food: Hoisin Pork

Hoisin Pork, Linda Reid stylee.

Ingredients:
2 x pork fillet steaks
5 cm fresh ginger, chopped very finely, pulped even
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp light soft brown sugar
1 tsp five spice powder
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp honey

Method:
Trim any fat off the pork, leave them whole but flatten them a little. Place the pork and marinade ingredients in a plastic bag or sealable box and make sure everything is completely mixed and covered. Leave in the fridge for at least two hours or preferably overnight. Remove from marinade and cook over a medium heat until cooked through. Don’t pierce the meat unless you want to lose your juices.

If there’s marinade left over, I stick it in a pot and cook it up, possibly adding a little chopped tomato to make a pouring sauce.

Hoisin Pork

Hoisin Pork, Linda Reid stylee.

Ingredients:
2 x pork fillet steaks
5 cm fresh ginger, chopped very finely, pulped even
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp light soft brown sugar
1 tsp five spice powder
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp honey

Method:
Trim any fat off the pork, leave them whole but flatten them a little. Place the pork and marinade ingredients in a plastic bag or sealable box and make sure everything is completely mixed and covered. Leave in the fridge for at least two hours or preferably overnight. Remove from marinade and cook over a medium heat until cooked through. Don’t pierce the meat unless you want to lose your juices.

If there’s marinade left over, I stick it in a pot and cook it up, possibly adding a little chopped tomato to make a pouring sauce.

food: almond cake with oranges and lemons



Here’s a recipe borrowed from Linda Reid (again), the fount of a lot of good food. I think it may be Lebanese in origin …

For the cake:

50g slightly stale white breadcrumbs
200g caster sugar
100g ground almonds
1.5 tsp baking powder
200ml vegetable oil
4 eggs
finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
finely grated zest of 1 large unwaxed orange

For the syrup:

juice of 2 oranges
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lime
75g caster sugar
3 cloves
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick

Method:

line a 20cm cake tin
mix all the dry ingreients
mix all the wet ingredients
mix the wet and dry ingredients
turn into the cake tin
place into the middle of a cold oven
turn the heat to 180C
bake for 45-50 minutes, a skewer should come out clean.

For the syrup, mix all the ingredients and simmer gently for 3 minutes.

When the cake is cooked, turn out onto a plate and allow cool for a while. Stick a few more holes into it and pour over the syrup, so it soaks in.

Serve with yoghurt (I prefer cream / ice cream).

I didn’t have access to unwaxed oranges and lemons, so I just scrubbed them hard under the hot tap. Neither did I use the star anise. But it was delicious anyway. Even better on the second day.

almond cake with oranges and lemons



Here’s a recipe borrowed from Linda Reid (again), the fount of a lot of good food. I think it may be Lebanese in origin …

For the cake:

50g slightly stale white breadcrumbs
200g caster sugar
100g ground almonds
1.5 tsp baking powder
200ml vegetable oil
4 eggs
finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
finely grated zest of 1 large unwaxed orange

For the syrup:

juice of 2 oranges
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lime
75g caster sugar
3 cloves
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick

Method:

line a 20cm cake tin
mix all the dry ingreients
mix all the wet ingredients
mix the wet and dry ingredients
turn into the cake tin
place into the middle of a cold oven
turn the heat to 180C
bake for 45-50 minutes, a skewer should come out clean.

For the syrup, mix all the ingredients and simmer gently for 3 minutes.

When the cake is cooked, turn out onto a plate and allow cool for a while. Stick a few more holes into it and pour over the syrup, so it soaks in.

Serve with yoghurt (I prefer cream / ice cream).

I didn’t have access to unwaxed oranges and lemons, so I just scrubbed them hard under the hot tap. Neither did I use the star anise. But it was delicious anyway. Even better on the second day.