Strawberry and passion fruit jam

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This is a wonderful jam recipe taken from “salt sugar smoke” by Diana Henry.  It makes 2 x 1lb jars of soft set jam. It is delicious either on buttered toast or added to a bowl of porridge for breakfast.

Strawberry and passion fruit jam

Strawberry and passion fruit jam

Ingredients

  • 800g strawberries, wiped clean then hulled and halved/quartered depending on size
  • Pulp and seeds of 10 passion fruits
  • 600g granulated sugar
  • Pectin
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Quarter the larger strawberries and combine with the passion fruit pulp and seeds. Add to a larger heavy-bottomed preserving pan with the lemon juice and sugar and heat until the sugar dissolves.

Simmer for 5 minutes, then mash the strawberries. Bring to the boil and skim, then keep at rolling boil until the setting point is reached (104.5 degC). You’ll know when it’s done if you put a small portion on a chilled plate and it holds a wrinkled finish when you push it with your finger.

Cool for 10 minutes then transfer to sterilised jars. Enjoy!

Pans and jars

I use a Viners stainless steel steamer pan for making jam but you can easily buy a jam pan, with a jam thermometer and jam funnel. The jars are 1lb (454g) Kilner jars with clip top lids.

To sterilise the jars, wash them in very hot and soapy water and allow to dry. Heat in an oven at around 140 degC for 30 minutes, ideally whilst you’re starting to make your jam. Take care when handling the hot jars!

To sterilise the rubber seals for the jars, place them in a pan of hot water and bring to the boil for a few minutes. Keep on a low simmer until you are ready to fill and seal the jars, then remove them carefully with tongs.

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6-hour roast pork – adapted from Jamie Oliver

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© David Loftus

This is a fantastic recipe for mouth-wateringly tender pork and great crunchy crackling, but it does take all day to make! The original recipe was by Jamie Oliver, but I’ve adapted it to make it into a pot-roast.

Serves 4 to 6

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 6½ hours (including resting time)

Ingredients

  • 2kg boned shoulder of pork, skin on
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Optional: fennel seeds and star anise
  • 2 red onions, halved
  • 2 carrots, peeled and halved lengthways
  • 2 sticks of celery, halved
  • 1 bulb of garlic, skin on, broken into cloves
  • 2 apples or pears, halved and cored
  • 6-8 fresh bay leaves
  • 600ml water, vegetable stock or cider

Method

Preheat your oven to 220°C.

Place your pork on a clean work surface, skin-side up. Get yourself a small sharp knife and make scores about a centimetre apart through the skin into the fat, but not so deep that you cut into the meat. If the joint is tied, try not to cut through the string. Rub salt right into all the scores you’ve just made, pulling the skin apart a little if you need to. You can also add the fennel seeds and crushed star anise at this point, ideally leaving the seasoned pork to sit in a freezer bag in the fridge overnight to absorb more of the flavours.

Brush any excess salt off the surface then turn it over. Season the underside of the meat with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Place your pork, skin-side up, in a roasting tray and pop in the preheated oven. Roast for 30 minutes, until the skin of the pork has started to puff up and you can see it turning into crackling. At this point, turn the heat down to 140°C.

Take the pork out of the oven and create a layer in your roasting tin of the vegetables and the fruit. Add the stock and put the pork back on top. Pot-roast for a further 4 and a half hours. You can do this in a covered roasting tin or by adding a double-layer of foil over the top, sealed tight against the roasting tin. The pork will be soft and tender after this time, but don’t worry about the crackling – that will be crisped up later.

Turn the oven back up to 180°C and roast the pork and veg uncovered for a final hour. This creates the crackling.

Take out of the oven and carefully lift the pork up and transfer to a chopping board. Cover with foil and a towel and allow to rest for ½ hour in a warm place.

To make the gravy, strain the vegetables and roasting juices through a sieve and allow to sit for a minute in a bowl. Spoon/skim off the pork fat and discard. The rest is the base for your gravy. Add more water or stock as needed, thickening with arrowroot or cornflour as you wish, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve the pork and crackling with your jug of gravy and some lovely roast or mashed potatoes. Some stewed red cabbage, honey-roast carrots and a dollop of apple sauce are perfect to accompany the pork.

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Mike and Ollie’s slow cooked pulled pork with Lebanese flatbreads

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I was visiting the wonderful Brockley Market today, and as usual I gravitated quickly to Mike and Ollie‘s delicious flatbreads. The reason I am posting is that my friend Ren then posted about Ottoman spices on her blog, which are at the heart of Mike’s cooking. So I am posting the basis of Mike’s flatbread recipes here for your enjoyment. I have tried this recipe with slow-cooked pork and lamb, and it is terrific with both.

Basic ingredients

  • Pork (2.5kg roughly)
  • Handful of fennel seeds
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • A good lug of vinegar (100ml)
  • 200ml liquid in order of preference: cider, white wine, stock, water
  • 2-3 onions

Optional

  • Thyme leaves
  • Aniseeds
  • A whole peeled garlic bulb

Cooking the pork

  • Right, you have 2.5kg of pork shoulder. Get a frying pan hot and preheat your oven to about 170 degC or gas mark 3.
  • Start by seasoning your meat generously with salt and give it a good rub into flesh. Add a little oil (sunflower or vegetable, not olive) and sear all over to form a nice golden crust.
  • Grind a handful of fennel seeds (if you wanted, you could add some ground aniseeds and/or thyme leaves or any other middle-Eastern spices), to this add a few healthy pinches of cracked black pepper and massage into your pig. If you wanted to, you could push a few whole garlic cloves into crevices within the pork’s flesh to add extra flavour.
  • Now, chop 2-3 onions and scatter over a suitable baking dish, then place the pork on top.  Pour in a good glug of white wine vinegar and 200ml of liquid, just to create a little steam and keep things moist, this could be white wine, cider, stock or water
  • Cover the dish with foil and cook in the middle of your oven for 3-4 hours, check for tenderness. Remove foil, then bake for a further hour.
  • Remove and pull as you see fit!

Flatbreads (makes 4-6)

  • 450g white flour preferably organic
  • 300ml warm water
  • 1/2 tsp dried yeast
  • 3/4 tsp salt

Optional extras for dressing the flatbreads

  • 15ml orange blossom water
  • 30ml olive oil
  • Za’atar

Combine all ingredients minus the za’atar and work into a dough. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic, the dough should not be too firm, if it is, add more water. Leave in a warm place to double in size (1 hour plus). Get a griddle pan smoking hot. Divide the dough into 4-6 pieces and roll out as thinly as possible.

Pour a small amount of oil on each, rub all over with your hand and sprinkle over za’atar. Place oil side up into the pan and wait for bubbles to form all over surface (about 1-2 minutes) then flip. 2 minutes more and you should have beautiful flatbread.

To serve…

Spread a good layer of houmous on the flatbread, and top with salad leaves, toasted seeds, chopped red cabbage and dried chilli flakes. Next comes a generous serving of your delicious pork. Finally, add something sweet such as figs, apple or apple sauce, and top with yoghurt or creme fraiche.

Fold as a burrito, i.e. fold over the bottom and then wrap both sides over to form an open-topped parcel. Mike has thoughtfully provided a step-by-step photo guide to his brilliant creation.

If you get it right, then it should look something like the lamb wrap I had for lunch today. Yum yum!

 

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