Recipes: Tomato, spinach & mascarpone gnocchi

Just five ingredients are needed to magic up this simple Italian supper. Crack open the Chianti and enjoy

Ingredients

• 500g pack ready-made gnocchi
• 350g jar tomato pasta sauce
• 100g spinach , washed
• 250g tub mascarpone
• 50g parmesan or Grana Padano cheese

  

  1. Cook the gnocchi according to packet instructions and drain. Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce in an ovenproof dish and add the spinach, stirring until wilted.
  2. Add the gnocchi, season and spoon blobs of mascarpone over. Scatter with shavings of parmesan or Grana Padano and grill until bubbling and golden.

  Recipe extra

  Cook some mushrooms and onions in a little oil before adding the tomato sauce and try other cheeses such as mozzarella or ricotta.

  568 kcalories, protein 12,9g, carbohydrate 52,9g, fat 35,2 g, saturated fat 20,8g, fibre 3,2g, salt 2,42 g

Continue Reading

Recipes: Crisp pork with warm bean salad

Serve restaurant-quality food at home with this dish inspired by what the chefs at London's Arbutus are doing

• 500g piece belly pork
• sea salt
• 300g green beans
• 2 tbsp flaked almonds , toasted
• ½ small red onion , sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• a squeeze of orange juice
• a grating of orange zest

  

  1. Score the skin of the belly pork, pat dry and rub with sea salt. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour at 220C/fan 200C/gas 7 until cooked through and the crackling is crisp. Meanwhile simmer the green beans until tender. Drain and mix with the toasted flaked almonds, sliced red onion, 2 tbsp olive oil, red wine vinegar, a squeeze of orange juice and a grating of orange zest.
  2. Serve the pork in slices alongside the warm, dressed beans.

Continue Reading

Recipes: Pot-roasted spiced honey soy pork

Gordon Ramsay’s sticky, glossy belly pork dish can be prepared well in advance.

• 1x1.6-1.7kg/3½-3¾lb p 1ml pork belly without rind and bones (about 2.7kg/6lb before boning and derinding)
• 5 tbsp olive oil , plus extra for frying
• 2 carrots , sliced
• 1 onion , sliced
• 4 celery sticks, sliced
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 150ml soy sauce
• 300ml red wine
• 500ml chicken stock

  

  1. Preheat the grill until hot. Meanwhile, trim off as much visible fat as possible from the top of the joint, and trim the underside too of any flaps of meat. Neaten the edges. Brush with 2 tablespoons of the oil, season and then place in a roasting tin. Brown under the grill for 10 minutes on each side. Preheat the oven to 170C/gas 3/fan 150C.
  2. Make the marinade. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan and sauté the carrots, onion and celery over a high heat for about 10 minutes until nicely caramelised. Stir in the five-spice powder and honey. Cook for another minute or so. Pour in the soy sauce and wine and boil until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Then add the stock and boil for 2-3 minutes more. Season with freshly ground black pepper.
  3. Pour the hot marinade over the meat in the roasting tin and cover the top with butter papers or wet greaseproof paper. Roast for 2½ -3 hours until the meat is very tender when pierced with a fork. Allow the meat to cool to room temperature in the marinade.
  4. Scrape the vegetables off the top of the meat, then put the meat on a tray and place a board on top. Weigh down with weights or large cans and chill overnight. Strain the marinade and chill it too - don't worry if it doesn't look very glamorous at the moment, it will look better.
  5. When ready to complete the dish, cut the pork across the grain into 'rashers' about 2cm wide. Cut each rasher crossways in half. Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan until nice and hot, then sauté the pork slices in batches for about 5 minutes on each side until caramelised, spooning over the reserved marinade so they cook to a glossy glaze. As each batch is cooked, cover the pork and keep it warm.
  6. At the end, any remaining marinade can be bubbled down slightly for a serving sauce (there will only be a little for drizzling). Pick a light fruity red, such as French grenache (garnacha in Spain), or a semillon from Australia or Chile to serve with this dish.

