Pork – Page 2 – The Food Wife

Feed Your Family for a Fiver

7th May 20248th May 2024
by thefoodwife

I promised Lisa at West Wilts Magazine that I would do a few recipes where you could feed a family of four for a fiver. Iâ€™ve gone with three meals with a Â£15 spend (priced using one of the big supermarkets beginning with T).

Where Iâ€™m using basic store cupboard ingredients I have assumed you already have these at home; salt, pepper, dried herbs and spices, oil and vinegar.

You wonâ€™t be using all the pasta, honey, mayo, salad cream, garlic, cabbage and carrots so although this was 51p over my Â£15 spend youâ€™ll have some ingredients left for another dayâ€¦

Shopping list:

500g Spaghetti Â£0.75

2x tins of Tuna Â£1.70

2 onions Â£0.28

Garlic Â£0.55

2x 500g Passata Â£1.10

12 Sausages Â£2.85

1kg Small Potatoes Â£0.99

Honey Â£1.20

1-1.2kg chicken wings Â£2.09

4 Baking potatoes Â£0.75

Cabbage Â£0.80

1kg Carrots Â£0.68

Mayonnaise Â£0.86

Salad cream Â£0.91

Â£15.51

Tuna Spaghetti

Serves 4

Iâ€™ve been making a version of this for the last 25 years. So simple to make and itâ€™s delicious – a crowd pleaser! Add chilli flakes if you like a little kickâ€¦

Ingredients:

1 tbsp (Olive) Oil

300-400g of spaghetti depending on appetites (gluten-free if required)

2 tins of tuna in Springwater, drained

1 red onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic sliced or crushed

1 tsp Herbes de Province/mixed herbs

1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

2Ã—500g passata or 1x passata 1x tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Chopped Parsley to serve (optional)

Step 1: Add 1 tablespoon of oil into a heavy-based saucepan or frying pan, over a medium heat. Next add the garlic and onion and cook until softened.

Step 2: Add the dried herbs, chilli flakes (if using) and cook for 30 seconds. Add the passata (and chopped tomatoes if using) along with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Cook down for five minutes. During this time, get on with cooking the spaghetti according to the packet instructions.

Step 3: Add the tuna to the tomato sauce and stir through, cooking for a further five minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 4: Drain the cooked pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water, add the pasta to the sauce adding a little of the reserved pasta water to loosen. Stir until everything is combined and then serve with a garnish of freshly chopped parsley, if desired.

Balsamic Glazed Sausage Tray Bake

Serves 4

I do love a â€˜shove it in the oven and then itâ€™s ready and deliciousâ€™ meal. Especially on a weeknight. Yes you do have to visit the oven a couple of times to add things but this only takes a minute.

You can serve this as it is, or add some extra veg if you like. We had it with a cauliflower cheese dish Iâ€™d picked up reduced to 29pâ€¦ bargain!

Ingredients:

10-12 sausages

800g small potatoes, quartered or large votaries cut into small chunks

4 carrots, cut into 1cm thick slices

1 tbsp oil

Salt & Pepper

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 190c fan and get a high-edged baking dish ready.

Step 2: Spread the potatoes and carrots in a baking dish. Drizzle with the oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes.

Step 3: give everything a shake or mix with a spoon, spread back out and then add the sausages. Bake for a further 20 minutes.

Step 4: Mix the honey and balsamic vinegar together and then drizzle over everything and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Wings, Wedges and Slaw

Serves 4

We often have this winning combination, it such a crowd pleaser! The cat always has to be shut out of the room as he cannot resist trying to be a participant in the meal!

The great thing about this is that the wedges and the wings cook simultaneously while you make the slaw. You can just season the wings and wedges with salt and pepper but the world is your oyster for flavour if you desire. Add some dried herbs or spicy Cajun seasoning. I decided to use Cajun spices in both the chicken and the potatoes but added a big splodge of bbq sauce to the wings too.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1kg chicken wings

1/4 white/red cabbage

2 carrots

1 small red onion

2 heaped tbsp mayonnaise

1 heaped tbsp salad cream

4 baking potatoes, cut into wedges

Salt and Pepper

Vegetable oil

Step 1: Prepare two oven trays and preheat the oven to 200c (fan).

Step 2: Season the wings and wedges separately. Drizzle the wedges with 1tbsp of oil and use your hands to ensure theyâ€™re coated. Spread the wings and wedges on a tray each. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

Step 3: Meanwhile make the slaw. Finely slice the cabbage, carrots and onions. In a bowl combine the mayonnaise and salad cream. Stir through the chopped vegetables, until coated.

Serve everything at the table and dig in!

Vietnamese-style Sticky Meatballs

11th February 202411th February 2024
by thefoodwife

Makes 12

These are so tasty. Sticky from their honey, sesame and soy glaze and juicy inside. You can of course serve these with noodles or rice but for a low carb option try them in gem lettuce leaf â€˜boatsâ€™. I made these with turkey mince but by all means use a mince of your choice.

