Tuesday Night Stir Fry, Cured Salmon and a Bacon Ribs Recipe

Joe decided it was his turn to make dinner.  Who am I to complain?  He made stir fried veg with pork loin, accompanied by prawn crackers and vino.

We were sent a ginger, garlic and chilli stir fry/dipping sauce by World Foods which made a nice addition to the stir fry.  I'm looking forward to trying it as a dipping sauce as well!

Oh....by the way I am gutted about the football.  The least Spain could have done was field a junior team to give us a chance!

World Foods stir fry/dipping sauce

Pork and vegetable stir fry.  Not a noodle in sight!

A close up!

Vino!  It's Tuesday...and Scotland are losing.......

As promised, here are the pictures of the cured salmon.  It needs some more time to mature but were giving it a try now - and very nice it is too - you can definitely taste the beetroot and dill.

The sliced cured salmon - pretty!

And the side - very purple! Sam and Nick had better brave this!

 And finally, for the most eclectic post...the bacon ribs recipe (by request!)

A decent slab of bacon ribs (about 8 will serve 2 very hungry, or 3 people)
Slug of red wine
quarter of a cooking apple, chopped into rough pieces
half an onion, chopped into rough pieces
star anise
peppercorns
tomato puree

1.  Place the ribs in a cold pan of water.  Bring it to the boil and then ditch the water.  Repeat once more and this should remove the salty flavour.
2.  Throw a slug of red wine into a slow cooker (mine is a crock pot)  and about 100 mls of water.  Add the chopped apple, onion, star anise, peppercorns and tomato puree in and top with the ribs.
3.  Cook for 4-5 hours on low.  The apples will totally disintegrate and the ribs should fall off the bone.
4.  Remove the ribs from the dish and sieve the cooking liquor into a pan.  Add a splash more red wine and then cook down to a thick sauce.  Pour the sauce over the ribs and serve! Yum!

Monday - Autumn Foods & Figs for Pudding - and a Birthday!

It's Joe's sister Sally's birthday today, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY SALLY!!!!!!

Birthday Girl Sally with me and Joe at Sacre Coeur

Joe also dragged me out for a run after getting home from work.  It poured with rain and was really dark (although Joe was sporting a rather fetching head torch!)

I got through it thinking of dinner - roasted root veg and chorizo - cooking in the oven.  Yum.  And topped with a poached egg for me and a fried egg for Joe.  Although it did start Joe's query on twitter - what is the right way to pronounce chorizo?! 

Roasted roots, chorizo and a poached egg

Dessert - baked figs with honey, yogurt and shortbread crumbs

Jo's Beetroot Cured Salmon - Recipe

This weekend Joe and I are going to Wales for a few days with Frenchie Dog Eyes and Sam so I thought it would be nice to bring a treat, and decided on beetroot cured salmon (as you do!)

It's dead easy to make, but requires some planning ahead!  This recipe makes about 500g of salmon.

500g very fresh salmon
100g caster sugar
75g coarse sea salt
2 grated raw beetroots
big bunch of dill, finely chopped
lots and lots and lots of cling film

1.  Weigh out the sugar and salt in a bowl, add the grated beetroot and chopped dill and stir everything together.  You can also add some fresh horseradish at this time but I didn't have any!
2.  Spoon some of the curing mixture onto a big bit of a clingfilm.  This should be enough to sit the salmon on.
3.  Put the salmon on top, skin side down, and then top with the remainder of the curing mixture.
4.  Wrap it up tight - the salt will draw liquid out of the beetroot so you want to avoid a purple fridge!  I think mine was wrapped about six times.
5.  Place it in the fridge in a dish, and weigh it down if you want.
6.  After 24 hours, turn it over.  Don't leave it curing for more than 48 hours or the salmon will get really salty.
7.  After 24-48 hours, unwrap the salmon and rinse off the cure mix.  By this stage the salmon should be noticeably firmer.  It will keep, wrapped up in the fridge, for up to two weeks.

The finished result will be posted tomorrow!

Sugar and salt mix

Pre-grated organic beetroot

Salmon, pre-cure

The finished curing mix

Salmon-cure sandwich

All wrapped up - at least six layers (and even then some of it escaped!)

Awesome Slow Cooked Bacon Ribs, Mashed Potato, Red Cabbage & Roast Beetroot

For ages I have been pestering Jo about us having bacon ribs, as it is a dish Mum used to make and was made for her by her Nin. Imagine my joy when we stumbled across bacon ribs in Kirkgate Market in Leeds at the weekend!.....cooking with bacon ribs is a North-West speciality and next time I am going to make Scouse!

Jo did them by boiling twice in cold water to get rid of some of the salt, and then they went in the slow cooker for 5 hours with a bit of water and vegetables.  They were served with mash, braised red cabbage and roasted beetroot - yum.

Mash

Braised Cabbage

The slow cooked bacon ribs

Roast beetroot

A full plate