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BBQ Pulled Pork with Fennel and Apple Slaw

January 30, 2013 in Lazy Weekend Food, One Pot Meals

This is a version of one of the recipes in my next book, and it could very well be one of my favourites. Ever. The slow-cooked pulled pork in it’s spicy BBQ style sauce, served with a very simple bread roll and crunchy mustard-dressed slaw on the side is a near-perfect combination for me. It’s lazy weekend food at it’s very best. The kind that requires nothing more than simple admiring as it cooks while you sit back with a glass of wine. Also, any leftovers make a very handsome pairing with pasta of any kind – and how can that ever be a bad thing?

BBQ Pulled Pork
with Radish, Apple and Fennel Slaw


Serves 4 | Preparation time 5-10 minutes | Cooking time 4 hours
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
550g pork belly or shoulder
1 tin chopped peeled tomatoes
1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp aniseed
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic
1 level tsp dried chill flakes)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 cup chicken stock
A pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the radish, apple and fennel slaw
1 radish, finely sliced
2 small fennel bulbs, trimmed about 1cm up the stem and thinly sliced
Half an apple, grated or finely chopped in your food processor
1 tsp whole grain mustard
1 tsp honey
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp parsley and 1 Tbsp mint roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

WHAT TO DO
1. Pre-heat your oven to 200C. Lay the pork in an ovenproof dish that has a lid. Add in the tomatoes, onion and rosemary. Combine the remaining ingredients and HALF the stock in a mixing jug and then pour over the pork.

2. Cook for 30 minutes at 200C, then turn the oven down to 140C, add in the remaining stock and cook for a further 2.5 hours with the lid on, followed by another 30 minutes with the lid off, or until the sauce has thickened and the meat can literally be ‘pulled’ apart with two forks. Check the liquid at 30 minute intervals, to make sure that the meat is not drying out. If you need to add more liquid, add in about another 100ml stock or water.

3. Remove the pork from the oven, leave to rest for 20 minutes, remove the crackling and set aside to grill until crispy and eat or discard (eat!), and then ‘shred’ the meat using two forks and mix it in with the sauce.

4. To make the slaw, combine all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl and toss gently to combine.

5. Serve the pork piled into fresh bread rolls or folded into wraps, with the slaw on the side.

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Roasted Red Onion & Gorgonzola Galette

October 18, 2012 in Baked & Beautiful, Lazy Weekend Food, Speedy Suppers, Vegetarian

A galette, by any other name, is really just a free-form tart. So what that means, is no need for absolutely perfectly rolled pastry, or perfectly lined tart tins or blind baking. Indeed, what that means is that you lay the pastry down, spoon the ingredients onto it, roughly wrap up the sides and bake. The complication ends with the word ‘galette’ and the fun follows straight on from there. So, when life hands you lemons, when you want to say ‘you call yourself a weekend? pah!’, when you’ve having one of those days, then make this. And even when you’re, not, even if  you’re perfectly content and your disposition is just fine and dandy thankyouverymuch, then, too, make this. It’s just begs to be made, and shared. Because if you don’t have people to share it with, you will be at risk of eating the whole thing yourself. And how do I know this, you ask? Let’s just move along swiftly. Read the rest of this entry →

Toad in the Hole with Red Onion, Apple and Rosemary

September 12, 2012 in Lazy Weekend Food, One Pot Meals

I have delved deep to try and find the source of the wild and wonderful name for what is really just a simple sausage dish with fluffy yorkshire pudding batter poured over it. And have come up pretty much empty handed. Well, perhaps not so much empty handed as flummoxed by the maze of explanations that are out there. Whatever the reason for the bizarre name, I can think of no good reason why you shouldn’t make this very soon. Read the rest of this entry →

Mini Pitas with Red Pepper Hummus and Chorizo-Avocado Salsa

August 14, 2012 in Lazy Weekend Food, Speedy Suppers


This is, in fact, hardly a recipe at all, but rather an ‘assemblage’ of sorts. A top notch Tapas assemblage mind you, but an assemblage none the less. But oh boy it’s got guts. The Red Pepper Hummus is the real hero of the dish, and is oh-so-nicely backed up by the punchy Chorizo and Avocado salsa. This is real feasting food, for feeding people you love. Read the rest of this entry →

Smoked Snoek Terrine with Rustic Parmesan Bread Rolls

August 6, 2012 in Fish and Seafood, Lazy Weekend Food

There is always something profoundly satisfying about eating home made bread rolls. Which is fascinating really, because they’re so crazy-easy that it makes no sense that we should be so smug each time we tuck into a fresh-from-the-oven doughy delight. But, we do. And I for one don’t see the novelty wearing off anytime soon. And when said fresh-from-the-oven doughy delight is paired with this beautifully light but rich Smoked Snoek Terrine, the result is kind of amazing. I am pretty sure you’ll have no trouble scoffing the spoils of your kitchen labours if you give this a whirl. Read the rest of this entry →

Pasta Shells with Roasted Beetroot, Goats Cheese & Fennel

July 16, 2012 in Lazy Weekend Food, Pasta and Risotto, Speedy Suppers, Vegetarian


This dish is just beautifully simple and the earthiness of the beetroot lends a whole new dimension to the end result.
Also, with it being meat-free Monday and all, that means that I can once again point a surreptitious finger in the general direction of my soap box, and my MFMonday ramblings… Read the rest of this entry →

Pan-seared Salmon with Beetroot Fritters & Horseradish Sauce

July 6, 2012 in Fish and Seafood, Lazy Weekend Food, Speedy Suppers


This has kept me awake for 3 nights in a row now. The recipe gremlins have been relentless, insisting that I HAD to make something that involved salmon, and beetroot, and horseradish. And I am rather glad I did. Read the rest of this entry →

Pork Pies with Cider & Apples

June 8, 2012 in Lazy Weekend Food, One Pot Meals, Speedy Suppers

There is something profoundly satisfying in producing home-made pies. Humble, hearty, heartwarming, and a whole slew of other charming adjectives come to mind. Especially in this case, when the end result belies the amount of effort that went into making them. I thought these golden little poppets looked oh-so-pretty, and yet they were assembled in a jiffy and yielded a smug 8/10 from Rob in the taste-test. Read the rest of this entry →

Mushroom and Truffle Oil Risotto

May 21, 2012 in Lazy Weekend Food, One Pot Meals, Pasta and Risotto, Vegetarian

For no particular reason the well-loved Italian fungo  has been featuring on our home menu quite a lot lately. Actually, for no particular reason is probably rather inadequate. There are many reasons, starting with if you make mushrooms the hero of your dish it means big bang for your buck because they were made to ooze flavor, and are best friends with good old staples such as pasta, risotto and ciabatta. And also, Italian food is made for feeding people you love, and that’s just what we needed when we had a merry rabble of in-laws and friends round for dinner the other night. Read the rest of this entry →

Roasted Tomato and Thyme Soup

May 14, 2012 in Lazy Weekend Food, One Pot Meals, Soups, Vegetarian

When a meal is as exquisite in its simplicity as this, I see no need for convoluted introductions. It’s glorious roast tomato soup at it’s proudest, and I wish you bon appetit.   Read the rest of this entry →

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