Pork and Grainy Mustard Stew

I can take no credit for this wonderful recipe. I've made several recipes published by the good people at Canadian Living magazine and find that they are exactly to my tastes. Here's the link to the original recipe: Pork and Grainy Mustard Stew

3 lbs pork shoulder, trimmed and cubed
2 Tbsps flour
3 Tbsps vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
A few sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 cups chicken stock
½ cup white wine

1½ cups water
1 bay leaf
¼ cup grainy mustard
⅔ cup fresh green peas
¼ cup minced fresh parsley

1. Toss pork with 1 tbsp of the flour. In Dutch oven, heat half of the oil over medium-high heat; brown pork, in batches and adding more oil as needed. Remove to plate.
2. In same Dutch oven, heat remaining oil. Fry onions, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add stock, wine, bay leaf and 1½ cups water; return pork and any accumulated juices to pan. Bring to boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes or until meat is tender. Discard bay leaf.
4. Whisk in the mustard and simmer, uncovered, until it thickens a bit. Stir in the peas and the parsley a continue simmering until they're heated through, about 3 minutes.

Pear or Apple Cake

We juiced some pears to make cocktails with, using some really lovely whiskey. What was left in the juicer was this wonderful frothy slurry which I strained to get more juice out of, then saved the rest to make a cake with. With this same recipe I've used sliced apple, apple butter, and a mixture of apple butter and apple diced small. All have worked nicely. In short, it's a pretty versatile recipe to use all sorts of fruit as the filling.

2 eggs
⅓ cup milk
¼ cup grape seed oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup (105g) flour

½ cup (105g) sugar

¼ tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder
1½ cups crushed pears, apple sauce or butter or fresh fruit etc.
3 Tbsps whiskey

Part 2: The Topping
3oz (80gr) of butter (about ⅓ cup)
¼ cup (35g) icing sugar
1 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Lightly butter a spring form pan.
3. Thoroughly beat the egg separately, and add the milk, oil, vanilla. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. 
5. NOTE: Work the batter as little as possible.
6. Create a well in the centre and add the beaten egg, milk, oil and vanilla, folding gently until the batter is uniform.
7. Mix together the whiskey and fruit.
8. Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan, about 235g. Pour the fruit as a ribbon in the middle, to make a ring. Pour the remains of the batter over this, and put in the oven for 15 minutes or until the surface is starting to set.
9. While this is baking melt the butter and whisk in the sugar, then set aside to allow it to cool.
10. Just before the timer rings, add the egg and whisk until it's all uniform.
11. Pour the butter mixture on top of the cake, to even it out, and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top is uniformly golden (you may have to turn the dish after about 10 to 15 minutes for even browning).
12. Allow to cool and serve while still warm or at room temperature.

DuPuy Lentil Soup

A simple wintery soup. I've indicated "beef broth concentrate" in the recipe, but any very rich beef broth will do. Just make sure the flavours are big and bold or they'll get lost in the warm richness of the other flavours.

Servings : 6

180g of bacon cut in small cubes (retain 4 Tbsps. of the rendered bacon fat)
5 onions, chopped (approx 800gr)
3 Bay laurel leaves
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
6 garlic cloves, minced
1½ cup DuPuy lentils
8 cups water
1½ Tbsp beef broth concentrate
¾ tsp salt

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Ground black pepper, to taste
Hot sauce, to taste

1. In a large casserole slowly render the bacon until it is brown and crispy. Cook the onion in the hot fat, along with the Bay leaves and cumin until the onion is tender. (Cooking the onions over low heat for a long time allows for the sweetness of the onion to come through). 
2. Add the garlic and cook another 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Toast the lentils in the hot bacon fat and onion mix for 2 to 3 minute.
4. Add a bit of the water to start and scrape up as much of the fond that developed from browning the onions as you can, then add the rest of the water and beef broth concentrate and bring to a boil. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 50 to 60 minutes, or until the lentils are completely soft.
5. Optional: Once the lentils are cooked, you can blend about a quarter of the soup. This will make it thicker.
6. Stir back in the rendered bacon, along with the salt, pepper and vinegar.
7. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
8. Serve with ground black pepper on top and, if desired, a few drops of hot sauce.

Poulet à la bière avec herbes de Provence (Chicken cooked with beer and herbes de Provence)

A lovely single-pot meal (unless you make some sort of pilaf to go with it, although a slice of crusty bread works just as well). It's simple, delicious, and kind of impressive in a rustic sort of way. When serving, I always slice up the meat and ladle some of the richly flavoured cooking juices over it.

