Week 8 - Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is something I have always wanted to cook, something about roasted pumpkin, pastry and spices just got my mouth watering. This turned out really well and would have been the perfect dish for a family gathering.

I thought I had a photo after I topped it with the pumpkin seeds but technology seems to have failed me.  Will update when I make the seeds again as they will make the best snack!

Roasted with deliciousness 

Fresh out of the oven

Book: http://www.jamieoliver.com

Recipe: Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients: 

Serves 8

500g ready-made dessert pastry
1 large butternut squash, quartered and seeds removed
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons maple syrup
6 tablespoons caster sugar
3 large free range eggs, beaten
200ml double cream

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Roll the pastry to the thickness of a pound coin. Get a 22cm loose-bottomed tart tin, line with the pastry and bake blind for 20 minutes. Set aside.

Lay the squash in a baking tray. Sprinkle with the nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon and drizzle with the maple syrup. Cover the tray tightly with a double layer of tinfoil and bake for 45 minutes until soft. Reduce the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.

Allow the pieces of squash to cool, then scoop out the flesh. You should have about 600g of cooked squash flesh. Don't forget to scrape out the bits in the tray and the maple syrup. Put in a food processor and whiz until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the eggs. Mix well and stir in the cream.

Fill the cooled tart case with the mix and bake for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, wash the stringy bits of squash off the seeds, dry them and lay them flat on a tray. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar and place in the oven with the pie for the last 10 minutes until crispy.

Remove the tart from the oven. Sprinkle with the seeds when cool. Serve with cream or ice cream, if you're feeling naughty.

Changes Made: I only had filo pastry and did not have the motivation to make some pastry. 

Results: This was really good! The process of roasting with the syrup and spices made for some amazing flavours. I loved the idea of almost crystallising the pumpkin seeds and I loved snacking on the leftovers. The fill was OK, but it needed the texture difference and sweetness that short crust pastry would have bought. Looking forward to pulling this one out on Christmas. 

Next Time: Definitely some short crust pastry, I know it's not that hard to make!!

Week 3 - 6 Hour Shoulder of Pork with Red Cabbage

Double Jamie recipe this week, including the one that inspired it all; 6 hour shoulder of pork. This was a dish that I cooked Christmas day and while being a great success taste wise it was also very easy to cook.. score! Pretty much just salting the pork, crackling up the skin, then let it roast all day with the end product being more like pulled pork than a roast. 

The one major hick up while cooking that was after turning the oven down after crackling the skin.. it turned itself off! I noticed an hour lately and it only meant that it took even longer to cook and we did not get to eat it until the next day. Be organised.. you have been warned (and do not sit around and book holidays to Thailand when you are supposed to put meat in the oven).

Adding the balsamic

After an hour of cooking

My huge shoulder just coming out of the oven

Meat just falling apart

The finished product!

Book: Pork is from http://www.jamieoliver.com.au and the Cabbage from Cook with Jamie.

Recipe: 6 Hour Shoulder of Pork with Red Cabbage braised with apple, bacon and balsamic vinegar

Ingredients: 

Pork - Serves 4 - 6

2kg bone-in shoulder of pork, skin on
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cabbage - serves 4

olive oil
250g bacon, finely sliced
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, bashed
1 onoin, peeled and sliced
2 good eating apples, peeled and chopped into 2.5cm pieces
1 red cabbage, outer leaves and core removed, chopped into irregular chunks
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
150ml balsamic vinegar
a knob of butter
a handful of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Method: 

Pork

Preheat oven to 220°C. Place pork on a clean work surface, skin side up. Get a small sharp knife and make scores about a centimetre apart through the skin into the fat, but not so deep you cut into the meat.  Rub salt into the scores.

Brush any excess salt off the surface then turn over and season the underside. Place your port skin side up in a roasting tray and pop into the oven. Roast for about 30minutes or until the skin is bubbling and crackling. At this point turn the oven down to 170°C , cover with a double layer of foil and pop back in and roast for another 4 and a half hours.

Take out of the oven, take foil off and baste meat with the fat in the bottom of the tray, if you want this is a good time to add root vegetables. Just take the pork out and add the vegetables and place the pork back on top. Continue roasting for another hour.

Carefully move the pork to a serving tray, cover and let it rest. Feel free to now use the pan juices to make a nice gravy, just add water or stock and stir on the stovetop. 

Cabbage

Pour a good glug of olive oil into a saucepan, get it hot and add the bacon and fennel seeds. Cook until golden then add the onion and continue to cook, with the lid on, for a few more minutes until golden and sticky. Add the apple, followed by the cabbage chunks, salt and pepper and the vinegar, and stir everything together well. Put the lid on and continue to cook on a low heat for an hour, checking and stirring every so often. Pop the butter on the top, sprinkle over the parsley and your done!

Changes Made: When preparing my ingredients I realised the herb that I thought was fennel was in fact cumin seeds, which is also good with pork and actually worked out quite well with the cabbage. Unfortunately one apple bought turned bad, not the greatest time for them! 2 would have been better. No parsley as I forgot, but for me, it is often an afterthought anyway.

Results: Once again this pork was amazing, even though both times I have cooked it something went wrong the end result was great. And the cabbage.. oh my goodness, this dish was so simple and I think will become a regular side dish to many things. It was sticky and sweet but not too overpowering as to eat with a roast.

Next Time: The cabbage could have been cut smaller in order to reduce a little more. Once again.. be prepared! Don't let your oven turn off and do not book holidays when it's cooking time.