Pork Knuckles - Slow fast food

Pork knuckle, or Schweinshaxe as it's known in Germany, is the lower joint which connects the pig's leg to the foot. It's a really under-valuated piece of meat (unless you are Bavarian), but prepared just right it turns into something of a treat. As they say, the closer to the bone, the sweeter the meat. I've called it slow fast food, because the preparation is virtually none. Yet, it does requite quite a long roasting process. But hey, that's the oven doing the work for you. The result is succulent meat, falling off the bone. Here's what you need:

2 carrots

1 small onion

250ml beer

2 pork knuckles

Rub:

2 small cloves of garlic

3/4 tsp fennel seeds

3/4 tsp dried tarragon

A couple of fresh rosemary leaves

2 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil 

 Crush all the ingredients for the rub in a mortar until you have a fine paste

Cut the carrots in smaller pieces, slice the onion and place them at the base of a ovenproof dish. Rub the pork knuckles with the rub. Make sure you get it in everywhere. This can also be done overnight. Add extra salt according to taste. Place the dish in preheated 230ºC oven for 30 minutes. Then pour the beer in. Turn the temperature down to 150ºC and cook for a further 2 hours. Baste the pork knuckles with the cooking liquid at the base of the dish every now and again. After 2 hours, turn the temperature way up (250º) to brown the meat outside. That should take another 20-30 minutes. Just make sure it doesn't burn.

The final result. Some delicious, slow-roasted pork knuckles that will have you licking your fingers for more.

Tandoori Chicken w. Mango

It's been ages since I posted something last, I know. But good things come to those who wait. At least that's what they say. This dish is one of my favorite Asian dishes for various reasons. First of all, it's dead-simple to make. Secondly because it's so packed with flavour which balance each other perfectly.  It's sweet from the mangoes, bitter and sharp from the onion, spicy from the chicken and mild and citric from the lime-yogurt sauce. You can prepare it in advance and assemble it and bring it out at the last moment. It's sure to impress.

Ingredients:

Chicken Tandoori

1-2 chicken breasts (or equivalent in thigh meat)

Tandoori paste

or make it yourself:

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 small jar of Greek-style yogurt

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

Juice of 1/2 lime

Freshly ground pepper

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground fenugreek seed

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp Tumeric

Salad:

1 ripe mango

1 red onion 

A small handful of fresh cilantro

1-2 tsp Sambal Olek (or other chili paste)

Juice of 1 lime

Yogurt dressing:

1 small jar of Greek yogurt

Juice of 1/2 or 1 lime (to taste)

Salt to taste

Papdums

Start by cutting the chicken meat in bite sizes and marinate them with the tandoori paste and a bit of yogurt for 4 to 12 hours.

 Peel the mango and cut it in to small cubes of about 2 cm. Slice the onion and finely chop the coriander leaves. Add the chili and squeeze the lime fruit over it.

 When ready to eat, fry the marinated chicken over high heat. If you have a grill, even better. Just put the meat on a skewer. Grill marks only add to the flavour.

 Fry the papadoms according to the instructions. I usually fried then in a centimetre of neutral oil until the swell up. If it starts to bend weirdly, just press the sides down the a fork. Turn once and place on a rack to drip off.

 Mix the yogurt with the lime and taste for salt. Serve the tandoori chicken on top of the salad on top of the papadum. Splash a few dollops of the yogurt on top and enjoy.

Christmas Frikadeller

This is just a quick recipe for Frikadeller which are Danish pork meatballs. I've given them a slight Christmas twist by adding a tiny bit of cloves. I've seen people calling out for the best frikadelle recipe but as these little buggers are so heavily steeped in tradition and "how-my-mum-used-to-make-them", I'm not even gonna try claiming that. These are just simply good frikadelles, but with the best sauce in the world (oh no, I see trouble brewing)...

Ingredients:

500g Pork mince

1/2 Onion, very finely chopped or shredded

1.5 dl Cream (Or milk if you're on a diet)

1 egg

3-4 tbsp of breadcrumbs

Pinch of powdered cloves

Pinch of cayenne

Salt and pepper (Go on, don't be shy)

Butter for frying

Sauce:

1 cup of beef stock

Something sweet and fruity like a jam. I used a raspberry balsamic vinaigrette I had. About a teaspoon

1 dl of cream

 Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Stir it well (use your hands if you like) until it starts sticking together like one big ball. Add a little more breadcrumbs if it's too loose. You'll have to be able to form small balls. On the other hand, don't add too much breadcrumbs as they might get dry.

 The easiest way to shape the balls is to use wet hands. If you don't like getting your hands dirty, you can use two spoons. Melt the butter over medium heat and wait for it to finish bubbling. Fry the meatballs on both sides until done. How long is that? Well, depends on how big you're making the balls and hot hot your frying pan is. I Start turning them over when I can see the mince turning greyish a bit over half way up.  

 Remove the meat balls and set aside somewhere warm. Add the beef stock to the pan to deglaze it. This basically means using all the meat bits and flavours from the frying to make this wonderful sauce. Let it reduce and thicken. Add the jam or whatever fruity stuff you're using.

Add the cream and turn off heat. The residual heat will be enough to cook the sauce through.

Serve and enjoy your holidays.