Kale, spinach and ricotta stuffed conchiglioni (pictured above)
Prep 40 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4
250g kale, stalks removed
100g spinach leaves
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
1 handful parsley, leaves picked
2 tbsp olive oil
250g ricotta
50g parmesan, grated
½ nutmeg, grated
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt and black pepper
200g conchiglioni
750ml tomato sauce (see recipe below)
125g mozzarella
For the tomato sauce
3 tbsp olive oil
1 head garlic, cloves finely chopped
2kg tomatoes (a mix of varieties)
Salt and black pepper
2 tbsp sherry, red wine or white wine vinegar
Large bunch basil leaves
To make the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat and gently fry the garlic for about 10 minutes, until golden. Blitz the tomatoes into a puree in a food processor and add to the pan. Season well, add the vinegar then cook very slowly for 1½ hours until reduced. Blitz again, put back in the pan, tear up the basil leaves and add to the sauce.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil and blanch the kale for two to three minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and refresh in a bowl of ice-cold water. Repeat with the spinach, blanching for 30 seconds. Squeeze out any water.
Put the kale, spinach, chilli and parsley into a food processor and whizz for a few seconds. Transfer to a bowl and add the oil, ricotta, 30g parmesan, nutmeg and lemon zest. Mix until well combined, seasoning to taste. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag.
Heat the oven to 220/425F/gas 7. Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil, and cook the pasta for 10 minutes, so it retains some bite. Drain and leave to cool until you can handle it.
To fill the pasta, cup a shell in one hand, the piping bag in the other, and with your thumb, open up the shell and squeeze about a tablespoon of filling into the cavity. Repeat until all the pasta and filling are used up.
Take a medium ceramic baking dish, about 26cm square, and pour in the tomato sauce. Arrange the filled pasta shells on top, packing them in tightly and pressing them down a little into the sauce. Tear the mozzarella and scatter over the top, followed by the remaining parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling. Serve with a simple green salad.
Pork and apple stroganoff with hot dog onions
Prep 30 min
Cook 2 hr
Serves 4
5 tbsp ghee or oil
4 medium onions, thinly sliced
3 sprigs rosemary
700g pork neck steaks, cut into thickish slices
250g mushrooms, sliced
2 granny smith apples, cored but not peeled, each cut into 8
1 tsp plain flour
300ml white wine or cider
500ml chicken stock
1 tsp English mustard
4 tbsp creme fraiche, plus extra for serving
Salt and black pepper
1 squeeze lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Heat three tablespoons of ghee in a large pan. Add the onions and rosemary and fry very slowly with the lid on for about 25 minutes until the onions are really soft, stirring occasionally to prevent them catching. Now turn up the heat and fry the onions for another five minutes or so until dark golden.
Season the pork and brown it in batches in a tablespoon of ghee over a high heat, until caramelised. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Fry the mushrooms, again in batches, in a tablespoon of ghee, until dark golden on all sides. Do the same with the apples, frying them cut side down until golden brown, then flipping them over to brown on the other side. Set aside on a separate plate.
Put everything into the pan, keeping back the apples and half the onions. Add the flour and cook for one minute, then pour in the wine or cider and the stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and slowly braise for one hour, scraping the bottom of the pan every so often.
It’s ready when the pork is tender and the sauce is thick. Mix together the mustard and creme fraiche and add to the pan. Add the apples to just warm them through. Season well and add lemon juice to taste. Add the parsley, top with the remaining onions, and serve with rice.
Golabki (pork-stuffed cabbage rolls)
Prep 45 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 8
120g pearl barley
5 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 garlic bulb, cloves peeled, finely chopped
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp crushed chillies
3 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
600g pork mince
Zest of 1 lemon
1 handful parsley, finely chopped
1 kg tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
8 savoy cabbage leaves, blanched for 2 minutes, refreshed in cold water
Salt and black pepper
Sour cream, to serve
1 handful dill, to serve
Cook the pearl barley for 15 minutes in a pan of boiling salted water. Drain and set aside. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a pan, and sweat the onions, five cloves of garlic, the fennel seeds, chilli and thyme for 20 minutes until soft and translucent. Add this to a bowl with the pork mince, pearl barley, lemon zest and parsley, and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly with your hands.
In a separate pan, heat the remaining four tablespoons of oil and the rest of the garlic. Once it starts to soften, add the tomatoes, vinegar, salt and pepper. Cook over a medium heat for 30 minutes. Once reduced, transfer to a food processor and blitz until smooth.
To assemble, take a cabbage leaf, pat it dry and measure out two to three tablespoons of the meat filling. Using the palm of your hand, mould the filling into a patty about 8cm long. Put this at the stalk end of the cabbage leaf, and roll it up carefully, folding the ends under to make a little parcel. Repeat with the rest of the cabbage and filling.
Pour the tomato sauce into a heavy-based casserole to cover the base. Tightly arrange the cabbage parcels on top. Cover and cook over a gentle heat for 30 minutes. Serve two golabki per person, top with sour cream and dill.
Miso ramen with butternut squash, tofu and kimchi
Prep 30 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 2
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
3cm piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp turmeric
1 tbsp soy bean chilli oil
1.2 litres boiling water
200g white miso paste
3 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp Marmite
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
400ml soy milk
200g shiitake mushrooms, sliced
200g firm tofu, sliced
100ml teriyaki sauce
2 hard-boiled eggs
90g cooked buckwheat noodles per person
3 slices roast butternut squash per person
2 tbsp kimchi
2 spring onions, sliced
½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp sesame seeds
Put the oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the onion. Fry for about 15 minutes, until soft and sweet. Add the garlic and ginger, and fry for three minutes. Add the spices and chilli oil, fry for two minutes, then add the water. Whisk in the miso, mirin, yeast, Marmite, soy and sugar. Simmer for 30 minutes, then add the soy milk. Blitz smooth in a food processor and return to the pan.
In a frying pan, heat some oil and fry the mushrooms over a high heat for five minutes, until they start to caramelise, then set aside. Return the pan to the heat, add a little more oil and fry the tofu for a minute on each side, until charred.
Put the teriyaki sauce in a bowl, add the tofu and the eggs and coat thoroughly. Set aside.
Divide the noodles between two bowls and pour some of the soup base into each. Halve the eggs and put on top. Add slices of tofu, followed by the squash and kimchi. Sprinkle the spring onions, chilli powder and sesame seeds over and serve.
All recipes from Slow by Gizzi Erskine (HQ)
