2974. FRENCH-STYLE BRAISED OCTOPUS with FENNEL and BACON BONES

serves as a main meal for 6


3 lb. baby octopus
10 garlic cloves
2 inches knob ginger, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup honey
3 medium-sized carrots
3 sticks of celery
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, extra
2 1/2 inch knob ginger, sliced
8 small salad onions, trimmed and cut into quarters
1 baby fennel bulb, finely sliced lengthways
5 oz. smoked bacon bones, sliced
1 tablespoon sea salt, extra
1/2 bunch thyme
1/4 cup raw sugar
1/3 cup red wine

To clean octopus, cut tentacles away from head below the beak. Cut away and discard the beak, then turn the body inside out. Remove ink sac and internal organs. Strip skin away from head and tentacles under running water. Rinse and drain well, then cut octopus in half.

Pound garlic, chopped ginger and salt with a pestle and mortar until crushed. Stir in vinegar and oil. Place octopus in a bowl and pour over garlic mixture and honey. Using your hands, mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, peel carrots, cut into quarters lengthways and slice. Cut celery sticks in half lengthways and slice. Heat extra oil in a large, heavy-based pan, add sliced ginger, carrots, celery, onions, fennel, bacon bones and extra salt.

Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Reduce heat and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until vegetables are lightly browned. Add thyme and sugar, increase heat again and cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 2 minutes.

Drain octopus from marinade; reserve marinade. Add octopus to pan and stir over high heat to sear octopus and seal in juices. Pour in reserved marinade, along with wine, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently, covered, for about 45 minutes, or until octopus is tender.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Kylie Kwong, ABC.net, Australia, November 19, 2003

1071. GRILLED SADDLE of RABBIT with BACON, COCOA and CONFIT SHALLOT JUS

makes 4 servings


4 whole saddles of rabbit
5 tablespoons cocoa beans
4 slices of bacon

Rabbit jus
Rabbit bones
1 medium onion, minced
1 small carrot, diced
8 small pattypan squash
1 sprig of thyme
a splash of white vermouth

Sauce
2 tablespoons acacia honey
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
12 French shallots, finely chopped
1 cup rabbit jus
1 tablespoon oil
salt and freshly-ground pepper
1 knob of unsalted butter
3/4 cup white wine

Making the rabbit jus: In a saucepan, sauté the vegetables in butter; deglaze with the vermouth and wine, and reduce for a few minutes. Add the bones to the vegetables and cover with water; let simmer gently until reduced by half. Strain the jus and set aside.

Sauce: Place the honey and vinegar into a small saucepan; let simmer for 2 minutes. Add the shallots and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the rabbit jus and reduce everything by one third. Correct the seasoning.

Saddle: Grind the cocoa beans in a small food processor. Roll the saddles of rabbit in the crushed beans. Hold everything in place with a slice of bacon. Grill the meat on all sides over medium heat; reduce the heat and cook 2-3 minutes longer. Slice the meat into medallions; arrange on plates; place the vegetables in the center of the plate and spoon the sauce around the rabbit.


courtesy of: Thierry Daraize, Québec

819. MINESTRONE SOUP with CHUCK ROAST, BACON and COCA COLA

yields 6 servings

2 1/2 lb. blade chuck roast or meaty soup bones
2 1/2 quarts water
2 teaspoons salt
1 small onion
1/2 cup celery leaves
1 bay leaf
2 slices bacon, diced
1 1/2 cups kidney beans
1/2 cup green beans, chopped
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup zucchini, thinly sliced
1/2 cup carrots, thinly sliced
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup (2 oz.) elbow macaroni
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1 cup Coca-Cola
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

In a large pan, place the meat, water, salt, small onion, celery leaves, and bay leaf. Cover and simmer about 2-1/2 hours until the meat is tender. Remove the meat. Strain the broth (should measure 2 quarts). Add ice cubes to the broth to harden the fat and remove the fat. Discard the fat.

