Chinese Spare Ribs.

I was in the butchers getting my knives sharpened when I saw these ribs. They are apparently called thick ribs and were delicious; they have a much greater meat to bone ratio than spare ribs. This recipe would work equally well though with normal spare ribs. The mixture smells like the aniseed flavour from the star anise is going to over power everything else but once they have cooked the balance  is about right.

12 pork spare ribs
100ml hoisin sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp chinese five-spice

Put the ribs into  pan of cold water and bring to the boil, simmer for 15 mins. Meanwhile, mix all the remaining ingredients together in a bowl.

Drain the ribs very well, then brush with the glaze - if barbecuing, chill, cover and keep in the fridge for later. Otherwise put them under a hot grill for 15-20 minutes, turning every so often adding any left over glaze when you do.

Hungarian Pork Goulash.

'Oh I do have such an expressive eye brow don't I' had bought a rolled shoulder of pork from the reduced section in the supermarket. There wasn't room for it in the freezer and neither of us could quite face roasting it. So I found this recipe in my ginger pig book but it required belly of pork as well. A fact I was exceptionally happy about as it gave me a great excuse to go to our local buter Crombie's. Crombie's is a truly exceptional old fashioned butchers, where they are kind enough to sharpen my knives while I wait.  This recipe makes a really delicious stew which is full of flavour but much lighter than a beef of lamb stew. It was definitely better reheated the second time around as the spices had time to really come through, so I would advise making it a day ahead f you have the time or self restraint.

Serves 6

1.25kg shoulder of pork, skinned, and cut into 1inch pieces
300g pork belly, skinned and cut into 1inch
1 onion, diced
2 clove garlic
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp caraway seeds
800g tinned tomatoes
300g jar of peeled, roast peppers or 3 peppers, chargrilled and peeled
2 tbsp sour cream
chives to garnish

Pre heat oven 180C. Brown off the meat on all sides, then add the onions and garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Add the spices and season, cook for a few minutes. Pour in the tomatoes and top up with enough water to cover the meat. Bring to boil, then put in the oven with the lid on for 2 hours. Cut the peppers into strips and stir in to stew. Return it to the oven for another 30 minutes. At this point I thickened the sauce with a beurre noisette as a thicker sauce was our preference but it was not entirely necessary.