Milky ways and Chinese
I RECEIVED a nice letter from a worried Mrs Margaret Hankins from Oswestry; who was concerned about all those tins of condensed milk exploding throughout the country when being boiled for Banoffi Pie (3 September). She offers an alternative method for the caramel filling, with 4 oz margarine, 4 oz brown sugar, 2 table- spoons of golden syrup and a small tin of condensed milk. Heat the ingredients gent- ly until melted, bring to the boil and simmer for eight minutes. Beat well with a wooden spoon as it cools until smooth and beginning to thicken. Use at will. It must be even sweeter than the other. However, many thanks.
Now that pork has gone the way of all flesh and is being produced without enough fat to make good crackling (I think they put water in instead — it seems to exude from every pore) I found the follow- ing receipt in a very good book, The Cooking of South-West France by Paula Wolfert. The pork, being cooked in milk, gets back a little butterfat and the meat keeps moist and juicy.
Porc frais au laic 31/2 to 4 lbs pork loin, boned and rolled and well trimmed
2 plump cloves of garlic, cut into slivers coarse salt
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped the white part of a small leek, finely sliced 1 oz of unsalted butter 11/2 pints of creamy milk VI teaspoon of ground white pepper bouquet garni of parsley, thyme and bayleaf tablespoon of chopped parsley
Two days before cooking, stud the meat with the garlic slivers, rub the surface with coarse salt, cover loosely and keep re- frigerated. Preheat the oven to Gas 2, F300, C150. In a large, deep, flameproof casserole slowly fry the vegetables until soft but not brown. Place the pork on top of the vegetables and keep on a low heat. Bring the milk to boiling point in a saucepan, then pour round the pork. Add the bouquet garni and sprinkle with the
pepper. Cover and place on the lowest rack in the oven for three hours, turning the meat at intervals.
Remove the casserole and raise the oven temperature to Gas 5, F375, C190. Trans- fer the meat to an open baking dish, fat side up, and return to the oven to brown for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, strain the cooking juices into a narrow deep contain- er such as a measuring jug, pushing down on the milk solids that have separated in the cooking. Chill quickly (in the freezer or surrounded by ice cubes) so that the fat rises to the surface and can be removed. Return the cooking liquid to the casserole and bring to the boil with a metal spoon on the bottom to prevent the liquid boiling over (good trick). Reduce by two thirds (takes about 15 minutes). Adjust seasoning to taste.
Slice the meat and arrange in overlap- ping slices on a fine serving platter. Spoon the sauce all over the meat and sprinkle with parsley. Serve the pork surrounded with lovely little glace vegetables, onions, carrots and turnips. Any leftover pork is excellent served cold with a salad.
Here is something I do with chicken pieces which gives them a good flavour, sort of fake Chinese. Use whichever bits you prefer; I like the thighs.
8 chicken thighs 2 tablespoons soy sauce 3 tablespoons dry sherry 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped one-inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped teaspoon of dried tarragon juice of half a lemon chicken stock
Remove any excess lumps of fat from the chicken pieces. Place them in a cooking dish that can receive them in one layer. Add the soy sauce, sherry, garlic, ginger, tarragon and lemon juice. Marinate for a couple of hours, giving them the odd turn. When ready to cook, let the skin be uppermost. Top up the marinade with chicken stock to cover the flesh but not the skin. Preheat the oven to Gas 6, F400, C205. Cook for 30-35 minutes, or until done, remove from the oven, grind some salt and pepper over the skin and finish off under a hot grill to make them really crisp. Serve with a good dish of rice and whatever vegetable tickles your fancy.
Jennifer Paterson
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