week 44 - River Cottage Everyday - Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall

I remember borrowing a copy of River Cottage Everyday from the library over a decade ago, when when it first came out, and excitedly poring over the lunch ideas, such as the mackerel with puy lentils, leftover lamb with lemon and mint, or the green bean and chicken salad with almonds. And then picking up a Boots meal deal (chicken and stuffing on malted bread, Innocent juice - one without kiwi - and a packet of salt and vinegar squares) on the way to work. 

Being stuck at home a lot this year, and rapidly running out of inspiration for easy dinners and wfh lunches, I decided to order a second-hand copy (again, ignoring my own advice to use the books I already have, now piling up in heaps on the floor, as they won't fit on the shelves) 

Predictably, I haven't made any of the recipes that I have bookmarked but I have made the one recipe that takes the longest; the overnight bacon chops (to be fair, it is hands off for 23 and a half hours of the prep time). I actually used a couple of king ribs for this, and you can even cure a piece of belly in the same way. It won't have the pink colour of commercial bacon (due to lack of nitrites) and you can't get rashers without a meat slicer, but you can cut into chunks and use in all the things you'd normally put bacon in (pretty much everything).

Unusually, this #cookbookchallenge actually started with the sides first; in this case because I found a solitary turk's turban squash growing in the front garden on return from our holiday - between all the green tomatoes and the unfertilised tomatillo plant. After spotting it growing from from the rapidly withering vine that trailed across the lawn, I was determined to give it a fitting send off.

As it wasn't a prize-winning size, and I wasn't quite sure how the flesh would taste, I also bought a medium crown prince squash (for a quid in Morrison's as part of their Halloween display. A bargain when I had bough one for nearly four times as much from Waitrose earlier in the year for my Thai pork rib and pumpkin curry).

The result was Hugh's 'mushy squash'. So called as he recommends it as a autumnal replacement for the traditional peas, to accompany fried fish among many other things. The mix of squash worked very well, making a sweet and nutty mash flavoured with a little nutmeg and sage and plenty of butter. It was especially good against the saltiness of the cured pork rib.

Mushy Squash

Adapted from River Cottage Everyday

1 tablespoon rapeseed or olive oil

About 600g butternut or Crown Prince squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into small cubes

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

3–4 sage leaves, finely chopped

50g unsalted butter

Heat the oil in a pan, add the squash and fry gently for a few minutes. Add the garlic and sage, season with salt and pepper and cook until the garlic just begins to colour. Immediately add 2–3 tablespoons of water to stop the garlic browning any more. 

Cover the pan with a lid and let the squash finish cooking; it should be tender within about 10/15 minutes; add a little more water if the pan becomes dry.

Blend the squash along with the the butter, until you have a thick puree. Add a dash of milk or water if needed. Season to taste.

Overnight-cured bacon chops

Adapted from River Cottage Everyday

4 large free-range pork chops or 2 king ribs

2 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil

50g fine sea salt

25g caster sugar or soft brown sugar

3 bay leaves, finely shredded

12 juniper berries, crushed

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

 

Combine all the ingredients for the cure and put them into a plastic container or ceramic dish (a metal one is liable to react with the cure). Add the pork chops and rub the cure lightly all over the meat with your fingers.

 Cover the container and leave in a cool place (a cool larder or fridge) overnight or for at least 12 hours, or 24 hours for extra-large or thick-cut pork chops, but no longer....

Turn the chops once or twice, if you remember. Then rinse them well and pat dry.

Your pork is now cured, your chops are now bacon. 

Use immediately or keep in a sealed container in the fridge for five to six days, and the flavour will improve. They also freeze well.

To cook the chops, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat and brown them on both sides then place on a baking sheet in an oven, preheated at 180c, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Rest for five minutes before serving with squash squash, or mash and greens.

Week 2 - River Cottage - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

After finding some elusive new season scrag end of lamb (the old-fashioned cuts have the most romantic names) on the butcher’s counter in Waitrose I knew I had to make Ivan’s neck of lamb with lemon and thyme. A recipe that was originally published in the first River Cottage book, this was later adapted by Hugh F-W to include barley and kale, which is the version I have gone with here. Partly because I absolutely adore pearl barley with lamb and partly as the Ewing had just discovered a clump of kale that has escaped the interest of the rabbits on the allotment.

Growing up my mum’s lamb stew with barley, carrots, swede and suet dumplings was the one dinner the whole family always agreed on. There is something of Proust’s madeleines when I think back to days of getting home from school and eating a big bowlful while sitting around the fire watching Neighbours. Before fighting with my sister over who would get the last dumpling (me, of course).

I love lamb neck and lemons, and thyme, and barley and kale, I did worry slightly that it wouldn’t quite live up to my Mum’s lamb stew. But, worry not; while it was a simpler affair (the original recipe has just five ingredients) it was still a big, sticky hug in a bowl. The lemons brought a pleasing astringency to the fatty lamb, cooked long and slow until the meat divested itself from the bone. Proper, old-fashioned cooking that gets the maximum flavour from the fewest ingredients.

Lamb neck with lemon, barley and kale

serves 4

1kg scrag end or neck of lamb on the bone, cut into slices (I couldn’t find enough neck on the butcher’s counter, so I also added some lamb neck fillet, cut into big chunks)

1 tbsp of vegetable oil

Juice of 1½ lemons

4–8 sprigs of thyme

Water or lamb stock to cover

A big handful (200g-ish) of pearl barley or pearled spelt

A handful of, kale, shredded savoy cabbage or spring greens, roughly chopped, tough stems removed, per person

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based flameproof casserole, add the lamb and allow it to brown (you may have to do this in batches), turning until it is lightly browned all over. Tip out any excess oil, add the browned lamb, lemon juice, thyme and some salt and pepper, then enough water or stock to barely cover the ingredients.

Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and put in an oven preheated to 140°C. Cook for an hour and a half, then add the pearl barley or spelt, check the liquid, adding more if needed (the pearl barley / spelt will swell up as it cooks) and cook for a further hour or until it is nearly tender and the lamb is falling from the bone.

Remove the casserole from the oven. If you want to serve it straight away put the pan on the hob, skimming any extra fat from the top if there seems like a lot, and bring to a simmer. Add the greens and simmer for a couple of minutes, until they are just cooked through. You could also steam the greens separately, or any other veg of your choice, and serve alongside the stew.

If you want to make in advance, as I did, to allow the flavours to improve, then cool the stew once it is cooked and chill in the fridge overnight. The next day reheat thoroughly (removing any fat on top beforehand, if you wish) and cook the veg as above.