November
I love the abundance of November, there’s still just about stuff tumbling from the poly tunnel including a few very late and not all that sweet tomatoes, we have had our annual batch of pigs taken care of so there’s bacon to make and a freezer full of wonder, squashes and herbs to use up and well – darkness, the smoke of bonfires and the cosy heat from the ESSE lending a new warmth to this old farmhouse kitchen, full of drafts, holes, dogs and the occasional intrepid slug.
So, with the possibility of the last fun before Christmas resonating in the background of life I’ve put together a couple of really simple warming and spicy crowd pleasers for this month’s kitchen diary, I hope you like them, I hope you find them super simple to make and I very much hope you will share them with friends.
Chilli Style Pork Meat Balls
Everyone loves a good chilli, be it “Con Carne” or “Sin carne”, a chilli just hits that unctuous, spicy, rich and indulgent spot that so suits this time of the year. Being “pork rich” as I am at the moment I’ve deviated from the usual beef scenario and headed off in a more hybrid style, mixing the old meat ball routine with the familiar chilli riff – I opted to make this one 100% in the top oven, starting with the vent closed then opening it for a finish, a few simple stove top tortillas provide a carb and you could go with a guacamole as garnish but I simply chopped up some fresh tomatoes and finessed them with some herbs and garlic for a fresher lift – and also to use up more of those toms! A few green ones sneaking in too.
Serves: 8
For the mince
Ingredients
- 1kg free range pork mince, with a bit of fat to it
- 2 dessert spoons good smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes – fresh chilli if you have it
- (You can use less chilli if you want, or more)
- 1 teaspoon each coriander seed, cumin seed, fennel seed – toasted and crushed
- 1 sprig each fresh thyme, and rosemary and couple of leaves of sage (or a teaspoon or two of mixed dried herbs)
- 3 cloves of garlic grated finely
- 10g salt
- 50g breadcrumbs
Method
- Set the top oven of your ESSE to around 190 degrees Celsius.
- Finley chop the herbs and mix everything really well together in a bowl, separate into 8, 12 or 16 balls roughly even in size, heat a large oven proof dish in the top oven. Remove it from the oven and place it on the hob top whilst you drizzle in some olive oil and add the meat balls, replace in the oven and bake for around half an hour, making sure you open the steam vent, turning the balls occasionally using a pair of tongs and taking care not to burn yourself.
For the sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tin of tomato pulp or 1 tin of tomatoes blitzed
- 1 tin of red kidney beans – and the liquid!
- 1 dessert spoon of treacle or malt extract
Method
Simply mix these things together and pour into the baking dish with the meat balls, return the whole show to the oven and bake for a further 20 minutes or so
For the tortillas
Ingredients
- 400g plain flour
- 260g water
- 10g olive oil
- 2g salt
Method
- Mix into as dough and set to rest before kneading for 3 or 4 minutes into a smooth dough. Divide into 8 or 10 similar sized balls and roll out on a floured surface to make very thin rounds of dough.
- Cook these directly on the ESSE hotplate on around 90% power until they change colour a little, then flip them to do the other side – it’s nice to get a little colour on them if you can.
Lastly, the tomato salsa
Ingredients
- 4 tomatoes
- 1 spring onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 pinch chilli flakes or chopped red chilli
- Dash of olive oil
- Sprig of fresh mint and fresh coriander chopped
Method
- Dice the tomatoes, finely grate the garlic, finely slice the spring onion and then mix everything together in a small bowl, season with a little salt.
- Serve the meat balls with the flatbreads, some salsa and, if you like, some grated cheese for extra luxury.
Recipe created by Tim Maddams. Tim is a chef, food writer and cookery teacher who produces seasonal recipes for ESSE at his home in Inverness using ingredients grown in his kitchen garden. ESSE first met Tim over ten years ago when he regularly co-featured in the hit TV series River Cottage. During his time as head chef at River Cottage Tim pioneered ethical, local, seasonal produce and became a key spokesperson in the area of responsibly-sourced food.
Tim’s aim is to show off the “tremendous versatility” of the ESSE 600 X electric range cooker. The new 600 X has ESSE’s classic heat storage construction, patented ovens, beautiful colour finishes and the reassuring ‘solidity’ with modern, electric controllability and responsiveness.
