Pork Belly

I have not been able to cook much this year. This is a simple but tasy dish.

Score and salt the pork belly, place in a baking tray on a rack over a little water.

Oven bake at 180c covered in foil for 90 mins

Then uncover and cook for 30 minutes more on 250c to get the crackling.

If that doesnt work then simply add to a hot frypan to crisp up the crackling.

I served this with some mixed vegetables with oyster sauce and with a rice mix consisting of Dongara white and brown ice with some wild rice and quinoa in the mix.

Siracha sauce to serve.

Dahl: Slow cooker

I have tried a couple of times to cook dahl in the slow cooker without much success. This time I am hoping it will work. It did and well. 

Ingredients

1. 1½ cups yellow split lentils and mung lentils
2. One medium onion, finely chopped
3. 400 gm can diced tomatoes
4. 2 teaspoons minced garlic
5. 2 teaspoon turmeric powder
6. 1 teaspoon salt

Tempering Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoons  oil
2. ½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
3. ½ teaspoon asofetita
4. 1 whole chilli
5. ½ teaspoon cumin powder
6. ½ teaspoon coriander powder
7. ¼ teaspoon chili powder

Rinse the lentils and add to the slow cooker with the tomatoes, onion and garlic and 4 cups of water
Cook on low for 5 hours

Add the tempering ingredients to a frypan and heat until frgant
Add to slow cooker stir through and cook for one hour more

Serve with rice and a dash of lemon juice

Potato and Mushroom Curry

This is my interpretation of a recipe from :
http://dustysfoodieadventures.blogspot.ca/2015/07/mushroom-ambat.html
Please check out the original!!!!

Ingredients:
2 cups large button mushrooms
4 medium potatoes (boiled)
1 can coconutcream
salt to taste

Masala ingredients:
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
4 cloves garlic
4 green chilies
2tbs Tamarind puree

Seasoning ingredients:
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
8 curry leaves
2 green chilies (slit)
1 pinch Asafoetida

Grind the masala ingredients into a paste
Cook the potatoes and cut into pieces (or vice versa) 
Combine with mushrooms which should be quartered. 
Add the coconut milk and the masala paste

Lightly fry in oil the seasoning ingredients until fragrant
Add to the mix once mushrooms are cooked and turn off heat and cover

Curried Sausages - Slow Cooker

Slice a brown onion
Slice one red capsicum
Cut finely 2 carrots
Quater 6 small potatoes
Line the bottom of the slow cooker with these

Add 500gms of sausages cut in half

Add 500mls of beef stock
4 tbs of curry powder
2 cups of peas and corn

Thicken with gravy Flour and serve on rice

Lamb Obsession

This is a variation on a recipe that has been doing the rounds of the internet.

On a bed on sliced onion
Add 1 can of condensed Chicken soup
Place 1 leg of lamb
Cover with a sachet of French Onion Soup
Add 4 tbs of cranberry sauce

Cook on low for 8 hours
Shred the lamb and serve on mash potato

Slow Cooked beef Ribs

This is a great one for a cold night.

In the bottom of your slow cooker palce a layer of sliced onion

Place the ribs on top
Cover with sauce, I used a mixture of hot chilli sauce and HP bbq sauce
Add a little water
You do not want it to dry out nor to drown so add a little as needed
It will make a sauce

Cook on low for 8 hours, the meat comes off the bone

I served with a selection of vegetables and potato mash.

An Eggplant Lasgne

Take two eggplants slice into slices and bake in a moderate oven brushed with olive oil.

Meanwhile in a saucepan/frypan
Heat some olive oil and saute
1 finely chopped brown onion
2 diced capsicum
1 jar pasta sauce
6 crushed and chopped garlic cloves
2 grated carrots
4 grated zucchini

Add 1 400gms can of chopped tomatoes

When the eggplant has browned remove from oven and in a baking dish
Place a bottom layer of eggplant
Add the contents of the  pan and spread out
Top with the remaining eggplant

Cover with bechamel sauce and a generous sprinkling of grated cheese.

Return to the oven and cook until cheese is melted.