Ingredients:

400g (turkey) mince

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 lemongrass, finely chopped

3 lime leaves, finely chopped

1 tbsp oyster sauce (gluten-free if required)

1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated

For the sticky glaze:

2 tbsp honey

4 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if required)

1 tsp sesame oil

1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated

1 tsp sesame seeds

Step 1: Mix all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl (use your hands for best results).

Step 2: Wet your hands to help them not stick and make 12 balls from the mixture.

Step 3: Add a little vegetable oil to a (non-stick) frying pan and over a medium heat, fry the meatballs until they are golden all over and cooked through. This will take 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile mix up the glaze ingredients.

Step 4: When youâ€™re happy the meatballs are cooked, add the glaze mixture to the pan and raise the heat a little so that the mixture reduces to a sticky glaze, which should take a couple of minutes, and toss the meatballs so they are coated.

Serve.

Pork and Prawn stuffed Cabbage Rolls

11th February 202412th February 2024
by thefoodwife

Makes 12-15 rolls

Here is a low carb way to enjoy delicious pork and prawn dumplings. Using cabbage leaves in place of the dough makes these a tasty and healthier addition to your repertoire.

Ingredients:

500g pork mince

165g raw king prawns roughly chopped

60g shiitake mushrooms roughly chopped

1 tbsp oyster sauce (gluten-free if required)

1 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if required)

1 tsp Chinese 5 spice

2 spring onions, finely sliced

2 fat cloves of garlic, crushed

12-15 large savoy cabbage leaves, washed and blanched in boiling water for 30 seconds

Dipping sauce:

1 tsp Sesame oil

2 tbsp Soy sauce (gluten-free if required)

4 tbsp Black rice vinegar

1 tbsp Sugar

Step 1: Mix the pork, prawns, mushrooms, oyster sauce, soy sauce, Chinese 5 spice, spring onion and garlic together in a large bowl. For best results use your hands to ensure everything is combined.

Step 2: Next take the blanched cabbage leaves and use a sharp knife to remove the tough stem from the base of them. Lay them flat.

Step 3: Wet your hands to help stop the mixture sticking to them and take golf ball sized amounts and mould them into a squat sausage shape and place in the centre of a leaf and then fold them for the bottom of the leaf, tucking in the sides as you go, until you have a neat parcel. Repeat with the remaining leaves.

*The folded cabbage rolls, pre-steaming. You can prepare them to this stage in advance and keep them on a plate in the fridge for a few hours until ready to steam.*

Step 4: Steam the parcels for 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile mix up the dipping sauce ingredients. When the dumplings are freshly steamed serve them with the dipping sauce.

*One of the cooked cabbage rolls during a meal.*

Turkey Koftas

28th May 202328th May 2023
by thefoodwife

Makes approx 25 (serves 5+)

These little morsels are great as part of a mezze or as the protein with a salad for lunch or dinner.

Frying the onion before adding to the mince helps give a sweeter flavour to the koftas and the turmeric gives them a golden hue.

Iâ€™d suggest using a non stick pan. I also like to use two frying pans as Iâ€™m cooking them. Once I have filled both pans itâ€™s ready to start flipping them over and the whole process is done quickly.

I used turkey mince but you could use beef, lamb or pork if you prefer.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, finely chopped

750g Turkey (thigh) mince

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground turmeric

3 tsp ground cumin

Oil

Step 1: Over a medium heat, fry the onion in a little oil, until golden but not browned. (I used a garlic oil for extra flavour).

Step 2: In a large bowl, mix the spices, salt and pepper, eggs, mince and slightly cooled onion together, with your hands. Make sure you really squish it so itâ€™s thoroughly combined.

Step 3: Heat some vegetable oil in a non stick frying pan, over a medium-high heat. Use a dessert spoon to scoop a heaped amount of the mixture and use another spoon to round the top. Transfer into the hot oil and cook for a few minutes on each side, not turning until each side is browned. Repeat until all the mixture is used up.

Step 4: Remove the koftas from the pan, once cooked, and keep warm until all are ready and then serve.

Chicken and Chorizo Skewers

9th May 20239th May 2023
by thefoodwife

Makes approximately 14 mini skewers

These little skewers are great cold for a picnic or hot straight from the barbecue, or serve warm with salad for a lunch.

The chicken is marinated in spices that echo the flavours of the chorizo.

I served these with my giant couscous salad with roasted peppers and feta.

Ingredients:

1kg chicken breast cut into large chunks (aim for 42 so 3 pieces per skewer)

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1 tbsp olive oil

14 slices of chorizo cut about 5mm thick

14 small wooden skewers, soaked in water for an hour before skewering

Step 1: Begin by marinating the chicken pieces in the paprika, garlic and chilli along with the oil. Leave for at least an hour or up to 24 hours in the fridge.

Step 2: Skewer the chicken pieces and chorizo slices on to the skewers. I did two pieces of chicken, followed by one slice of chorizo and then finishing with one piece of chicken per mini skewer.

Step 3: You can cook these on a barbecue or under the grill, turning every couple of minutes until cooked through. You can also do them in the air fryer – I found that 15 minutes at 188c was just right to cook them through but keep them nice and juicy!