Författare: perbruno

PETIT SALES AU LENTILLES (taken from Rick Stein’s French Odyssey) Serves 3
Ingredients:

1kg Piece Belly Pork, preferably not rolled but if like mine it is, gently flatten it out, so it resembles a rack of ribs. Rind still on.
200g Sea Salt mixed with 1 gram of Salt Cure (other brands may require more or less per weight of meat so check the instructions carefully). Traditional French Rustic Dish aside, I was rather loath to use all my Maldon Salt and then throw it away, so I used 75g Sea Salt and made the rest up with regular granulated table salt.
6 Small Carrots, halved
15 Baby Onions, or as many as you like/have the strength of eyes to peel
3 Sticks Celery, peeled with a vegetable peeler and cut into 3cm chunks
300g Puy Lentils
Bouquet Garni comprising two bay leaves, some sprigs parsley, thyme and rosemary
15g Unsalted Butter
More Parsley, this time chopped

METHOD:
Four hours before you intend to cook the dish (so, about 6 hours before you intend to serve it), salt the pork. Place it in a non-metallic shallow baking dish. Pour over half the salt mix, rub well into the pork. Turn the meat over and massage in the remaining salt. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for four hours.
After the four hours, rinse the salt from the pork. Place in a deep saucepan (I used a sauté pan) or heatproof casserole dish (which looks nice when you carry it to the table) and cover with about 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil removing any scum that rises to the surface. This is just the protein and any remaining salt discharging itself from its porky dwelling.
Turn down to a simmer, cover and cook for about 30-45 minutes.
Now gently stir in the greenish/black, pebble-like tiny puy lentils. Add the Bouquet Garni.
Leave to simmer for 15 minutes whilst you prepare the vegetables.
Now add the vegetables and cook until tender. Depending on the size of the carrots, this could be anything between 20 minutes to another 40.
Gently remove the pork and cut, lengthwise, into thick, generous slabs.
Add the butter and parsley to the lentils and vegetables and stir through. Pour into deep, wide bowls or onto plates, top with the pork pieces. Serve with some plainly cooked cabbage.
n.b. The original recipe called for smoked sausage to be added to the dish. I was unable to get hold of any in time but please feel free to add some, cut into chunks, with the vegetables.

Tamarind- and Lemon Grass-Braised Oxtail with Mint and Coriander SaladOxtail is the king of slow cooking, its thick bone producing loads of flavour and a gelatinous texture. It’s best soaked in cold water for an hour, then brought to the boil in a pan of fresh water, simmered for 10 minutes and skimmed of any impurities. It needs a minimum of 3 hours cooking, but it’s well worth it. This recipe is from Asia, where, unlike in the fastidious UK, people actually prefer meat that sits close to the bone. The herby salad is more than just a garnish: it offsets the sweet depth of the meat with a sour and fragrant taste.

Preparation time : 25 minutes, plus 1 hour soaking

Cooking time : 3 hours 15 minutes

Total time : 4 hours and 40 minutes, including soaking time

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Spice paste

½ red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp kaffir lime leaves, shredded
4 red chillies, roughly chopped and deseeded

Oxtail

2 tbsp groundnut oil

1kg oxtail, trimmed of fat, cut into lengths

2 lemon grass stems, halved

5 cm piece fresh ginger, sliced

1 x 100g jar tamarind

100ml sake

1 litre chicken stock

4 tbsp honey

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

6 tbsp fish sauce

Salad

15g coriander leaves

10g mint leaves

12 salad onions, sliced

1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced

2 tbsp fish sauce

Juice of 1 lime

Method

1. Place all the ingredients for the spice paste into a food processor and blend until smooth.

2. Prepare the oxtail by soaking and blanching it as detailed above, to remove any impurities. Heat the oil over a high flame in a casserole, dry the oxtail thoroughly and add it to the pot. Cook until golden on both sides – about 10 minutes – and add the spice paste. Give it a good stir to coat, then turn the heat to low to make sure the paste doesn’t burn. Cook for 1 minute, then add the lemon grass, ginger, tamarind, sake, stock, honey and fish sauce and bring to the boil. Tuck a circle of greaseproof paper over the meat inside the pan, cover with a lid and simmer over the lowest heat for 3 hours. The liquid should be gently bubbling, not boiling. After 2 hours of cooking, add the sweet potatoes and cook for a further hour with the oxtail.

3. Just before serving, mix the coriander and mint leaves with the onion, chilli, fish sauce and lime.

4. Remove the casserole from the oven, lift out the oxtail with a slotted spoon and put it on a plate, covered with greaseproof paper to keep warm. Skim off the fat, bring the juices to the boil and reduce for 10 minutes till thick. Season then serve with the juices and the herb salad.

via Tamarind- and Lemon Grass-Braised Oxtail with Mint and Coriander Salad recipe – Waitrose.com.