Garden Chef

Grilled and roasted Pork Loin

Two weeks of rain, every minute of every day. At least that what it's felt like. Saturday didn't look like it would provide enough time for a fully fledged three hour outside cooking experience, so I opted for a recipe that involves finishing the main dish off in the oven. Of course, thats a cop out for which I will no doubt have to do penance, particularly since the weather did hold, and it could all have been finished off outside without a drop of rain falling.

By the by, we have Jamie Oliver to thank for this recipe. Its an Italian recipe known as maiale alla griglia e arrosto. (you can either read the rest here or flick over to Jamie's Italy where I got this..)

You will need:

• A couple of heaped tablespoons of fennel seeds
• 2 or 3 red chillies
• 1x2kg/4 1/2lb pork loin
• Olive oil
• Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 10 Tablespoons good quality red win vinegar
• a bunch of fresh rosemary

In brief, score the fatty side of the pork in a criss cross fashion. Smash/grind up the fennel seed, chillies and a good bit of salt and black pepper. Rub the pork with Olive oil and then rub in the ground mixture of spices into the fatty side of the pork.

Having got the bbq going about half hour before, make sure the coals are hot. Charcoal probably best for this, unless your gas bbq can get really hot.

Whack the pork on skin side down and watch the fun begin! As you can see below the fat really generates some heat so be careful to turn quickly to avoid incinerating the joint.

Once both sides have had the benefit of the bbq for about 10-15 minutes, enough to have acquired an authentic bbq look, transfer the joint to the tray it was originally marinaded in.

Put it in the oven at about 200C/400F for about an hour. After the first 30 mins add the vinegar and rosemary leaves, making sure all the meat is basted with the combination. Put back in the oven for another 20 mins and then take out to rest for the last 10 mins. It looked like this when done:

   

In keeping with the Italian theme of the evening we began with Prosecco. The bottle or two we shared around between the guests cost less than a fiver, as did the wine we served with the main course. Both excellent dinner party value.

The main was served with:

Followed by:

Which perhaps we should have served first. It was fuller than the Pinotage Cinsault, in fact quite a bit more going on. I need to get some more.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, there was roast veg and salad for the vegetarians...

Butterflied leg of Lamb

Having recovered from visiting Cousin Paul a week or so ago, I'm pleased to report that a feast of open air cooking resulted in some very fine lamb. But why not let Paul tell the story in his own words? Thanks for putting this down Paul, it was much appreciated:

"Warning - if you don't like coriander - green and fresh - don't bother with any of this. Pointless.

Lamb - leg, big 'un, leave fat on. In fact, the more fat the better. Most will render out and tenderise the meat whilst cooking. What's left is bloody gorgeous. Any fussy eaters, simply trim and eat it yourself before serving. (dead sheep = decent, ethical, organic, not previously frozen and transported 12000 miles etc. Show the animal some respect by getting something that has been raised well, had some quality of life before the big knifing), butterflied and scored 1 cm deep, 2 cm apart, keep bones.

Put the butterflied lamb in a large plastic freezer bag (with no holes in the bottom!).

Add a well chopped mixture containing the following: 3-4 cloves of garlic , lemon juice (freshly squeezed from 1 unwaxed lemon), large handfu of rosemary, oregano, pepper & salt, 1 red chilli (deseed or not - personal preference), 3-4 tablespoons olive oil. Plus - anything else you fancy that you think would taste scrummy. Try substituting cumin & coriander (freshly heated and pounded in a pestle/ground) for the rosemary & oregano. I have. Gorgeous. Add this to the lamb in the bag 12 hours at least before cooking. Massage the lamb & herby mix regularly. Smell it. MMMMMmmmmm. Massage some more. Go see therapist.

About half an hour before you'd like to start cooking, light the braai - I prefer lumpwood charcoal. Cheap briquettes can be full of chemicals. When lighting the charcoal the trick is create two little piles of charcoal on either side of the kettle, so that when the lamb is laid on the cooking grid, its not actually directly over the coals.

Make sure coals are white before cooking. Get a roasting tin. Pour in 1 cm water. Place raised wire rack in tin. Place bones from butterflied lamb on rack and lay lamb on  bones, fatty side up. Place in braai and put lid on. Cook for 40 mins - 1 hour, depending on how well done you like it. When the lid is on the bbq, the heat from the coals will circulate inside the kettle and the lamb will be cooked indirectly by the heat, ensuring that it doesnt burn (but still gets some of the lovely caramelisation of the marinade). Many make the mistake of fiddling wht the vents at the top and bottom of the kettle at this stage. My advice is to keep both vents comletely open. This keeps the charcoal hot, but you'll be amazed how long you can cook just with a medium amount of charcoal with both vents open.

By the by, we used a Weber for this.

Serve with lots of nice stuff, such as:

Houmous - home made, adapted from Darina Allen's recipe in Ballymaloe Cookbook. Added fresh coriander and lwft a few whole chick peas for crunch and presentation. For goodnessn sake, use UNWAXED lemons - far superior for taste. TOP TIP : Put all the olive oil you will use in a small pan and fry the garlic cloves until golden before whizzing the houmous in a blender. 2 reasons - lovely flavor release and, if making houmous just before eating, it removes the tart bitterness garlic can have when raw.

Guacamole - just do your own recipe - everyone's has their own. Just add loads of fresh, tasty coriander.

Tomato salsa - make your own - tomatoes, spring onion, red onion, seasoning (experiment - normal stuff, chilli oil, avocado oil, touch of really expensive balsamic ) and , guess what? Yup, coriander.   

Raita - Rachel's Farm Greek yoghurt, chopped fresh mint (do NOT use mint sauce), 1/4 of a grated cucumbert, tablespoon or so of cider or sherry vinegar. Mix a couple of hours before eating. No coriander in this. A pinch of salt. Taste and change according to personal preference.

Check lamb, let it rest for 10 mins wrapped in foil (do not pour the juices away after revealing the cooked lamb). Heat some decent bread (pittas, ciabatta) on embers, rub some garlic on bread, slice lamb. Eat. Sit back. Drink lots of wine.

Shiraz - Graham Beck. That's nice. Pinotage goes well, too. What did we drink? Some expensive stuff that Luke had been banging on about. It was good, but somewhat lost in the mists of time.

Pudding - Home made creme brulee with fresh fruit.  If you really want the world's greatest creme brulee recipe, email me. p.miller@virgin.net .This is a braai blog.

Repeat all of above and you will have a seriously good evening. Bear in mind, it was only for 3 adults, so constitutes a light braai. I also cooked some pork ribs for the kids dinner 2 hours earlier - blimey they were nice."

Hey Paul, thanks for that, it was a great evening, hopefully we can reciprocate in the very near future.

First post

Its British summer time - just about. After a few weeks of sunshine, and now just exiting just as many weeks of rain, I wondered whether I was spending enough time outdoors. Well, partially to make sure that I do spend as much time outside as the weather permits, and secondly to make sure I get to do as much cooking as possible, I thought it might be interesting to provide a record of my attempt to cook outdoors once a week for a full year. Equipment used, recipes, wine and beer pairings - the whole lot ought to appear over the next while. Never mind the odd ode to a well cooked sausage. So here goes, I'm at cousin Paul's this weekend. That should provide an excellent opportunity to nick some new ideas, eat and drink a lot more than is healthy as well some material for a first real 'Garden Chef' post.