  536 kcalories, protein 39g, carbohydrate 3g, fat 38 g, saturated fat 13g, fibre 0g, sugar 2g, salt 3,95 g

Continue Reading

Recipes: Boston baked beans

This hearty, budget-friendly one-pot is perfect family fare

ents

• 500g pack dried haricot beans
• 2 onions , roughly chopped
• 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots , roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp light muscovado sugar
• ½ tbsp black treacle or molasses
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 800g piece pork belly
• handful parsley , roughly chopped

  

  1. Soak the beans in a large bowl of cold water for at least 4 hrs or overnight. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Drain and rinse the beans and put in a large flameproof casserole with 1.5 litres water. Boil for 10 mins, skimming off any scum that appears on the surface.
  2. Add the onion, celery, carrot, Dijon mustard, sugar, treacle or molasses and tomato purée. Stir until everything is well mixed, then bury the piece of pork in among the beans. Cover tightly and cook in the oven for 2-2½ hrs until the beans and pork are very tender. Check halfway through the cooking time and top up with hot water from the kettle if necessary.
  3. Take the pork out of the pot. Cut into large chunks and serve with the beans, sprinkled with parsley.

  Beans

  Dried beans are undoubtedly much cheaper, but you need to allow significant time for soaking. Canned beans can be rinsed, added to a dish and simply heated through before serving. If you want to swap dried or canned in any recipe, you will need to cook 100g dried beans instead of using a 400g can and vice versa.

  PER SERVING

  615 kcalories, protein 43g, carbohydrate 54g, fat 27 g, saturated fat 10g, fibre 16g, sugar 14g, salt 0,8 g

Continue Reading

Recipes: Crisp Chinese pork

Belly is the cheapest pork roasting joint and, as it’s rich, a little goes a long way, making it perfect for Sundays and dinner parties

• 1,3kg piece boned pork belly , skin on and scored, ask the butcher for the thin end
• 2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder

FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE

• 4 tbsp soy sauce (we used Kikkoman)
• small knob fresh root ginger , grated
• 1 tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce
• 1 spring onion , finely chopped

  

  1. Rub the pork with the five-spice and 2 tsp sea salt then leave, uncovered, in the fridge for at least 2 hrs, but preferably overnight. When ready to cook, heat oven to its maximum setting. Lay the pork on a rack over a roasting tin, making sure the skin is exposed. Roast for 10 mins before turning down the heat to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4, then leave to cook for a further 1½ hrs. Have a look at the pork - if the skin isn't crisp, turn up the heat to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7, then cook for another 30 mins until crisp. Leave to rest on a board for at least 10 mins.
  2. To make the dipping sauce, mix all the ingredients together with 2 tbsp water. Cut the pork into small pieces, then serve with the sauce, plus boiled rice and steamed greens, if you like.

  Pork belly

  When whole, the belly has a thick and a thin end, with the ribs attached to the thick end. A whole pork belly will weigh about 3kg but will feed about 8-10 people, so half a belly is perfect for four, with leftovers. Pork belly can either be tied into a joint and roasted, or roasted as a flat piece, as in my recipe, right. It is also delicious slow-cooked in liquid - this is best done skinned, but you won't get the wonderful crackling that comes from roasting.

  Barney says...

  I like to buy organic and farm-assured meat, but it's not the cheapest option. So, learn from all good butchers and choose the less popular cuts they take home for themselves. They taste delicious and you'll get so much more for your money

  Per serving

  696 kcalories, protein 59g, carbohydrate 3g, fat 50 g, saturated fat 19g, fibre 0g, sugar 2g, salt 5,83 g

Continue Reading

Recipes: Tuscan fennel-rubbed pork

Pork belly is a bargain cut, so you can afford to splash out on outdoor-reared, good quality meat for this Italian classic

ents

• 2½ kg pork belly , skin scored
• 4 cloves garlic , crushed
• 2 sprigs rosemary , leaves finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• olive oil
• 2 onions , thickly sliced
• 500ml white wine
• 2 tbsp flour
• 500ml chicken or vegetable stock

  

  1. Heat the oven to 220/fan 200C/gas 7. Make sure the pork skin is scored all over. If it needs a few more cuts then do them yourself with a craft knife or Stanley knife. Put the piece of pork in the sink skin-side up and pour over a kettleful of boiling water, this will make the skin contract and pull the cuts apart so you can get more flavour into them. Mix the garlic, rosemary and fennel seeds with a little olive oil and salt and rub this all over the pork skin.
  2. Lay the onion slices in a roasting tin and pour over the wine. Put the pork on top and cook for 30 minutes. Turn down the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3 and continue cooking for 3 hours. Lift the pork off the onion and let it rest under foil and a tea towel. Pour off most of the fat then stir in the flour and cook it for a couple of minutes. Add the stock and bubble everything together to make a gravy, strain into a jug.

