Shakshuka

 North African eggs with optional extras.  You can add anything to this including eggplant or minced meat.

Serves:  6.  Cooking time: 30mins

Ingredients:-

    1 tbsp olive oil
    1 medium brown or white onion, peeled and diced
    3-4 clove garlic, minced
    1 medium green and 1 red bell pepper, chopped
    4 cups ripe diced tomatoes, or 2 cans (400g each) diced tomatoes
    2 tbsp tomato paste
    1 tsp chill powder (mild)
    1 tsp cumin
    1/2 tsp coriander
    1 tsp paprika
    Pinch of cayenne pepper (or more to taste spicy!)
    Pinch of sugar (options, to taste)
    300 - 500g raw chorizo sausages, cut in thirds and pricked.  (or browned minced meat of choice)
    3/4 Salt and 1/4 pepper to taste
    5-6 eggs
    150g  (1.25 cups) Fetta Cheese crumbled (Optional).
    1/2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley or cilantro (optional, for garnish)

Method:-

1.  Heat oil on medium in a deep skillet or targine.

2.  Saute chopped onion until it softens and not browned.

3.  Add garlic and continue saute until fragrant.

4.  Add Capsicum and saute 5-7 minutes until softened.  The secret is in cooking the capsicum well.

5.  Add tomatoes and paste to pan and mix well.

6.  Add spices and sugar, mix.

7.  Add the chorizo and submerge them below the sauce and allow to simmer for 5-7 minutes or until mixture thickens.  Beware of drying out or sticking.  For runny yolks, simmer for an extra 2-5 minutes.

8.  Season to taste and adjust spices (Sugar, Cayenne etc) if required.

9.  Make wells for each egg and crack eggs evenly spaced, into mixture.  Sprinkle fetta cheese over top.  Cover pan and simmer 10-15 minutes.  For runny yolks, simmer for 2 -5 minutes less.  Can be baked if preferred at 180deg.


10.  Garnish with parsley or cilantro. 

Inspiration:-  BBC goodfood
                      From James to Jamie

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.

Slow Cooked Baby Back Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of bbq sauce
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 4 Tbsp. of cider vinegar
• 3 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp. of cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp. of chili powder
• 3 lbs of baby back pork ribs
• Salt & pepper

• (1.5 kg Pork Baby Back Ribs)

Directions:

Combine bbq sauce, brown sugar, cider vinegar, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, and chili powder in a small bowl.

Salt and pepper the ribs. Place ribs in slow cooker, and cover in sauce. Cook low and slow for eight hours or high for four hours.
After the ribs are done, spoon the bbq sauce in the slow cooker over the ribs before removing. Cut the ribs, serve with bbq sauce.

Source:  BuzzFeed

Slow Oven Roasted Rolled Beef Brisket

This was my first attempt at "low and slow cooking" albeit in an electric oven as opposed to a charcoal smoker.  It turned out exceptionally well.   A cheaper and tougher cut of meat turned out to be one of the most moist, tender and tasty roasts I have ever done.  The recipe is based on Texas Oven - Roasted Beef Brisket, and has been adapted to suit Aussie conditions and availability of the meat cut.

Beef Brisket is the breast of a cow and is normally ordered in large slabs in the States.   This type of cut has not been popular in Oz and is normally sold as a rolled pot roast.  The slab is available from good butchers as a pre-order, whereas the rolled version is freely available.

After much research, I have estimated the following times for oven roasting a rolled brisket, (the longer the bake, the better):-

100 degC  =  3.50    hours/kilo
110 degC  = 2.647   hours/kilo
120 degC =  2.20     hours/kilo

Many web pages state 1.5 hours per pound at 250 degF or 3.31 hours per kilo at 121 degC.

Serves:  10.  Preparation Time:  15mins.   Cooking Time:  7 hours.  Resting Time:  1 hour.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 bay leaf, crushed
2 kilos/4 pounds rolled beef brisket

3 cups beef stock

Method

The original recipe asked to make a dry rub by combining chili powder, salt, garlic and onion powders, black pepper, sugar, dry mustard, and bay leaf and season the raw brisket on both sides with the rub.  I rubbed the brisket with just the salt and pepper only and made a jus with the remaining ingredients
.

Set aside jus and rubbed brisket in a roasting pan and let it sit uncovered for at least an hour.  The roast will need to be covered later, so a pan with a lid is beneficial otherwise have aluminum foil available.

Pre heat oven to 200 degC, then reduce it to 100 degC  and immediately place roast in the oven uncovered, for 2 hours.  The initial high temperature helps sear the outer roast and mold the rub to the meat.

Add jus to cover 1/2 inch of the roasting pan.  Don't let the jus contact the meat.   Place the lid or cover pan tightly and continue cooking for 5 hours, or until fork-tender.

Let the meat sit covered for at least thirty minutes ( I prefer an hour).  Slice meat thinly across the grain. Thicken the jus with maize flour if necessary and drizzle over the meat.

Other references:-

Kitchen Riffs

Hilah Cooking