I love the weekends... obviously, I realise I am not alone in my thoughts... but I REALLY love the weekends. I try not to work at the shop Saturday or Sunday and I'm lucky enough to have a great team whose lives seem to fit working weekends better.
This weekend is fab. It's my favourite. I love cooking and love cooking for a crowd even more. We used to have weddings at the farm at our old place and during the summer would regularly cook for 100 or more. There is something relaxing about some music on in the kitchen and just preparing food.
When thinking about what to cook for tonight a number of options ran through my head. To have friends round doesn't mean it has to be high end, hoity toity stuff. To be honest, if it's friends, it can be anything. I was very close to doing a huge platter of fish finger sandwiches with a lovely tartare sauce and crunchy fresh lettuce, but thought against it as I wanted to showcase more of what the shop has to offer. I will however, keep that one up my sleeve for another time.... I LOVE FISH FINGER SANDWICHES!!!
So, tonight, we are having stuffed, rolled pork belly. I've ordered this from our lovely suppliers at Greenfields which is something that the shop is now able to do. Let us know your meat requirements for the weekend and we will make sure we get it in for you. We cannot stock large joints of meat - it's just too impractical, so this is a great way of getting fantastic local meat really conveniently. (We're going to be doing Turkeys and Gammons for Christmas too).
Everything that we are eating tonight is available from the shop. It's not the most economically way of cooking for a crowd, I admit. But the quality of the meat is amazing and I love the fact it's local. It also means I don't have to schalp into Andover for anything... it's all here and there is a great benefit to that.
Pork Belly Stuffed with Sage and Fennel
Serves 6
2kg pork belly with the bones removed and skin scored (ask us to get the butcher to do this)
2 meaty pork sausages
1 tbspn chopped sage
2 tspn fennel seeds, lightly crushed
20g apple, chopped into small chunks
1 clove garlic peeled and crushed
1 egg
sea salt and black pepper
olive oil
1. Ensure your pork is at room temperature by taking it out of the fridge 30 mins before you want to start preparing it. This will allow the skin to dry out a bit which helps to get great crackling.
2. Preheat oven to 230C/gas mark 8
3. Skin your sausages and mix the meat with the sage, fennel seeds, apple chunks, garlic and egg and a generous amount of seasoning.
4. Place the pork skin side down on a chopping board and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Have the long side of the pork towards you. Spread the sausage mixture evenly down the middle, leaving a 3" gap around the edge for expansion.
5. Roll the pork up, rolling it away from you, and tie at regular intervals with string. The skin scoring should now be parallel to the two ends.
This weekend is fab. It's my favourite. I love cooking and love cooking for a crowd even more. We used to have weddings at the farm at our old place and during the summer would regularly cook for 100 or more. There is something relaxing about some music on in the kitchen and just preparing food.
When thinking about what to cook for tonight a number of options ran through my head. To have friends round doesn't mean it has to be high end, hoity toity stuff. To be honest, if it's friends, it can be anything. I was very close to doing a huge platter of fish finger sandwiches with a lovely tartare sauce and crunchy fresh lettuce, but thought against it as I wanted to showcase more of what the shop has to offer. I will however, keep that one up my sleeve for another time.... I LOVE FISH FINGER SANDWICHES!!!
So, tonight, we are having stuffed, rolled pork belly. I've ordered this from our lovely suppliers at Greenfields which is something that the shop is now able to do. Let us know your meat requirements for the weekend and we will make sure we get it in for you. We cannot stock large joints of meat - it's just too impractical, so this is a great way of getting fantastic local meat really conveniently. (We're going to be doing Turkeys and Gammons for Christmas too).
Everything that we are eating tonight is available from the shop. It's not the most economically way of cooking for a crowd, I admit. But the quality of the meat is amazing and I love the fact it's local. It also means I don't have to schalp into Andover for anything... it's all here and there is a great benefit to that.
Pork Belly Stuffed with Sage and Fennel
Serves 6
2kg pork belly with the bones removed and skin scored (ask us to get the butcher to do this)
2 meaty pork sausages
1 tbspn chopped sage
2 tspn fennel seeds, lightly crushed
20g apple, chopped into small chunks
1 clove garlic peeled and crushed
1 egg
sea salt and black pepper
olive oil
1. Ensure your pork is at room temperature by taking it out of the fridge 30 mins before you want to start preparing it. This will allow the skin to dry out a bit which helps to get great crackling.
2. Preheat oven to 230C/gas mark 8
3. Skin your sausages and mix the meat with the sage, fennel seeds, apple chunks, garlic and egg and a generous amount of seasoning.
4. Place the pork skin side down on a chopping board and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Have the long side of the pork towards you. Spread the sausage mixture evenly down the middle, leaving a 3" gap around the edge for expansion.
5. Roll the pork up, rolling it away from you, and tie at regular intervals with string. The skin scoring should now be parallel to the two ends.
6. Rub a little olive oil onto the pork skin and sprinkle on a few fennel seeds and a bit more salt. Place in a roasting tin on a rack and pour approx 2cm of water into the bottom of the tin.
7. Roast in the oven for 20 mins, then reduce heat to 170C/gas mark 3 and roast for a further 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
8. Let your meat rest in a warm spot with a loose covering of foil for 15 - 20 mins before slicing down between the scores in the crackling. Delicious served with apple sauce.
Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo as it came out of the oven - but it looked fab!
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