  Per serving

  474 kcalories, protein 40,3g, carbohydrate 11,1g, fat 27,2 g, saturated fat 9,7g, fibre 0,8g, salt 11,3 g

Continue Reading

Recipes: Slow-cooked belly of Middle White pork with Puy lentils

A regular on the menu at chef Tom Kerridge’s gastropub, The Hand and Flowers in Buckinghamshire.

• 1½ kg belly of Middle White pork (boneless, but in one piece) , skin scored
• 100ml white wine vinegar
• table salt
• Maldon sea salt

BRAISED LENTILS

• 40g duck fat
• 3 shallots , finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove , crushed
• 300g Puy lentils
• 250ml white wine
• 1 tbsp herbes de Provence
• 100l hot chicken stock
• 50g butter , diced
• bunch chive , chopped

  

  1. Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Put the pork belly on a metal rack in a roasting tray. Pour the white wine vinegar over and rub it into the skin. Then rub in a handful of table salt. Sprinkle with Maldon salt and pat into the skin. Roast the pork for 2 hours. Rest for at least 20 minutes then brush off the salt crust.
  2. Melt the duck fat in a heavy pan. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until softened. Then add the lentils and stir well. Add the white wine and stir until it has almost been absorbed. Add the herbs and around 250ml chicken stock. Add the remainder of the chicken stock little by little until the lentils are cooked (this should take about 40 minutes). Take off the heat and stir in the butter and chives.
  3. Slice the pork and serve with the lentils. If you fancy some greenery, Savoy cabbage works with this.

  Per serving

  826 kcalories, protein 17,9g, carbohydrate 16,4g, fat 53,3 g, saturated fat 21,6g, fibre 4,6g, salt 0,95 g

Continue Reading

Recipes: Roast pork belly with colcannon

Melt-in-the-mouth pork belly served aside creamy colcannon - does comfort food get any better?

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp coarse grain mustard
• 6 cloves
• 1.5kg on the bone pork belly , skin scored
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• chicken stock fresh, cube or concentrate made up to 300ml

Colcannon

• 1kg floury potatoes
• 50g unsalted butter
• 500g spring cabbages , washed and finely sliced
• 6 spring onions , finely diced
• 4 tbsp double cream

  

  1. Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Mix the honey, mustard and cloves with 400ml warm water, adding a good pinch each of salt and pepper. Put the pork into a small roasting tray and pour the honey mixture all over, rubbing it into the skin. Break up the cinnamon sticks and scatter around the pork. Cover the tray with foil and roast for 21/2 hours. About 20 minutes before the end, remove the foil, pour any pan juices into a saucepan and raise the oven temperature to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7 to crisp up the skin (it won't crackle completely).
  2. Meanwhile, boil and mash the potatoes. To make the colcannon, melt the butter in a pan, add the cabbage and cook gently till soft. Mix in the spring onions and mashed potato, then beat in the cream. Heat through and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Take the pork out of the roasting tray and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving. Boil the pan juices and stock until reduced by 2/3. Season if it needs it. Carve the pork and serve with the gravy and colcannon.

  Per serving

  1340 kcalories, protein 76,8g, carbohydrate 56,9g, fat 91 g, saturated fat 38,2g, fibre 8,2g, salt 1,81 g

Continue Reading

Recipes: Slow-roast rolled pork belly

• 2 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 3 garlic cloves , finely chopped
• 1 large bunch of fresh thyme , leaves only
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 - 2kg 3lb 5oz - 4lb 8oz piece pork belly (skin on) cut from the slimmer half, skin scored
• 2 lemons

  

  1. Toast the spices in a dry frying pan for a couple of mins. Pound them together in a pestle and mortar with some flaked sea salt, the garlic and half the thyme to make a paste, then mix with 2 tbsp olive oil.
  2. Lay the pork on a board skin-side down. Rub the herb mix all over the flesh then scatter with the remaining whole thyme leaves. Neatly roll the meat into a joint surrounded by the skin then use butchers' string to tie the joint tightly at regular intervals to hold the joint together. Cover and chill, leaving to marinate for a few hours or overnight.
  3. When ready to cook, rub the skin of the joint with plenty of salt and 1 tbsp remaining olive oil. Put it on a wire rack and roast at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 for 30 mins. After this time, squeeze the lemons over the skin and turn the heat down to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roast for a further 2 hrs. Finally turn the heat back up to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and give it a final blast for another 30 mins or so, to finish the crisping of the skin. Allow to rest somewhere warm for 20 mins. Carve up into thick slices and serve with your favourite roast dinner accompaniments.

