autumn
Sweet Potatoes	Autumn
Tomatoes	Autumn
Turnips	All Year
Zucchini	Autumn

Herb/Vege Patch taking off!!

Capsicum turning red - almost ready!!

Creamy Mushroom Penne

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 500g button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons plain flour
• 2 cups low-fat milk
• White pepper (est. 1/2 teaspoon)
• 375g Penne pasta

 

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over moderate heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add the button mushrooms and sprinkle with salt to taste. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high, uncover and cook for 4 minutes.
3. Sprinkle with the flour, stirring until absorbed. Gradually add the milk and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in pepper to taste.
4. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water according to the packet directions, until firm-tender. Drain well and transfer to a large serving bowl.
5. Add the sauce to the hot pasta, tossing well to coat.
6. Serve with crusty bread or a side salad.