CHEF IS SHARING ONE OF OUR SIGNATURE DISHES THIS MONTH - CALL IT A NEW YEARS GIFT!

Twice cooked Belly pork served on a black pudding and savoy cabbage mash with a white bean cassoulet

This IS a complex dish believe it or not.

Ingredients
FOR THE SLOW ROAST
Side of Belly pork (draft)(we use a whole belly draft which will feed approx 8)
Potato (maris piper are the potatoes we use due to there versatility)
7 carrots (large and cubed to about a sugar cube size 1/2 cm cubed)
3 parsnips (cubed to same size as carrots)
2 onions (diced to roughly the same size)
Chicken stock - use granules if neccessary
Salt and pepper to season
Rosemary (we use fresh from our garden but you can buy dried which will be sufficient)

FOR THE CASSOULET
Tinned tomatoes (these are one of the few things we believe do not deminish once tinned)
Whole punnet of cherry tomatoes, preferably on the vine (do not throw away the vine)
1 Tin of harricot beans
2 tins of cananellini beans
1 tin of butter beans
tomatoe puree
A generous portion of fresh tomatoes (judge this by you budget)
The Vegetables from the slow roast (strained of excess fat)

FOR THE MASH
Black Pudding
Savoy Cabbage
Potatoes (maris piper, desiree or king edward are widely available and good for mash)
knob of butter
drop of single cream
seasoning

Preperation

Peel and cube your carrots and parsnips
mix thoroughly and line the base of your roasting tray (the tray needs to be approx an inch taller than the belly pork).

Peel the potatoes for the mash, qaurter (all the same size so the cook the same) and submerge in water ready for boiling.

Score the belly pork top and rub in seasoning including your rosemary(Salt will aid a crispier 'crackling' but not too much or it will be saltly funnily enough), place on top of your chopped vegetables.

You now need enough stock to pour in and cover the belly pork just below the top skin. This leaves the top exposed to the direct heat yet almost poaches the meat keeping it moist.
You will need to top up the stock after about an hour but then leave to dry out.

This can now be placed in the oven

For the first half hour place on the hotest temp possible then turn down to approx 180

This takes about three hours - check that the top is hard by tapping with a spoon (it should sound almost hollow).

Once cooked remove the belly pork and allow to cool seperately
Place the tomato vines in the vegetables and stock while this cools.

Once cooled you can do several things:

Portion the belly pork - when hot it is too delicate and difficult to handle

Remove the excess fat from the base cassoulet mix (the vegetables from the belly pork roast)and the tomato vines - the fat from the belly pork will rise to the top of the remaining stock and set. Skim this from the top and use the mix to make your cassoulet.

DO NOT COOK - Take the vegetable and stock and place in a large pot, add the tinned tomatoes and beans, chop half the cherry tomatoes and add all to pot - mix thoroughly add tomatoe puree and seasoning to taste. The paste will thicken the cassoulet so not too much.

Last bit of preperation - chop your black pudding into small cubes and finely shred savoy cabbage

READY FOR WHEN YOU WANT TO COOK UP A STORM

place a large roasting tray over your hob and add your cassoulet - add a little stock as the cassoulet will reduce down during the cooking.

Stir till all is at the boil and add the belly pork again leave the top exposed. leave on the hob for around 15 minutes simmering.

Add to the oven

Place the potatoes on to boil - test using a knife, test that they are soft enough to mash and strain, plaice back in the pan and gently cook for a few minutes to cook off any excess water, it sounds silly but this will aid a creamier mash.

Fry off the black pudding in a frying pan till crispy, and boil the shedded cabbage till softened.

Mash preferably using a ricer if not its hard labour with a masher - try to get a nice creamy consistenancy because the the black pudding and cabbage add texture.

Add the butter and add cream to mash till you get a nice consistency.
Fold in the black pudding and cabbage.

Remove your belly pork tray from the oven.

In a deep bowl spoon in the cassoulet, place a generous portion of mash in the centre and top with the belly pork.

Plate up and watch everyone enjoy!


DECEMBER
GRAY PAYS AND BACON

INGREDIENTS:

MAPLE PEAS
BACON
ONION
STOCK

A simple Black Country Dish that teks a while to prepare but wuth it in the long run.

FIRST STEP IS LEAVE THE MAPLE PEAS TO SOAK IN WARM WATER FOR 24 HOURS (THE WATER IS ONLY WARM WHEN YOU FIRST PUT EM IN). ADD BICARBONATE OF SODA TO THE WATER WHILST SOAKING AND A GOOD HANDFUL OF SALT.

ONCE THEY HAVE SOAKED THE TRICK IS TO THOROUGHLY RINSE EM OUT - DOW SCRIMP AT THIS STAGE COS THE SALT AND THE BICARB WILL BE EVIDENT!

SIMMER THE GRAY PAYS FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN.
SCIM THE TOP AT INTEVALS AND KEEP STIRRIN' AND TOPPING UP WITH WATER FOR THE FIRST 2 HOURS.

THE PEAS WILL START TO SOFTEN, DO NOT ADD WATER AS THEY NEED TO THICKEN IN THE SAUCE NATURALLY NOW.

IN A SEPERATE PAN SAUTEE OFF THE THINLY SLICED ONIONS AND THINLY STRIPPED BACON (BACON PIECES ARE FINE.

ONCE THE ONIONS HAVE BECOME TRANSLUCENT AND THE BACON HAS BROWNED (THIS WILL ALSO BROWN THE ONIONS) ADD TO THE PEAS AND STIR THOROUGHLY.

CONTINUE TO SIMMER FOR ABOUT AN HOUR AND COOL ENOUGH TO DEVOUR!

IGNORE THE APPEARANCE AND SCOFF WITH SOME CRUSTY BREAD!