  PER SERVING

  585 kcalories, protein 45g, carbohydrate 2g, fat 44 g, saturated fat 16g, fibre 0g, salt 0,83 g

Continue Reading

Recipes: Slow-roasted pork belly & chicory

A relaxed roast to feed a crowd - the tender chicory and delicious juices mean you needn't cook separate veg and gravy

Ingredients

• 2kg pork belly piece, skin scored
• 4 tsp olive oil , plus extra for greasing
• 6 heads chicory , red or white or both
• 3 garlic cloves , halved
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 300ml cider
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

  

  1. Heat oven to its highest temperature. Lay the pork on a board, skin-side up. Rub the skin with a little oil, then season with crushed pepper and a sprinkling of coarse sea salt.
  2. Lay the pork in shallow roasting tin, skin-side up (the skin should be higher than the edge of the tin). Place the pork in the oven and cook for 30 mins, then turn the oven down to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4 and roast for 1 hr more until the skin has crackled.
  3. Meanwhile, halve the chicory lengthways. When the pork has had its time, remove from the oven and use a pair of tongs to lift it to a chopping board. Pour off excess fat. Lay the chicory in the tray, cut-side up. Scatter over the garlic, tuck the thyme around the chicory and pour over the cider. Drizzle with olive oil, blob on the mustard and sprinkle with sugar. Lay the pork on top and return to the oven for 2 hrs more.
  4. Lift the pork off the chicory and transfer it to a board. Cover and rest for 20 mins. Carve into thick slices and serve with the chicory and the delicious juices spooned over.

  751 kcalories, protein 60g, carbohydrate 10g, fat 52 g, saturated fat 20g, fibre 1g, sugar 7g, salt 0,74 g

Continue Reading

Recipes: Sticky belly pork

By braising the meat first, then crisping it up quickly on the barbecue to finish, the meat stays really tender

• 1,6kg pork belly
• 3 tbsp light muscovado sugar
• 3 tbsp treacle
• 3 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 onion , whizzed in a food processor
• 3 garlic cloves , crushed
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp crushed dried chillies
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice

  

  1. Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2, then sit the pork belly in a deep roasting dish. Mix the remaining ingredients with 1 tsp salt, then rub all over the pork. Cover, roast for 3 hrs, then uncover, slice the pork into 16 short, fat chops. Spoon over the sauce from the dish, then roast, uncovered, for another hour, turning the strips halfway. Cool, cover, then chill for up to 24 hours.
  2. About 15 mins before you are ready to barbecue, pop the pork into a low oven to melt the sauce making sure the strips are nicely coated in it. Barbecue, skin-side down first, to crisp up, then cook for just a few mins, turning, until heated through and the sauce is sticky.

  TIP

  Cuts like belly pork are great value, and cooking with them more often is a good way to support British farmers. Look out for the British Quality Standard mark on packs or, in Sainsbury's, the Freedom Food stamp.

  PER SERVING

  427 kcalories, protein 34g, carbohydrate 10g, fat 28 g, saturated fat 11g, fibre 0g, sugar 8g, salt 0,82 g

Continue Reading

Recipes: Roast pork belly with pommes boulangère

Gordon Ramsay's recipe is the perfect roast for entertaining foodie friends

• 2 pieces pork belly , about 16 x 12cm from the thin end (ask your butcher) , boned
• couple handfuls rock salt
• 4 garlic cloves , boiled for 5 minutes, drained and mashed
• 2 large handfuls sage leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 large handfuls parsley , roughly chopped
• 4 lemons , zested

FOR THE POMMES BOULANGERE

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 large onions , peeled and thinly sliced
• 24 thyme sprigs, leaves stripped
• 1,4kg potatoes , such as Maris Piper, Desirée, or King Edward
• 600ml-1 litre fresh chicken stock
• 100g butter , softened

  

