TRADITIONAL OLD SPOT FAGGOTS

Most glorious gorgeous old fashioned faggot's these are even more special to me as I have made these with the bounty of our first organic home reared outdoor living Gloucester Old Spot pigs.  I am so proud of our nose to tail eating, however I will admit that even tho these taste absolutely divine and my taste buds love them my mind and stomach are a hint disunited if I think about whats in them too much!

Prep Time 20 minutes / Cooking time 20 minutes / Equipment Mincer

Ingredients
(makes 16)

550g caul fat
500g fresh pigs liver
1 pigs heart
500g belly pork
500g pork shoulder
1 onion finely chopped
6 juniper berries crushed
3 cloves garlic grated
125ml brandy
1 tsp thyme finely chopped
1 tbsp parsley finely chopped
good grating of nutmeg
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 1/2 tsp sea salt

Trim out any ventricles from the liver and the heart, roughly dice the belly pork and shoulder, place all the meats through the mincer along with the onion, garlic and juniper berries, pass back through the mincer a second time.  Mix in by hand the brandy, thyme, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper, mix evenly, you can add some breadcrumbs around 100g at this point if you feel you mix is to wet, I prefer not to.

Take your caul fat and soak in warm water for five minutes, open out the caul on to your work surface and cut in to 6" squares, place a tennis ball size of your faggot mix in to the centre of the caul and wrap up the faggot in the caul creating a lovely parcel, repeat until you have made all the faggot's.

Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, then heat a non stick pan with a lid to a medium heat, add a drop of coconut oil and seal each faggot on all sides, then turn down the heat and add a splash of water and pop on the lid, cook for around 15 minutes until springy to the touch.  Serve with creamy buttery mashed potatoes and onion gravy.

BEST EVER TRADITIONAL GOA VINDALOO CURRY

I love that we are able to cook and experience authentic recipes and ingredients from the other side of the globe and that these cooks and chefs share their recipes, history, methods and ingredients that  produce a beautiful almost authentic as much as you can in our country curry that is a Winner Dinner and another family keeper, however I may not necessarily want to serve this to a seriously seasoned expert but I feel it would meet with a hint of approval of being on the right track with the spices, seasonings and cooking method.  

Marinating Time 12hrs / Prep Time 20 minutes / Cooking Time 3hrs

Ingredients

(serves 4)

The Curry

500g chuck steak beef or chicken

3 tbsp ghee

1 onion finely chopped

3 ripe tomatoes

3 hot chillies

water

For The Marinade

1 onion finely chopped

1 heaped tbsp ginger

10 cloves garlic 

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground ground cumin seeds

3" stick cinnamon

12 cardamoms pods seeds only

2 tbsp tamarind pulp

11/2 tsp sea salt

1 pinch soft brown sugar

2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

To Make The Marinade

First job is to get the marinade made and marinating the meat over night in the fridge, in a coffee or spice grinder grind the cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, cumin seeds and cardamom seeds to a fine powder, in a food processor blitz the onion, garlic, ginger, tamarind, salt, sugar, chilli powder, turmeric and vinegar to paste, add the ground spices and blitz to incorporate, pour out and rub all over the meat, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge over night.

  To Cook The Curry

Heat the ghee and gently pan fry the onion until golden, approx 10 minutes, crank up the heat and add the meat and all the marinade paste, sear until all the meat has some caramelising, add the tomatoes, chilli and approx 100ml water, stir in well and lower the heat to a low medium, pop on a lid and leave to gently cook for around 2 hours, check often and add more water if needed, when the meat is fall apart tender and the sauce is thick.

Serve with fluffy rice, fresh onion salad, fresh sliced chillies, side dishes and chapatis.

HEAD CHEESE BRAWN

NOSE TO TAIL EATING

It is our promise to our pigs that we will respect what that have given us and use 100% of that pig, and we do, I don't find it comfortable looking at one of our own pigs head in the pot that I have loved, pampered kissed and cuddled while raising them, but I remind myself that I have given our pigs the very very best longer and happier lives, who have lived out in the fields rooted, tootled and grazed under the acorn, apple and pear trees, this in turn helps me to become a bit more comfortable with these emotions and as time goes on I will hopefully get more comfortable, as I am honestly just as excited when I go and pick a pig up from the breeder or the butchers!

 Brawn or head cheese from its French name fromage de tete is not only a glorious tasty terrine but a wonderful way of using part of the pig that otherwise may not be used, a great dish that will feed a few for pennies, full of gorgeous cheek meat and then the squeamish stuff for me, brain in the jelly stock, ear, trotter meat and fat along with some seasoning and herbs.

Prep Time 10 minutes / Cooking Time 4-6 hrs 

Ingredients

(serves 6-8)

1 pigs head with tongue halved

4 pigs trotters

1 pigs tail

2 onions quartered

4 sticks celery

2 carrots roughly chopped

1 bulb garlic halved

2 bay leaves

Small bunch of thyme

Small bunch of parsley stalks too

3 fennel stalks

20 peppercorns

5 cloves

10 coriander seeds

100g back fat finely diced

Juice of one lemon

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Take a large deep pan or two and place your pigs head, ears and trotters in the pan along with all the rest of the ingredients except the last four, cover with water and bring to a gentle just simmer, pop on a lid and leave to tick away for 4-6 hours, your brawn is ready when you can pull a bone away without any resistance, take of the heat and leave to cool for one hour.

After the hour remove the head, ears, tail and trotters and reserve to,one side, bring the stock liquid up to a rolling boil and reduce by half.  This gorgeous stock will be full of flavour and once cooled very gelatinous, any left over stock can be frozen once cooled but not set and is great for adding to pork pies, gravy's, stews or soups.

Meanwhile remove all the meat from the head and trotters and place in a bowl season with the salt and pepper then depending on how much meat you have start with one teaspoon of lemon juice and add more to your taste.

In a terrine, loaf tin, or a bowl layer some of the meat, then pour over some of the stock, repeat the layering until you have used all the meat and finish off with a top layer of jelly.  Place in the fridge to set, this will take around five or six hours.

Serve this light fragrant terrine with a chunk of fresh sour dough bread, butter and enjoy the glorious melting flavours in the jelly and meat.