Recipes: Organic Fantastic

Roasted organic pork with salt and pepper crackling and autumn brassicas (pictured above)

Cooking Time: 1 hour
Serves: 6

Ingredients
For the roast pork:
1.2kg organic pork rib eye, trimmed
40g organic butter
1 sprig of organic thyme
Salt
Organic pepper

For the crackling:
1 sheet of organic pork rind (available from your butcher)
salt
organic pepper
For the vegetables:
1 organic sweetheart cabbage
1 organic yellow cauliflower
1 organic white cauliflower
1 organic romanesco cauliflower
5g organic sunflower seeds, toasted
5g organic breadcrumbs, toasted
10g organic butter, melted
Salt
Organic pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5

Season the pork with salt and pepper. Add the pork in a hot pan, searing until the outside is completely golden brown. Add the butter and thyme, then place in the oven for 30-40 minutes if pink pork is desired, or up to 55 minutes if well done is preferred

Take out of the oven and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving

To make the crackling, use a sharp knife to cut long thin strips out of the rind. Make sure it is well seasoned with salt and pepper then transfer to a non-stick baking tray, fat-side up

Place a sheet of baking paper on top of the rind strips, and then another heavy baking tray to ensure it stays flat. Bake in the same oven (190°C/gas mark 5) for 10-15 minutes until crispy. Leave it on some kitchen paper to drain and cool

Put the whole cabbage in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until it can be easily cut with a knife. Take out of the oven and set aside to cool, then quarter and season with salt  Cut each cauliflower into florets, keeping the individual colours separate. Simmer each cauliflower separately in salted water until just cooked, then drain and mix the melted butter in. Season with salt and place in a serving dish, then spread over the toasted breadcrumbs and sunflower seeds
 
Carve the pork on a large board or plate and serve with the cabbage, crackling and cauliflowers

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Organic chargrilled hanger steak, loaded potato skins, baby gem and blue cheese

Cooking Time: 1 hour 55 minutes, plus 1 hour brining

 

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1.2kg onglet steak, organic, cut into 4
For the caramelised onion glaze:
10 organic onions
100g of organic sugar
450ml of water
For the brine:
100g of organic caster sugar
120g of sea salt
2 organic juniper berries, crushed
3 organic garlic cloves, crushed
1 organic bay leaf, torn
1l water

For the potato skins:
4 organic Maris Piper potatoes, medium sized, washed
250g of coarse sea salt
50g of organic milk
75g of organic butter
60g of organic créme fraiche
5g of organic chives, finely sliced
2 pinches of salt

For the pickling syrup:
250ml of organic distilled vinegar
250g of organic sugar
250ml of water
For the blue cheese dressing:
175g of organic Fourme d'Ambert
75g of organic Gorgonzola
125g of organic buttermilk
100g of organic sour cream
100g of organic mayonnaise
10g of organic garlic, crushed
Organic Worcestershire sauce, to taste
Organic Tabasco, to taste
salt
Organic pepper

For the crispy onion rings:
1 large organic onion, sliced into 16 rings
1 pinch of organic paprika
Organic seasoned flour
Organic milk
Organic sunflower oil, for deep frying

For the baby gem salad:
2 organic baby gem lettuces, halved and leaves separated
2 organic red radishes, finely sliced
2 organic spring onions, finely sliced
50g of organic pea shoots
1 organic red onion, finely sliced
25g of organic blue cheese

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and start with the onion glaze for the steak. Encase the onions in a double layer of baking paper and foil, then roast on a tray for 90 minutes.

Once the casing and any skins are removed, press the soft onions into the tray to release any juices and mix with 400ml of water in the tray. Cover the tray with a foil lid and roast for another 15 minutes.

Add the sugar last 50ml of water to a pan and cook to a light caramel, before adding in 450ml of the onion juices from the baking tray and cook down until it thickens to a glaze.

To make a brine for the steak, heat the salt, sugar, berries, bay and garlic with the water in a pan until dissolved. Remove from the heat and once cool, add the steak and set aside for 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 6. Put the potatoes on a tray that is covered in the salt and bake for 45 minutes, or until cooked. Halve the potatoes and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, leaving the skins intact (you can get rid of the salt).

Remove any lumps from the flesh by mashing or passing through a sieve. Mix in the crème fraiche, chives, and 50g of the butter and season as required. Place in a piping bag and set aside somewhere warm.

Brush the potato shells with the rest of the butter (melted), season and bake for 5-8 minutes until crisp. Pipe in the mash before serving.

For the salad dressing you will need a pickling syrup which is made by boiling and reducing the vinegar, sugar and water in a pan to a syrupy consistency.

Make the rest of the dressing by infusing the garlic in the warm syrup for 5 minutes, then mixing in a blender with the remaining ingredients, seasoning with the Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and salt and pepper at the end.

For the onion ring garnish for the salad, season the flour with paprika. Dip the onion rings in milk, shake off the excess, then dip in the flour and deep fry at 140°C. Drain off the excess oil and set aside.

To cook the steak, remove from the brine and dry. Barbecue or grill for 3-4 minutes, turning until charred and medium rare. Once rested for a few minutes, brush the onion glaze all over and slice.