Finely dice the meat, discarding any fat and bones (should be about 2 cups). In a 5 to 6 quart kettle or Dutch oven, combine the beef broth and the meat. Place over low heat while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Pan-fry the bacon until crisp. Add the bacon and the drippings and all the remaining ingredients, except Parmesan cheese, to the broth. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes, until the vegetables and macaroni are tender. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, if desired. Makes about 3 quarts.


courtesy of: "International Cooking with Coca-Cola”, a give-away pamphlet from The Coca-Cola Company, 1981

782. CATALAN SOUP with BACON, BUTIFARRA and MEATBALLS

serves 6 people


500 grams veal
1/4 chicken
1 capon
chicken innards
200 grams pig cheek and ear, and 1/2 pig's trotter
ham bone
100 grams bacon
1 knuckle bone
1 knee bone
150 grams white "butifarra" (Catalan sausage)
150 grams black "butifarra" (Catalan black pudding)
250 grams soaked chickpeas
250 grams potatoes
1 green leaf cabbage
1 turnip, 1 carrot, 1 parsnip
1 leek and celery

For the meatballs
150 grams minced pork
150 grams minced veal
100 grams minced bacon
1 egg, breadcrumbs soaked in milk
1 clove of garlic, parsley, salt, ground cinnamon
1 soup spoon of flour

For the soup
300 grams large noodles

Clean, singe the hair, and wash the pork ear, cheek and trotter, and the chicken.

Put 4 litres of water in a saucepan, and add the meat and bones. Bring to the boil and skim the stock well. Then add the chickpeas, pre-soaked in lukewarm water for 12 hours, and bring back to the boil.

Add the carrot, turnip, parsnip, celery and leek and skim the surface again. Boil for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, until the meat is tender. Add the cabbage, chopped potatoes, the ready-prepared meatball and the butifarra. Leave to boil for a further half-hour. Add salt to taste.

When cooked, strain the stock.

To prepare the soup, bring the strained stock back to the boil and add the noodles. Cook for a further 12 to 15 minutes.

Serve the soup very hot, with the vegetables on a separate plate, with the meat, cut into pieces and with the bones removed.

Preparation of the meatball: Put the minced veal, pork and bacon in an earthenware bowl. Add the egg, parsley, chopped garlic and breadcrumbs previously soaked in milk. Add salt and pepper to taste, and ground cinnamon.


courtesy of: Nadal 2006, Barcelona City Council

365. HADDOCK caught off Gloucester with TENDER BACON and COLEMAN'S MUSTARD CHUTNEY

yields 4 servings


1/4 cup clarified butter, grapeseed oil, or olive oil
Salt and pepper
4 (7-ounce) fillets of haddock, skin on
1 tablespoon mustard seed
Flour for dusting
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
4 tablespoons softened butter
1 whole lemon
Tender bacon, recipe follows
Chutney, recipe follows
Fish sauce, recipe follows

In a large 12-inch saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Salt and pepper both sides of the fish. Sprinkle the mustard seeds evenly on the skin side of the fish. Dust skin of each filet with a scant amount of flour. Saute the fish, skin side down, until golden brown. Flip the fish over adding more oil as necessary. Remove from the heat. Paint the skin with a smear of Dijon mustard. Sprinkle each fillet with one tablespoon of fresh bread crumbs and one tablespoon of whole butter. Set fish on a small sheet pan. Preheat broiler. Place the fish under the broiler until the crumbs are nice and brown and the fish is cooked just through. Spritz with lemon.

Place the fillet of fish on a plate. Serve with a piece of bacon and a spoon of the braising liquid. A spoon of the chutney goes well on the bacon. Spoon a couple tablespoons of the fish sauce and some All English, All American frites (french fries, gaufrettes, etc.).


TENDER BACON:
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 1/2 to 2 inches of fresh bacon or pork belly
3/4 cup sugar
1 quart water
3/4 cup Vietnamese fish sauce, Nan Pla

Generously salt the fresh bacon. In a heavy bottom saucepan, cook the sugar and one cup of water over medium high heat. Cook the sugar until it becomes an amber, caramel color. Add the fish sauce and remaining water. In a small roasting pan, place the bacon and caramelized liquid. Cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake in a moderate oven (325 to 350 degrees) for approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The bacon should be tender when a knife is inserted. Allow the bacon to cool, then slice it into 1/3-inch slices. The bacon should be heated in the liquid (braising) when ready to serve.


FISH SAUCE:
2 haddock carcasses
1 small halibut bone
1 leek, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 sprigs of parsley
6 peppercorns
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil or olive oil
1 cup white wine
Approximately 3 cups of water
1/3 cup heavy cream
8 tablespoons whole butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Spritz of lemon

In a large saucepan, place all the fish bones, leeks, celery, parsley and peppercorns. Sweat together in oil for three to four minutes. Deglaze with white wine. Add enough water just to cover bones, approximately three cups. Simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, then strain. In a one quart saucepan, heat the stock and reduce to one cup of liquid. Add the heavy cream, and reduce by 1/3. Whisk in the butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste and a spritz of lemon.