• Score the skin of the pork at 5mm intervals with a very sharp knife or craft knife (you can also ask the butcher to do this) and lay it skin-side down on a tray scattered with a thin layer of rock salt. Cover and put in the fridge for 24 hours - salting draws excess water out of the skin, firms up the flesh and, in my opinion, is the best way to get a really good, crisp crackling.
• Jeat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. For the pommes boulangère, heat the oil in a medium pan and fry the onions and thyme with some seasoning for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes, preferably using a mandolin or slicing blade on a food processor. (If you don't own a processor with the right attachment, a mandolin is a very good investment.) Brush a wide ovenproof dish (or 2 smaller dishes) with a little oil and arrange a quarter of the sliced potatoes inside. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then scatter over a third of the onions. Repeat, layering the potatoes and onion, seasoning well in between, and finish with a top layer of potatoes.
• Bring the stock to the boil, then ladle it over the potatoes, letting it seep down until it reaches two-thirds up the sides of the potatoes and onions. Dot the top with some of the butter and bake for 45-50 minutes. If you are cooking more than 1 dish of potatoes, swap them around halfway through. Test whether they are done with the point of a sharp knife - it should slide through easily; keep cooking if you need to. Cover with foil and leave somewhere warm.
• Meanwhile, brush any excess salt off the pork skin, put both pieces of the pork belly skin-side down on a chopping board and season well with pepper. Spread each with the mashed garlic, then scatter with the herbs and lemon zest. Carefully roll each piece, making the roll as tight as possible. tie every 2cm with kitchen string. Put join-side down, well apart, in a shallow roasting tin. Turn the oven up to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. once it's hot, put the pork in and cook it for 30-40 minutes or until the crackling has crisped and frizzled, and the pork is just cooked through. swap the pieces over halfway through if one side seems to be cooking better than the other - ovens vary as to where their heat source is.
• Once cooked, leave to rest before carving each roll into 6 fat slices. To plate up, mark the dish of potatoes into 12 squares and give each person a portion and a slice of pork

PER SERVING

528 kcalories, protein 30,3g, carbohydrate 26,8g, fat 34 g, saturated fat 13,7g, fibre 2,7g, salt 1,22 g

Continue Reading

Recipes: Crisp cider-braised pork belly

Barney Desmazery's prepare-ahead recipe for the perfect pork belly will be a sure-fire hit at your next dinner party

• 1 large carrot , roughly chopped
• 1 onion , roughly chopped
• few celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , smashed
• sprig fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 500ml good-quality cider
• small splash cider vinegar , plus extra to season
• 1l fresh chicken stock
• 1,2kg piece unscored boneless pork belly
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• apple mash and Mustard

  

• Day 1: Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Place all the ingredients except the pork and sunflower oil in a flameproof pan that will fit the pork snugly - a casserole dish is ideal. Season, bring everything to the boil then turn down the heat and slide the pork into the pan. The pork should be totally submerged - if it isn't, top up with water. Cover the dish with a lid or tight tent of foil and place it in the oven for 3 hrs undisturbed.
• When the pork is cooked, leave it to cool slightly in the stock. Line a flat baking tray with cling film. Carefully lift the pork into the tray and make sure you get rid of any bits of vegetables or herbs as they will end up pressed into the pork. Cover the pork with another sheet of cling film and cover with a flat tray or dish - the tray must be completely flat as any indentations will be pressed into the pork. Weigh the pork down with another dish or some cans and leave to cool in the fridge overnight. Strain the juices into a jug or small saucepan, cover and chill.
• Day 2: Unwrap the pork and place on a board. Trim the uneven edges so that you have a neat sheet of meat. Cut the meat into 4 equal pieces and set aside until ready to cook. Lift off any bits of fat from the braising juices and tip what will now be jelly into a saucepan, then bubble down by about two-thirds until starting to become slightly syrupy. Add a few more drops of vinegar, to taste.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan until hot, then turn the heat down. Add the pork to the pan, skin-side down - be careful as it has a tendency to spit. Sizzle the pork as you would bacon for 5 mins until the skin is crisp. Flip it over and cook for 3-4 mins until browned. Place a small pile of cabbage on the side of each plate and sit a piece of pork on top. Place a spoonful of mash on the other side of the plate, drizzle over the sauce and serve. 915 kcalories, protein
  
  

915 kcalories, protein 66g, carbohydrate 10g, fat 67 g, saturated fat 24g, fibre 2g, sugar 8g, salt 1,22 g

Continue Reading