Honey Mustard Pork - a lesson in leftovers

I had that moment the other day when I decided to make dinner, only to realise that I hadn't really thought about what I was going to make and had no desire to go to the shops, so I took a look in my fridge and cupboard to work out what I had to work with.  The result: honey mustard pork.

Honey mustard pork

Because of my schnitzel-making escapades I had a couple of pork escalopes left,  the other ingredients I used in this recipe are just things I tend to have lying around.  As this was an experiment I'm not going to recommend making it exactly like I did, I've tweaked and improved it slightly, but that's the great thing about cooking,  you can make you can improve the recipe each time you make it!

For two people you will need:
2 pork escalopes (or pork chops if you prefer)
25g butter
25g plain flour
400ml milk
3tsps whole grain mustard
2tsps honey (clear)
pasta
Your choice of green veg (broccoli/green beans/cabbage would all work)

If you have more than one hob then you can simultaneously cook the pasta, fry the pork and make the sauce, but as I only have one I had to do these steps separately  Nevertheless this recipe was still really quick to make.

1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet (I used tagliatelle but I think farfalle or penne would be far better).  If you want to boil your vegetables then cook them with the pasta, if not you can steam them in a microwave later.
2. Make the sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat then add the flour and stir vigorously to make a paste (roux).  Keeping the heat low add the milk little by little (start off with a tablespoon at a time) mixing/whisking constantly until all the liquid is combined each time before adding more.  It's really important that you do this stage slowly to make sure your sauce doesn't go lumpy.  Once you have added all the milk add the mustard and honey.  Keep stirring over a medium heat to allow the sauce to reduce.  I did this for about 5 minutes but you can do it for longer if you want a thicker sauce.  Just make sure you keep stirring regularly.
3. Fry the pork.  I cut mine into strips and fried them for a few minutes but I would actually recommend leaving the escalopes/chops whole.  If you have a grill then that would also work.
4. If you have a microwave you can steam your veg while frying the pork.  You can either buy packs of mixed veg which you microwave in the bag, or you can prepare your own veg and put it into a sandwich bag (I have microwave ones which seal with a sticky flap) then microwave for a few minutes (or according to the instructions on the packet.
5. Serve by putting the pork, veg and pasta on a plate and pour over the sauce

I love rustling something up like this as it's a great way to use up leftovers and waste less.

The wine you can see in the background is a Chilean Carménère - the grape is originally from the Médoc region of Bordeaux and its name comes from the French word for crimson - carmin - which was used to describe the wine's colour.  It's not a grape that's really found in Europe any more but it is becoming increasingly popular in Chilean wines.  I enjoyed the wine which was very plumy in taste with a little bit of spice - definitely something to try if you haven't already.

A very Mexican Christmas gathering

I had a few friends over the other night for a Christmassy evening with dinner, mulled cider and Love Actually.  My Grandpa got me subscription to the GoodFood magazine for Christmas and I have been drooling over the recipes ever since the first issue arrived so I decided to use my friends coming over as an excuse to try out a couple of the recipes.

I cooked a Mexican chicken stew with rice and beans which is perfect for when you've got a group of people over, the number you can cook it for is really only limited by the size of your pan.  Luckily for my friends, I have a large pan!

The recipe says it serves 4-5 people.  I made it for 5 however, one of my friends was vegetarian, so if you are cooking for more people make sure you have enough meat.  It took me about an hour to make but half an hour of that was just leaving the rice to cook (as I only have one hob).

Mexican chicken stew with rice and beans

You will need:
1tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped into large chunks
3tbsp chipotle paste
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
4 skinless chicken breasts
140g long grain rice (or whatever rice you prefer, I used brown rice)
400g can pinto beans, drained (I used kidney beans as I couldn't find pinto beans - any red bean will do as a substitute)
small pack coriander, most chopped, a few left whole for garnishing
juice 1 lime
1tbsp sugar
natural yoghurt to serve

As I only had one hob I cooked the rice first, however, if you are lucky enough to not have this problem then you can save yourself some time by preparing it at the same time as the chicken.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and fry the onion and peppers for a few mins until softened.  Stir in the chipotle paste for 1 min followed by the tomatoes.  Add the chicken breasts, with up to a tomato can-full of water to cover them, then gently simmer, turning occasionally for 20 mins until the chicken is cooked through. (To test this take a chicken breast out of the pan and cut open through the thickest part, the chicken should be white, not pink.  It doesn't matter if you do this as you will be cutting the chicken up later anyway.)

Meanwhile boil a pan of water, add the rice and cook according to the instructions on the packet, add the beans for the final minute.  Drain well and stir in the coriander and lime juice, then season.  Cover to keep warm before serving.

Lift the cooked chicken out of the pan and onto a board/plate and shred using two forks (if the chicken is cooked properly then this will be easy as the chicken will just come apart).  Stir back into the tomato sauce with the sugar and season.  Serve with the rise, scattering the stew with the leftover coriander leaves just before you serve.  Eat with a dollop of yoghurt sprinkled with black pepper.

After the meal we chatted over glasses of mulled cider.  This took about half an hour, I simply put 2 1/2 pints cider into a pan with 400ml apple juice 1tbsp dark brown sugar and a ready made sachet of spices (plus an extra cinnamon stick broken in half and a couple of cloves).  If you don't have a sachet the recipe I have (once again from GoodFood magazine) recommends using: the zest of an orange, pared into strips, 4 whole cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks broken in half and tbsp allspice berries.  If you want to make your mulled cider a little more alcoholic then you can also add some calvados/brandy, however I decided that was a little extravagant for a student who doesn't really like brandy!  Once you've put all the ingredients into a pan gently heat to mull it (don't let it simmer/boil).  Keep at a low heat for 20-30mins then serve.

Some of the recipes I have written about, including the Mexican dish, may seem a little fancy for a student, especially if you are on a budget.  However, I'd like to share with you how I make things go further.  The stew itself didn't cost the earth, between 5 of us it was about £3 per portion, however, as I'm about to show you, some of the ingredients lasted for more than just one meal.

The following day I made myself a delicious lunch from leftovers in my fridge.  I fried up half an onion I had left over from another day and added some of the leftover chipotle paste.  I then added a half-can of chopped tomatoes which I'd kept along with some water.  I seasoned it and left to simmer and reduce.  As there was a lot of rice with beans left over from the previous night I put a portion onto a plate and heated it up for a minute in the microwave.  I served with some leftover coriander sprinkled on top, a dollop of yoghurt and some salami which needed eating up.  And there you go, a quick and easy way to make sure leftovers don't go to waste!

Leftovers lunch

By planning your meals and buying all the ingredients in one go at the start of the week you can save yourself a lot of money but still eat delicious and exciting food.

Thanks to my friends who came over the other night, I had a lovely evening!