Yield: 4 servings


CHUTNEY

3 tablespoons Coleman's mustard
5 peeled Granny Smith apples, largely diced
5 plum tomatoes
2 small onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
15 dates or prunes, chopped
2 cups golden raisins
2 tablespoons ginger, chopped
1 1/2 cups white vinegar, added
1/2 cup at a time
3 1/2 cups brown sugar
Bouquet garni - 5 peppercorns, 4 coriander, 5 allspice, celery seed, pinch mace, fennel seed, mustard seed, 2 bay leaves, and 2 tablespoons salt (Works well through a coffee filter)

Combine all ingredients. Cook over medium heat for approximately 40 minutes.

Yield: 3 to 4 cups - Will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.

167. RAISED PORK PIE with BACON

serves 10


For the fillings:
1.2kg boned pork shoulder
8oz lean bacon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
½ teaspoon each ground mace, freshly grated nutmeg and ground allspice
2 teaspoons anchovy essence
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the jelly:
2 lb. pork bones
1 pig's trotter
1 carrot
1 onion
1 bouquet garni (celery, bay leaf, thyme and parsley)
12 black peppercorns
4 cloves


For the pastry:
1 lb. plain flour
1 tsp salt
10oz chilled butter, cut into pieces
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2-3 tbsp cold water

For the jelly: put all the ingredients into a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer gently for 3 hours. Strain through a very fine sieve into a clean pan and boil vigorously until reduced to 1 pint. Season to taste and leave to cool.

To make the filling: cut the pork and bacon into ½-inch pieces. Put half of the pork and 2oz of the bacon into a food processor and process using the pulse button until coarsely chopped.

Scrape into a bowl and stir in the rest of the diced pork, bacon herbs, spices, anchovy essence, 1 tsp salt and some pepper.

Fry a little piece of the mixture in sunflower oil, taste and adjust the flavourings if necessary.

To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a food processor or mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.

Beat the whole egg with the egg yolk and water and gradually stir into the dry ingredients to make a soft dough. Knead briefly until smooth then cut off one third of the mixture and set it aside for the lid.

Roll out the larger piece and use to line the base and sides of an 8-inch clip-sided cake tin, leaving the excess pastry overhanging the edges.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

To assemble the pie:spoon the pork filling into the tin and slightly round the top of the mixture to give the finished pie a nice shape.

Brush the edge of the pastry with beaten egg. Roll out the remaining pastry and use to cover the top of the pie.

Cut a small hole into the centre of the lid with a small pastry cutter, remove the plug of pastry and leave the cutter in place to retain the hole during baking.

Brush with more beaten egg and decorate with a twisted rope of pastry and pastry leaves. Brush the top with beaten egg.

Bake the pie for 30 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350F and continue to cook for a further 1½ hours, loosely covering the pie with a triple-thickness sheet of greaseproof paper once it is nicely browned.

Finally, remove the pie from the oven and leave to cool for 2 hours. Then warm through the jelly and pour into the pie through the hole in the top. Remove cutter used to make the hole in the top. Leave to go cold overnight.


courtesy of: Rick Stein, Seafood Restaurant, Padstow, UK

133. COCK-A-LEEKIE with BACON

This soup is one of the most famous Scottish dishes and is called Cock-a-Leekie without the addition of the word Soup because every Scot knows it's a soup. It has been part of Scottish cooking for over 300 years and is thought by many to be the finest Scottish soup of all. The origin of the name is presumed to be from cock, a male hen, and the leeks which give the dish part of its delicious flavour.

serves 6 to 8


1 boiling fowl, chopped in sections
1 large veal or beef marrow bone, chopped
water to cover
12 leeks, chopped
1 cup cooked prunes, pitted
3 slices bacon, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh Parsley
1 bay leaf
Fresh thyme
beef shank bone (optional)
Reserve two chopped leeks

Put fowl pieces, herbs, bacon, bone and leeks in large saucepan with water. Simmer for 2-3 hours, covered with lid, until meat is cooked. If necessary, top up sparingly with water. Salt and pepper to taste, then strain. Remove optional beef shank bone. Cut chicken meat into serving pieces. Add back into soup along with prunes and remaining two chopped leeks. Simmer very gently for maximum 15 minutes.


courtesy of: Nick Fiddes, UK