Slow Cooked Pulled Pork Shoulder**********

Slow cooked pulled pork is a game saver.  Stick it in a slow cooker with seasonings, push the button, walk away, and 6 - 10 hours later, you have the best comfort food ever.  Served best with 'slaw in my  opinion, but anything will do.


There are many variation to the theme, here are a few:-

Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

    1 teaspoon vegetable oil
    1 (4 pound) pork shoulder roast
    1 cup barbeque sauce
    1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
    1/2 cup chicken broth
    1/4 cup light brown sugar
    1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard

    1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    1 tablespoon chili powder
    1 extra large onion, chopped
    2 large cloves garlic, crushed
    1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
    8 hamburger buns, split
    2 tablespoons butter, or as needed

Method:

    Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the pork roast into the slow cooker; pour in the barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth. Stir in the brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, garlic, and thyme. Cover and cook on High until the roast shreds easily with a fork, 5 to 6 hours.

    Remove the roast from the slow cooker, and shred the meat using two forks. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices.

    Spread the inside of both halves of hamburger buns with butter. Toast the buns, butter side down, in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown. Spoon pork into the toasted buns.

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork Shoulder with Vegies

The same as above except with vegies.

Cous Cous with Char-grilled Mediterranean Vegetables

Israeli Cous Cous with Char-grilled Mediterranean Vegetables

02/03/2016 , 8:25 AM by Brad McCahon

Chef - Barney Burge

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

2 cups Israeli or Pearl Cous Cous
4 cups chicken stock
1 eggplant
1 red capsicum
2 tomatoes chopped into large chunks
1 small red onion finely diced
1 clove garlic finely diced
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp olive oil


Method

1. Prepare the eggplant by cutting into thick discs, brush with olive oil and place on BBQ or under grill until golden and softened.  Cut into large chunks and set aside.
2. Cut capsicum into 4 cheeks and place skin side down on BBQ or skin side up under grill.  Remove when skin is blackened and blistered.  Pop into a plastic bag and allow to steam for a few minutes then remove skin and slice into strips.
3. Heat olive oil in a large pan and saute onion and cumin seeds for 2-3 minutes until onion becomes opaque.
4. Add garlic and saute for a further minute.
5. Add Cous Cous and paprika to onion mix and stir for 2 minutes until well coated.
6. Add heated chicken stock and simmer for 8 minutes.
7. Add prepared eggplant, capsicum, tomatoes and chopped parsley.
8. Turn out onto a serving dish and garnish with a little more parsley.

Kale Soup ***

Kale Soup

 Serves 4:

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 5 cups chicken or bone broth
• 1 medium carrot, diced into 1/4-inch cubes (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 red potatoes, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 cups kale, rinsed, stems removed and chopped very fine
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dried sage
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Chop garlic and onions and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their health benefits.
2. Heat 1 TBS broth in a medium soup pot.
3. Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring frequently.
4. Add garlic and continue to sauté for another minute.
5. Add broth, carrots, and celery and bring to a boil on high heat.
6. Once it comes to a boil reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 more minutes.
7. Add kale and rest of ingredients and cook another 5 minutes. If you want to simmer for a longer time for extra flavor and richness, you may need to add a little more broth.

Source:  Best Super Energy Kale Soup

Baked Creamy Pumpkin Risotto

Prep time:  15 mins.  Cook time:  35 mins.  Total time:  50 mins.  Serves:  4

There are several ways to cook this tasty dish.  The pumpkin can be cooked to an aldente, so it remains in tact within the risotto, or cooked to a mush so that when stirred it becomes a pumpkin sauce in the risotto.  I like to bake the pumpkin to soft (extra taste) and add it in the mix just 10 minutes before the risotto is done and then stir it in with the parmesan et al, so that it is saucy with a few very soft chunks.  I generally start baking the pumpkin while setting up the rest of the ingredients.  Cooking the pumpkin until soft and stirring it in as a sauce, makes the risotto quite creamy like stove top cooked risotto.

If hands on time time is not on your side and you are not overly fussy, just throw everything into a heavy oven proof pot and bake for 70 minutes and enjoy a wine..  It will still come out great!

This dish is easily turned into vegan by using a vegetable butter and nutritional yeast in lieu of butter and parmesan cheese.


Ingredients:

Ingredients - Garlic is behind the onion :-)

    2 tbsp olive oil

    1 large brown onion, finely diced or 1 large leak thinly sliced crossways

    2 garlic cloves, minced

    12 sage leaves

    2 cups arborio rice (risotto rice)

    1 cup dry white wine or use stock/water

    5 cups vegetable or chicken stock/broth

    700g/25oz pumpkin, diced into 1.5cm/0.5" cubes

    3 tbsp butter

    ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

    Salt

    Black pepper

Ready to go...

To Garnish:


    Grated parmesan
    Finely chopped parsley

Options:

You may add all of or just some of:- 5 diced bacon rashers, 200g mushrooms, 100g crumbled feta and a packet of baby spinach to this for variety.  Fry the bacon before the onion, the mushrooms with the onion, add the feta with the stock and stir the spinach in with the parmesan and butter and the latent heat will wilt it without affecting its nutrition.


Instructions:

•     Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
•     If baking the pumpkin, place on a baking tray. Drizzle with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake on top shelf of the preheated oven for 30 minutes.  This may be cooked in tandem with the Risotto or prior, depending on oven size.
•     Heat olive oil in ovenproof pot (preferably with a lid) over medium high heat.
•     Add garlic and onion and cook until onion is translucent.
•     Add sage leaves and cook for 1 minute or until it is crispy, but not burnt.
•     Add rice and stir so all the rice grains are coated with the olive oil.
•     Add white wine and cook until the the liquid evaporates - about 1 minute.
•     Add pumpkin (if cooking in the Risotto) and stock, and bring to boil.  I use Massel vegetarian chicken stock in water boiled in the kettle which also speeds up the process.
•     Put lid on (or cover tightly with foil) and place in oven for 25 to 35 minutes.  Give it a quick stir around the 15 - 20 minute mark.  When finished the rice should be moist like porridge, not dry like a pilaff. Excess liquid will be utilized by the pumpkin when you stir it or let it sit for a minute or so with the lid off.
•     Add the roast pumpkin if you have cooked it in tandem with the Risotto.
•     Add butter and parmesan cheese.
•     Gently stir the risotto so that the pumpkin turns into a puree and blends into the risotto. If it's too thick then add a splash of boiled water.
•     Add salt and pepper to taste.
•     Serve, garnished with parsley, extra chopped sage leaves and extra parmesan if desired.

Sources:  Recipe Tine Eats, Best Recipes, TasteDotCom