Anna Friels Balinese Pork Stew Recipes

ANNA FRIEL'S BALINESE PORK STEW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
• To make the paste, peel and finely slice the fresh turmeric, then scrub and finely slice the galangal. Place in a dry frying pan for a few minutes, or until they start to release their oils, then turn the heat off.
• Peel and finely slice the shallots and garlic, then deseed and roughly chop all the chillies. Slice the nuts.
• Crush the peppercorns in a pestle and mortar, add all the other paste ingredients and a big pinch of sea salt, then bash and muddle everything together - work in batches, if you need to. Freeze half for another day.
• Reserving 2 tablespoons of the remaining paste for later, place the rest in a large roasting tray. Add the meat and massage in all those lovely flavours. Drizzle with olive oil, then cover with a sheet of wet greaseproof paper and a layer of tin foil.
• Cook in the oven for 2 hours, or until beautifully browned and gnarly, shaking the tray halfway and removing the greaseproof and foil for the final 30 minutes.
• Chop the Chinese long beans into 7cm chunks (if using), halve the squash across the middle, then roughly shred the cabbage. Remove the meat tray from the oven and place over a medium heat on the hob. Stir in the veg, lime leaves, reserved paste and coconut milk, and gently mix together.
• Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the veg are tender. Season to perfection.
• Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the packet instructions, and prepare the sambal.
• Peel the shallots and finely slice with the chillies and lime leaves. Bash the lemongrass, remove and discard the outer layer, then finely slice. Mix it all in a small bowl with the lime juice and a drizzle of coconut oil, then season to perfection.
• Dish up the rice and curry, and serve the sambal on the side, with lime wedges for squeezing over.

BRAZILIAN PORK STEW WITH CORN DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Start by getting your biggest flameproof casserole dish and sealing the pork chunks in the oil - they don't have to be very well browned. Do in batches, then transfer to a plate and tip three-quarters of the onions, the celery, bay and oregano into the dish. Add a splash more oil, if you need, and fry gently until softened.
• Tip in the spices, stir for 1 min to toast, then return the pork to the dish. Crumble in the stock cube and stir in the tomatoes, cocoa, sugar, 2 tbsp of the vinegar, the zest and juice from 1 orange, and 3 of the chilli halves. Bring to a simmer, then cover and leave to bubble for 1 hr.
• Meanwhile, finely chop the reserved chilli half and mix with the remaining onions, the spring onions, and red wine vinegar and the zest and juice from the last orange. Keep cold in the fridge.
• After 1 hr, stir the sweet potatoes and red peppers into the stew, then re-cover and simmer for another 30 mins.
• When the stew has about 15 mins to go, make the dumplings. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine crumbs, then stir in the cornmeal, bicarb and sweetcorn. Finally, mix in the buttermilk and all but 1 tbsp of the egg to make a soft dough. Season with some salt and roll the mixture into 12 soft dumplings, then roll in a little more cornmeal to coat the tops. Brush the tops with the reserved beaten egg.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Stir the beans into the stew, then taste for seasoning. Sit 6 of the dumplings on top of the stew and the rest on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Put both in the oven - the stew without its lid - and cook for 25 mins until the dumplings are golden and risen.
• Carry the stew straight to the table, and sprinkle over a little more oregano before spooning into bowls. Serve the extra dumplings alongside for those who fancy another one, and the onion relish.