Al Fresco

With all this glorious sunshine we've had for the last week (yes, even here in Scotland!) I've been dining al fresco as often as I could. To my mind pork is a great meat for such occasions, think hog roasts and big gatherings. For something on a far smaller scale a piece of leg or belly is perfect for 'forget about it' slow cooking and can be served very simply - while you get out and enjoy the sunshine!

Slow roast pork with beetroot and potato boulangere.

For 4

1.25 - 1.5kg piece of pork leg or belly (leg must have skin for that all-important crackling!)

Half a dozen sage leaves

2 cloves garlic

olive oil

5 or 6 medium beetroot

3-4 medium potatoes

1 medium onion

approx 400ml chicken or vegetable stock

butter

To get the skin crispy, score using a very sharp knife (a Stanley knife does the job very well), either criss-cross at 1cm intervals or in one direction a bit closer together. Be careful not to score into the flesh, just down into the layer of fat. Bash the sage and garlic in a pestle and mortar or chop it finely, add some salt and a good glug of olive oil and rub this all over the piece of meat and into the skin. Leave it for an hour or so in its roasting tin if you can, but don't worry if you have to skip this. Preheat the oven to 220c and put the meat in.

Peel and slice the beetroot, potato and onion into 5mm slices. Place half of the beetroot in a layer in an oven-proof dish or baking tin, scatter with a few slices of onion and cover with a layer of potato and some salt and pepper, then repeat. Pour over the stock, so that it just comes to the level of the top layer and dot with a few pieces of butter.

After the pork has been in for about 2o minutes lower the oventemperature to 180c (170 for a fan oven) and place the meat lower down if you can. Put the beetroot and potato on the higher shelf.

You can then go away and ignore the whole thing for about 2 hours.

When you come back check the meat is cooked and tender and increase the oven temperature back up to 220c, and swap the meat onto the top shelf to crisp up the cracking. About 15 minutes should do it. The top layer of potato should also brown off a little in the higher temperature. Remove the meat and while it is resting somewhere warm for a few minutes, throw a quick bit of salad together, throw a glass of wine into the roasting tin with the juices and bring it up to the boil to make a thin gravy. Carve the meat into nice thick slices and serve with some of the beetroot and potato and finish with a dollop of apple sauce (I'm sure you know how to make it).

Enjoy whilst sat in the sunshine!

Risotto

Sorry for the lack of updates on my culinary exploits - I had to get back to my real full-time job last week, running a Youth Hostel and was a a bit busy. Never too busy to cook, of course, just to write about it! I'll try to bring you up to date over the next few days.

I love cooking risottos, they became something of a speciality during my vegetarian years - I'll give you the recipe for my signature risotto one day, but it's more of a summer dish. Even now I usually do them meat free, or with just a bit of pancetta for flavour, as I think they can be too heavy with lots of meat, but last week I got an idea for a fishy risotto that turned out rather fabulous, so I though I'd share it. It's made with hot smoked salmon, which I hope you will find available in a deli somewhere. Hot smoked trout would probably give a good result too, but if you can't get either, some cold smoked would suffice, gently stirred in at the end so that it cooks a little, although the result would not be quite the same.

Hot smoked salmon and leek risotto.

For 2 as a main course

2 leeks, not large ones.

25g butter and a little olive oil

200g risotto rice, carnaroli is my favourite

50ml dry vermouth or white wine

700ml chicken or vegetable stock

(must confess I'm a fan of Marigold stock powder if I don't have fresh)

Splash of double cream (optional)

1dsp wholegrain mustard

50g parmesan

150 - 200g hot smoked salmon

salt and pepper

Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a heavy based saucepan. Slice the leeks into 1cm slices and fry in the butter until well softened and going a little browned. Remove some of the whitest pieces and reserve. Add the rice to the pan and with the heat on medium toast the rice for a few minutes - do not skip this as it is one of the essential steps to the perfect risotto! Add the vermouth or wine and reduce the heat so that it just simmers. When all the wine has been absorbed add a ladleful of the simmering stock and stir it. Keep an eye on the temperature, it should just simmer and give it a stir quite frequently to get a good creamy consistency. Keep adding ladles of stock when the previous one has been absorbed. Check a few grains of rice to see if it is nearly cooked when you have added most of the stock. The rice should still have some bite, not be soft, and when it is add a final half ladle of stock, the cream, mustard, grated parmesan and the reserved pieces of leek. Pull the pieces of salmon into flakes and put these on top of the rice. Place a lid on the pan and turn out the heat - the residual heat should finish cooking the rice and give you the perfect consistency, still slightly 'al dente'. Stir in the flakes of salmon and check the seasoning - watch the salt as the fish can be a little salty.

This would make a rather good dinner party starter and, with a bit more fish, would probably stretch to 5 or 6 as it is very rich, and you'd only need a small portion!

I'd love any feedback if anyone makes this, as it's a creation I'm quite proud of.