1 chicken cut into pieces
2 cups stout or dark beer
3 carrots, cut into cut into chunks
2 potatoes, cut into chunks
1 white onion, cut into thick slices
2 tsps Herbes de Provence seasoning
1 tsp sea salt
Pepper
2 stems fresh thyme
2 stems fresh oregano
1 Tbsp olive oil

1. Massage the chicken pieces with olive oil and cover with herbes de Provence and salt.
2. Arrange the onions, carrots, and potatoes in a baking dish and lightly season with more herbes de Provence and salt&pepper. Place the chicken amongst the vegetables with the stems of fresh thyme and oregano tucked in between.
3. Pour in the beer - don't worry about it washing off the herbs, the olive oil should make them stick. Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 450°F. 
4. Remove the lid and continue baking for 15 minutes to let the chicken brown on top.
5. The chicken will be ready when the internal temperature of the breasts reaches 165°F. You could also service with rice or quinoa pilaf.

Pumpkin Bread

We've had a bumper crop of pumpkins this year, and I've been working on ways of using it. As hard as it is to believe, there's only so much pumpkin pie one can eat! Actually, I felt a little Harry Potter-ish looking and trying pumpkin recipes. Well, not actually like Harry Potter, since he and the wizards didn't really do anything so useful as cook, being too busy saving the world, la-dee-dah! I suppose I'm more like the house elves. Hopefully you'll find this recipe magically delectable.

¼ cup (2oz/58gr) melted butter 

1½ cups (372g) mashed baked pumpkin
1 cup (7.1oz/200gr) sugar
2 eggs
1½ cups (8oz/225g) flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cloves

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool a little. If you add it to the eggs too soon you'll get scrambled eggs!
3. In a medium sized bowl mix the pumpkin, sugar and the eggs together until you get a smooth consistency (it's ok if there are little chunks of pumpkin.
4. In a large bowl blend together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves.
5. Pour the butter into the wet ingredients, mix it in, and then dump the wet mixture into the flour, and lightly mix, only until evenly combined. Like cake, over mixing activates the gluten in the flour and makes for a tougher texture.
6. Grease a loaf pan and pour in the dough.
7. Bake for 1 hour or until a knife comes out clean.

Creamy French Lentil Dal

This contains all sorts of yummy. The cream smooths the flavour of the smoky spicyness of the chillis, and the firm yet tender tooth of the little du Puys lentils. This makes for an excellent addition to a multi-course Indian-style meal, or it does very well on its own, over rice, for a nice lunch.

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion (6oz/170g), minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 chipotle canned in adobo, seeded and minced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced (4oz)
1 cup du Puys lentils
¼ tsp cumin
1 bay leaf
1 cup heavy cream (or 1 can coconut milk for vegan) 
3 cups vegetable stock or water (see NOTE)
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish

1. Heat the oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, and carrots and sauté till the onions are soft and translucent.
2. Add the lentils, cumin, bay leaf, cream (or milk), and stock (or water). Turn heat to low and simmer until the liquid has reduced and the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes.
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you like, use a hand blender to gently purée the soup for a thicker consistency. 
4. Garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice.

NOTE: If you prefer a thicker dal, you can simply subtract the total amount of broth/water, which I tend to prefer if it's meant to be part of a larger ensemble of dishes. Just keep in mind that the bare minimum required to cook the lentils with NO liquid left is 2 cups to every cup of pulses.

Roast Chicken with Savoury Apple Mash

3 to 4 (1lb before coring) quartered and cored apples
2 (1 lb before coring) peeled and quartered onions
½ to 1 whole head garlic, cloves peeled
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs thyme
1 tsp rosemary powder
1 generous pinch of salt and pepper
½ cup apple cider vinegar
4 lbs whole chicken
¼ cup (2oz/58gr) butter

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Toss the apples, onions, garlic, rosemary and thyme together in a roasting pan large enough to hold the chicken. Pour in the cider vinegar. 
3. Season chicken well with salt, pepper and rosemary powder and rest it on top of the apple mixture, on its left side. Put the butter as a block on top of the chicken and put in the oven; roast for 15 minutes and turn onto its back; roast another 15 minutes and turn onto its right side; Turn onto its breast and roast 30 minutes; turn onto its back and roast until the skin browns and the internal temperature of the breast is 165°F, about another 10 minutes.
4. Let the chicken rest about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, scoop out the apple, onion and garlic, leaving the juices behind to serve separately. Either use the coarse setting on a food mill or mash roughly, to push down the skins and herb stems and push up the delicious savoury/sweet apple and onion garlic and drippings blend. Scoop up the top part and discard the skins. Carve the bird, spoon some of the broth over it, and serve with the mashed apple mixture.