Linseneintopf

Warming, tasty one pot thick lentil and bacon soup that we first tasted in mountain restaurants in Austria. You can vary the veg according to what you have hanging around. 

200g green or brown lentils 

1 litre chicken stock 

200g bacon, chopped 

1 small onion 

1 leek

1 red or yellow pepper 

1 red chilli 

1 large carrot 

1 large sweet potato 

2 parsnips 

2 medium potatoes 

2 cloves garlic 

1 courgette 

2 sticks celery 

1 heaped tablespoon toenjang (Korean soybean paste)

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp dried oregano 

1/2 tsp smoked paprika 

3 sun dried tomatoes in oil

2 bayleaves

1/2 tin tomatoes 

Dash of truffle oil 

Pour boiling water over the lentils and leave to soak for an hour. Chop the bacon, fry it gently with some oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes. Chop all the vegetables. Toss the onion, leeks, celery, Chili, courgette, oregano and pepper in with the bacon and cook for 3 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil. Close the pressure cooker, bring to pressure and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let it come down from pressure slowly. Serve with crusty bread and butter.

Roast pork Thai style Mu Deng

Marinade:

1 pork loin about 1kg

1/2 tbsp fish sauce 

1 tbsp soy sauce 

2 tbsp hoisin sauce 

1 tbsp mirin 

1 tbsp cooking sherry ( I used sloe whisky)

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp grated ginger 

3 cloves garlic crushed 

1/2 tsp five spice powder

3 star anise crushed

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 hard boiled egg

1 tbsp cornflour 

Put all the marinade ingredients in a large ziplock.

Put the pork loin into the bag, cutting it in half if necessary to fit it in.

Shake the bag around to coat the meat, then leave it to marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Take the meat out of the marinade and put on a baking sheet on foil. Preheat the oven to very hot, 230 degrees. 

Roast for 10 minutes, en reduce the heat to 180 degrees. Baste the meat with the marinade, then roast for a further 40 to 45 minutes turning and basting occasionally until cooked through.

Leave to stand for 15 minutes while you make the sauce , then carve into slices.

For the sauce, put the reserved marinade in a small saucepan with the hard boiled egg. Bring it to the boil, then take out the egg once it has boiled. Mix 1 tbsp cornflour with some water to make a paste, then top up to 2 cups. Stir the flour water into the sauce and heat until thickened.

Slice the egg, and serve with the pork, some rice and shredded spring onions and cucumber with the sauce.