Pork, bacon & chorizo burgers with pulled pork

Pork, bacon & chorizo burgers with pulled pork

For the pork

• Pork shoulder (size depending on how many you are feeding, 5kg serves approx. 10)
• Olive oil
• Sea salt & ground black pepper
• 2 heaped teaspoons of smoked paprika

For the burgers (makes approx 6)

• 1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup diced shallots
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves
• 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 chiles de arbol finely diced
• 2 lbs pork mince
• Salt & Pepper
• 120g finely diced chorizo
• 4 slices smoked bacon finely diced
• 6 burger buns

 Method:-

Preheat your oven to the highest temperature, score the pork skin about 1cm deep all over with a sharp knife (if not done already).  Drizzle over a little olive oil, season generously with salt, pepper and the paprika and rub in to the pork.  Place the pork into a roasting tin (I suggest lining the tin with foil) then place in the oven, turn the heat down to 160 degrees and cook for 4 hours, basting occasionally.  After 4 hours turn the heat down to 150 degrees and cook for a further 2 hours or until you can pull the meat apart easily.  Remove the crackling and leave to one side and pull the pork apart using two forks, cover with tin foil until needed.

Whilst the pork is cooking, in a medium pan, toast the cumin seeds over a medium heat for a few minutes until the seeds release their aroma and darken slightly.  Pound the seeds in a mortar or grinder until coarsely ground.  Return the pan to the stove, add the olive oil and heat for a couple of minutes, add the shallots, turn the heat down to medium and cook for a few minutes until they start to soften.  Add the garlic, thyme, cumin, sliced chile, a few grinds of black pepper and a couple of pinches of salt.  Cook for 3-4 minutes until the shallots become translucent, set aside to cool.  In a large bowl combine the pork, chorizo, bacon, shallot mixture & parsley, season with a few grinds of black pepper and a few good pinches of salt.  Shape the meat into 6 burgers, chill in the refrigerator if not using right away.

You can either BBQ your burgers, grill them or fry them in a frying pan with a little olive oil.  Once cooked through, place your burger onto a toasted bun and top with the pulled pork.  For this recipe, I mixed the pulled pork with Kankun Chipotle sauce to give it extra flavour, I also topped with burger with smoked cheese and served with slaw and spicy wedges.  

These burgers are perfect for a summer bbq and always go down a treat.   

Strolling Rigatoni with Cherry Tomatoes and Goat’s Cheese

Strolling Rigatoni with Cherry Tomatoes, and Goat’s Cheese

• 1 cup halved Cherry Tomatoes 
• 1 sliced Yellow Pepper
• 250g Rigatoni Pasta 
• 1/2 cup Onion, diced
• 1 Garlic Clove, diced 
• 1/2 bunch Basil, chopped 
• 1 tbsp Black Olives, chopped 
• 1/2 roll Goat‘s Cheese 
•  Pine Nuts 2 tbsp 4 tbsp
• Sliced Chorizo (optional)

Method

Heat your oven to 200 degrees and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Cut the top and bottom off the pepper and then cut into strips. Toss in 1 tbsp of olive oil, ¼ tsp salt and a pinch of pepper. Lay out on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 15-20 mins until starting to brown at the edges.

Boil a pot of water with ½ tsp of salt for your pasta. Finely dice the onion and garlic. Roughly chop the basil.

Cook the pasta for 10 mins or until ‘al dente’.

 Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a pan over a medium heat. Once warm, add the onions and sliced chorizo and cook gently for 5 mins. Add the garlic and a few good grinds of black pepper and cook for another minute.

 Cut the olives in half length ways and add to the pan along with 2 tbsp of pasta water. Tip: Adding pasta water is a classic Italian trick and adds some salt and starchiness to give you a bit of a sauce.

 When the pasta is cooked, it’s time to combine everything. Add the roasted tomatoes and peppers to the pan with half the crumbled goat’s cheese and all but 1 tbsp of the chopped basil. Add the pasta and toss everything together.

Serve the pasta with the remaining goat’s cheese crumbled on top, the remaining basil, the pine nuts and a drizzle of olive oil

Recipe courtesy of Hello Fresh

Esquites with beef brisket and new potatoes

Esquites with beef brisket and new potatoes

• 4 corn on the cob
• 1/2 red onion finely diced
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander
• 4 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise 
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• Salt & pepper
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• Few slices of jalapeño peppers finely diced
• Kankun habanero sauce

Heat a large frying pan with a tablespoon of vegetable oil.  Slice the corn off the cob, place into the frying pan and cook for several minutes, add the garlic and stir.  Cook for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Once done, put the sweet corn into a large bowl, add the coriander, red onion, mayo, pinch of salt, few grinds of black pepper, lime juice and a good few dashes of habanero sauce (more or less depending how hot you like it) along with the feta cheese (reserving some to top the dish) and jalapeño peppers, stir thoroughly and serve with your dish.  

For this dish I served alongside BBQ beef brisket and jersey new potatoes tossed in butter.

This is a fresh and summery dish, great for bbq's and for eating Al fresco.

Spaghetti with tuna stuffed peppers

Spaghetti with tuna stuffed peppers

• 1 tin of tuna in olive oil
• Half a red onion finely diced
• 4 Tablespoons of mayonnaise 
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• Jar of peppadew  peppers
• 2 Tablespoons of juice from the peppers
• Spaghetti (vary portion depending on amount of guests)
• Small jar of pasta sauce of choice 
• Few grinds of black pepper

Method :-

Drain the tuna and break up into small pieces into a bowl, mix with the olive oil, lemon juice, mayonnaise, pepper juice and diced red onion.  