To serve the salad, tumble a mix of the pea shoots, radish, red onions and spring onions on top of the baby gem leaves. Drizzle over the dressing and scatter with pieces of the blue cheese and the onion rings, before adding the steak slices and filled potatoes.

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Organic Turkey Sausage Meat Pastry Puffs

Cooking Time: 2 hours
Serves: 8

These organic turkey canapés from Lisa Allen, complete with a homemade brown sauce recipe, would make a glorious Christmas snack, but can indeed be enjoyed year-round. Lisa uses good quality organic turkey and pork for the filling, and you can ask your butcher to mince these for you if you don't have a mincer at home.


Ingredients
Turkey pastry puffs
375g of organic turkey leg, boned weight, with fat
65g of organic turkey breast, with fat
140g of organic pork belly, skin removed
150g of organic streaky bacon
75g of organic white breadcrumbs, fresh
75g of organic onion, finely diced
1/2 an organic garlic clove
1 tbsp of organic parsley, chopped
15ml of organic clarified butter
300g of organic puff pastry
Brown sauce
500g of organic tomatoes
110g of organic cooking apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
700ml of water
225g of organic onion, finely chopped
15g of organic ginger
100ml of organic red wine vinegar
50g of organic dried apricots
1 organic bay leaf
1/2 organic star anise
2 organic cloves
1/2 organic chilli
2 pinches of organic white pepper
1/4 tsp salt
5 organic juniper berries
12 organic fennel seeds
1/4 tsp organic allspice
4 tsp organic Worcestershire sauce
4 tsp organic black treacle

Method
To begin, make the brown sauce. Score the tomatoes and blanch in boiling water to loosen the skins. Plunge into iced water to cool then remove the seeds and skins. Roughly chop the remaining flesh

Sweat the onions without colour in a large pan, then add the remaining ingredients (except the vinegar)

Slowly reduce the chutney, then add the vinegar and reduce to a thick sauce consistency. Place the contents of the pan into a liquidiser, process until smooth then pass through a fine chinois

To make the turkey pastry puffs, sweat the onion and garlic in the clarified butter until soft. Remove from the pan and leave to cool

Pass all of the meats through a mincer and mix to thoroughly combine with the breadcrumbs and parsley. Season with a couple of pinches of salt

Make a small patty out of the mixture and fry in a pan until cooked through. Taste for seasoning, and all more salt to the raw mix if needed

Roll a sheet of puff pastry out to a 40cm x 18cm rectangle. Place 425g of the mincemeat in the middle and spread out evenly

Roll up the pastry lengthways, as you would a Swiss roll, then set aside in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4

Cut the roll into eight pieces and flatten each one slightly between your hands to create pinwheels

Place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and bake for 8–10 minutes, until golden. Serve warm or cool with the brown sauce. Extra brown sauce will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container in the fridge

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Organic Wild Mushroom and Roast Garlic 'Tumbleweeds' by Nigel Haworth

Cooking Time: 50 minutes, plus chilling time
Serves: Makes 10

Looking just like little tumbleweeds, Nigel Haworth's deep-fried mushroom canapés make a perfect snack or elegant party nibble, and are a great way to show off organic vegetables and wild mushrooms. If you can't find kataifi pastry for the coating, you can use shredded filo pastry instead.


Ingredients
Tumbleweeds
450g of mixed organic wild mushrooms, washed and chopped
200g of organic shallots, finely diced
80g of organic wild garlic, shredded, or chopped garlic chives
60g of organic cream cheese
1 bulb of organic garlic
organic flour, for dusting
2 organic eggs, beaten
organic kataifi pastry, 1 box salt
organic lemon juice
Sage dip
200g of organic mayonnaise
1 tsp chopped organic sage
2 tbsp of organic lemon juice
100g of organic crème fraîche
salt

Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3

Coat the garlic bulb in a generous drizzle of oil and wrap it tightly in foil. Place the foil parcel on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 40 minutes, until the garlic has completely softened

Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little before opening the bulb and removing each individual garlic clove from its skin. Pass the roasted garlic cloves through a fine sieve to form a paste

In a hot pan add a small amount of oil, add the shallots and mushroom, cover tightly with cling film and sweat for 4–5 minutes until soft. Keep shaking the pan during this time

Once cooked, remove from the heat and place the mushrooms in a colander. Drain for 5–10 minutes to remove any excess liquid

Place the mushrooms in a bowl and add the cream cheese, 50g of the roast garlic (reserving the rest for the dip) and shredded wild garlic. Season to taste with lemon juice and salt

Form the mixture into 8g balls and dredge through flour and egg wash before wrapping in the kataifi pastry. Leave to set in the fridge for 30 minutes before cooking

Meanwhile, make the sage dip by mixing together the mayonnaise, chopped sage, lemon juice and crème fraîche with 10g of the reserved roasted garlic. Season to taste with salt and reserve in the fridge until ready to serve

Preheat the deep-fryer to 180°C

Deep fry the balls for 2–3 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Drain any excess oil on kitchen towel, then serve with the sage dip on the side

Recipe credit: Created by Lisa Allen & Nigel Haworth for The Organic Trade Board’s ‘Organic. Naturally Different’ campaign, courtesy of www.greatbritishchefs.com