Sausages, bacon, scratchings, belly, raised pies: you name it, I’ll eat it. I also feel a real sympathy for British pig farmers, and the rough ride they’ve had in recent years. So much so that last year I helped launch the Pig Idea, to highlight how much food we throw away and what we could do with that waste instead (ie, feed it to our pigs). Today’s first dish is a homage to those farmers and their pigs: a gloriously sticky, sweet way with pork. It’s followed by a robust, succulent salad with roast beets (still in the markets) and a crimson pomegranate dressing. Whoever said healthy food couldn’t taste ace?
Slow-cooked pork shoulder with fig and fennel
This is a take on the classic Italian pork braised in milk. Anise-flavoured, sweet fig juices are reduced slowly to produce a creamy, caramelised sauce to ladle over the soft, yielding pork. Serves six with lots of leftovers.
1.8kg rolled boneless pork shoulder, skin on
Salt and black pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
60g butter
6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 big handful fresh sage leaves
2 tsp fennel seeds
Zest of 1 lemon, peeled into long strips
1 chile de arbol, torn into pieces (or 2 tsp dried chilli flakes)
6 celery sticks, sliced thinly
250ml white wine
300ml milk
4 tbsp fig jam
Season the pork generously and rub with a tablespoon of oil. Heat a large pan over a medium heat and, when hot, brown the pork on all sides. Remove from the pan and add the remaining oil, the butter and garlic to the pan. Fry gently until the garlic is soft but not coloured, then add the sage leaves, fennel seeds, lemon zest, chilli and celery. Fry for a moment, then pour in the white wine. Bring to a boil, reduce for three minutes, then lower the heat to a simmer, stir in the milk and fig jam and season well.
Return the pork to the pan, cover with a neatly fitting piece of parchment paper and leave to simmer very gently for three hours, turning the meat every half-hour or so. The pork is ready when you can easily pull off a bit of meat and the whole thing feels soft when you insert a fork. (Mysteriously, every shoulder differs, so you may find that yours needs longer – if so, just continue simmering until it’s ready.) The fat and skin will go gooey, soft and very more-ish. Carve the meat into slices, and serve with some of the deliciously sticky pan juices spooned over the top.
Beet, lentil and soft egg salad with pomegranate dressing
Lentils are great in salads, particularly with the sweet, earthy flavours of beetroot. Sparkle everything up with a bright, sharp dressing, and you’re away. Serves four to six.
For the beetroot
4 medium-sized red and yellow beetroot, cut into quarters
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thickly sliced
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the lentils
100g lentils
2 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp red-wine vinegar
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
For the dressing
½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 small clove garlic, crushed with a little salt
Seeds from ½ pomegranate
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
The zest and juice of half a lemon
½ tsp caster sugar
For the salad
3 free-range eggs
2 baby gems
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas 6. If your beets have the stems and leaves attached, cut these off and set aside. Put the beetroots, sliced garlic, thyme, oil and plenty of salt and pepper in a baking dish in which the beets will fit in a single layer, and mix so the beets are coated. Cover with foil, roast for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and roast for 30-40 minutes more, shaking the dish from time to time, until tender.
Meanwhile, put the lentils, garlic and bay leaves in a pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes (cooking times tend to vary with lentils), adding more water as necessary, until the lentils are soft but still have a little bite. If you have them, add the reserved beet stems and leaves a minute or two from the end. Take off the heat, add a teaspoon of sea salt and set aside for five minutes, then pour off any excess liquid and stir in the vinegar and oil.
Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the eggs, cook for six minutes, to soft-boil, then plunge into cold water.
Mix the dressing ingredients, season and stir well to combine. On a large plate, combine the baby gem leaves, lentils and half the dressing. Cut the eggs in half and sit them upright on the salad with quartered wedges of beetroot (and the caramelised garlic slices). Dribble the dressing over and serve.
And for the rest of the week
The leftover pork makes the most delicious stir-fried rice. Fry grated garlic and ginger in four tablespoons of groundnut or vegetable oil until aromatic. Add cooked rice, fry until the grains are separate and turning golden, then add slithers of pork and some toasted peanuts. Toss to heat through, add beansprouts and season with lime juice and loads of coriander. Douse in hot sauce, if you like. As for the lentils, I always make more than I need, because they can be tossed with just about anything in the fridge to make a tasty midweek salad – I especially like them with goat’s curd, finely sliced fennel and a lemony dressing.
• Thomasina Miers is co-owner of the Wahaca group of Mexican restaurants.
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