A short while ago, I finally had April over for a long-awaited PORKDATE. April loves crackling, and I never need any excuse to get roasting!
One of the side dishes was Chef Mathew Macartney's pickled kohlrabi, apple and cucumber, the recipe for which I got at his cooking class in March. It's always good to have something refreshing and astringent against a fatty, juicy roast pork! We sliced the kohlrabi super-thinly, using this new Borner V-Slicer Multibox V5 that I received from Kitchenware Direct. I've got a few other things planned to make with this new gadget, so stay tuned!
As a nibble to go with drinks, I made some parmesan shortbreads, from the first Ottolenghi book. These are quite like cheese stars or cheese straws, crunchy salty little bites. I was a bit cautious and may have undercooked these slightly - you can definitely let them get a bit browner than ordinary sweet shortbread, so you get a definite crunch all the way through.
And here's the full meal!!
Juicy, crackly pork...
...and a second picture of the pork, just because!
Red cabbage...
...handmade bread dumplings...
... and the tart, crunchy kohlrabi, apple and cucumber salad. (Hint: it's even prettier if you use a red apple!)
And the table...
After quite a bit of rest, we were ready to tackle dessert. Adrian's triple-chocolate custard tarts are insanely decadent and super yummy! I think it takes him a good few hours to make them, most of which is spent slowly stirring the custard! He adds extra chunks of milk chocolate into the filling - so yum! He also used Careme sweet shortcrust pastry, one of my favourites.
I actually made some walnut shortbreads as well, using some walnut meal that I'd been given at Wagner Bros' fine food store in the Goulburn River Valley, but they weren't great so I quietly "forgot" to serve them. My created recipe didn't work brilliantly, with the shortbreads becoming quite hard and mealy, without any of that lovely walnut aroma. Whilst the walnut meal is a great product - it smells amazing before baking! - I'm struggling to figure out what to do with it! Any ideas?
As you can see, this menu is similar to PORKTOBERFEST II, and the dinner I cooked for Kate & Rob, with a few little extras. I wish I could say I made those triple choc custard tarts myself, but they were made and brought by the super-talented Adrian!
Here's the pork shoulder (free-range), all oiled up and anointed with sea salt, fennel and caraway seeds.
 |
| Pork shoulder |
As a nibble to go with drinks, I made some parmesan shortbreads, from the first Ottolenghi book. These are quite like cheese stars or cheese straws, crunchy salty little bites. I was a bit cautious and may have undercooked these slightly - you can definitely let them get a bit browner than ordinary sweet shortbread, so you get a definite crunch all the way through.
 |
| Ottolenghi Parmesan Shortbreads |
Juicy, crackly pork...
...and a second picture of the pork, just because!
Red cabbage...
...handmade bread dumplings...
... and the tart, crunchy kohlrabi, apple and cucumber salad. (Hint: it's even prettier if you use a red apple!)
And the table...
After quite a bit of rest, we were ready to tackle dessert. Adrian's triple-chocolate custard tarts are insanely decadent and super yummy! I think it takes him a good few hours to make them, most of which is spent slowly stirring the custard! He adds extra chunks of milk chocolate into the filling - so yum! He also used Careme sweet shortcrust pastry, one of my favourites.
I actually made some walnut shortbreads as well, using some walnut meal that I'd been given at Wagner Bros' fine food store in the Goulburn River Valley, but they weren't great so I quietly "forgot" to serve them. My created recipe didn't work brilliantly, with the shortbreads becoming quite hard and mealy, without any of that lovely walnut aroma. Whilst the walnut meal is a great product - it smells amazing before baking! - I'm struggling to figure out what to do with it! Any ideas?
Thanks to April, Adrian and the gang for a super-fun afternoon!
As you can see, this menu is similar to PORKTOBERFEST II, and the dinner I cooked for Kate & Rob, with a few little extras. I wish I could say I made those triple choc custard tarts myself, but they were made and brought by the super-talented Adrian!
Here's the pork shoulder (free-range), all oiled up and anointed with sea salt, fennel and caraway seeds.
|
| Pork shoulder |
As a nibble to go with drinks, I made some parmesan shortbreads, from the first Ottolenghi book. These are quite like cheese stars or cheese straws, crunchy salty little bites. I was a bit cautious and may have undercooked these slightly - you can definitely let them get a bit browner than ordinary sweet shortbread, so you get a definite crunch all the way through.
|
| Ottolenghi Parmesan Shortbreads |
Juicy, crackly pork...
...and a second picture of the pork, just because!
Red cabbage...
...handmade bread dumplings...
... and the tart, crunchy kohlrabi, apple and cucumber salad. (Hint: it's even prettier if you use a red apple!)
And the table...
After quite a bit of rest, we were ready to tackle dessert. Adrian's triple-chocolate custard tarts are insanely decadent and super yummy! I think it takes him a good few hours to make them, most of which is spent slowly stirring the custard! He adds extra chunks of milk chocolate into the filling - so yum! He also used Careme sweet shortcrust pastry, one of my favourites.
I actually made some walnut shortbreads as well, using some walnut meal that I'd been given at Wagner Bros' fine food store in the Goulburn River Valley, but they weren't great so I quietly "forgot" to serve them. My created recipe didn't work brilliantly, with the shortbreads becoming quite hard and mealy, without any of that lovely walnut aroma. Whilst the walnut meal is a great product - it smells amazing before baking! - I'm struggling to figure out what to do with it! Any ideas?
Thanks to April, Adrian and the gang for a super-fun afternoon!
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