Drain the peppers and stuff with the tuna mixture.  Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the pasta for 10-12 minutes.  Whilst the pasta is cooking heat through your pasta sauce, a chilli/tomato sauce is good.  Once the pasta is cooked, drain and plate up, placing the stuffed peppers amongst the pasta and drizzle with the pasta sauce.

This is a quick and easy yet tasty dinner. Enjoy....

Kankun Beef Tostadas

Kankun Beef Tostadas

• 6 Fried tortillas
• 1 Cup of warm re-fried beans
• 2 Cups of cooked and shredded skirt steak, chicken or your favourite meat, veggie or seafood
• 3 Cups shredded romaine lettuce
• ½ Small onion, diced
• 1 Cup of crumbled fresco/fresh Mexican cheese (Feta & Parmesan are good substitutes)
• ½ Cup sour cream
• Kankun Sauce

Method:-

Spread a 2 tbsp of re-fried beans on one side of each the tostada (tortilla).  Add the shredded meat, top with lettuce, sour cream and the crumbled cheese.  Serve immediately with your Kankun Sauce of choice.

Kankun Chipotle Chicken

Kankun Chipotle Chicken

• 2 Chicken breasts
• ¼ Cup of lime juice
• 1 Garlic clove minced
• 2 Tbsp of honey
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 2-3 Tbsp of Kankun Chipotle Sauce

Method:-

Place the garlic, lime, honey and Kankun Chipotle sauce into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.  Add the chicken breasts, making sure they are well covered, season with salt and pepper and leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes or overnight. 

Preheat your grill to a moderate heat, place the chicken breast onto an oven tray and grill until cooked (15 minutes or so).  Serve with Mexican rice, or as I have done, in a tortilla bowl with homemade guacamole and salad.

Polenta crusted tomatoes with kankun jalapeño & habanero sauce

Polenta crusted tomatoes with kankun jalapeño & habanero sauce

Method :-

• Beef tomatoes cut into thick slices
• Flour
• 1 beaten egg
• Small bowl of polenta
• Kankun jalapeño & habanero sauce

Season the polenta with your spice of choice, I used umami rush, dip the slices of tomato into the flour, then the egg and finally the polenta until the tomatoes have a good coating, once done place into the fridge for 10 minutes or so until the coating firms.  Heat a large frying pan with vegetable oil and fry the tomatoes for several minutes each side until they are nice and crunchy.  

For this dish I served the tomatoes with a grilled halloumi and chorizo salad, you can use the toppings of your choice to go with the salad.  I drizzled Kankun Jalapeño sauce on top of the tomatoes with a dash of their Kankun Habanero sauce which really lifted the flavour.  This makes for a very simple yet tasty light dinner.

Mexican Lasagne

Mexican Lasagna

For the Sauce

• 1 Tbsp garlic infused olive oil
• 1 Onion (peeled and chopped)
• 1 Red pepper (deseeded and chopped)
• 2 Green bird’s eye chillies (chopped with seeds)
• 1 Tsp sea salt flakes
• 2 Tbsp fresh coriander stalks (finely chopped)
• 800g Chopped tomatoes (2 cans)
• 400ml Water (swilled in empty cans)
• 1 Tbsp tomato ketchup
• Dash of Kankun Habanero sauce

For the Filling

• 800g Black beans (2 cans) drained and rinsed
• 500g Canned sweetcorn kernels (2 cans) drained
• 250g Grated mature cheddar
• 8 Soft flour tortillas

You will need a round ovenproof dish, approx. 26cm in diameter X 6cm deep.

 Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, slipping in a baking tray at the same time.

Method:-

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a pan on the stove and fry the onion, pepper and chilli, add the salt and cook gently for 15 minutes and once soft, add the chopped coriander stalks.  Add the canned tomatoes, then swill the cans out with the water and add this too.  Spoon in the ketchup and Kankun Habanero sauce and let things come to a simmer, leaving the sauce to cook while you get on with preparing the filling (about 10 minutes).

To make the filling, mix the drained beans and sweetcorn in a bowl.  Add most of the grated cheese, reserving some to sprinkle on the top at the end, mix together.

Start to assemble the lasagna by spooning about a third of the sauce into the bottom of your ovenproof dish and smearing it about, then layer 2 tortillas so that they cover the sauce, overlapping slightly.  Add a third of the beans and cheese mixture, covering the tortillas and then about a quarter of the remaining sauce and another tortillas.  Repeat with another third of beans and cheese, and some more sauce before layering on another 2 tortillas.  Finally add the last layer of beans and cheese, nearly all the remaining sauce and cover with the last 2 tortillas.  Spread the last bit of sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  Bake in the oven for 30 minutes and let it rest for a good 10-15 minutes before slicing like a pizza.

This lasagna is great with a fresh crisp salad.  As an alternative you can make a chilli and add that to the lasagne as shown in the photograph above.

Recipe courtesy of Nigella Lawson  

Kankun Chilli Con Carne

Kankun Chilli Con Carne

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Onions chopped
• 1 Large red pepper chopped
• 2 Garlic cloves minced
• 1kg lean beef mince
• 2x400g cans chopped tomatoes
• 2x400g cans red kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 Tsp ground cumin
• 1 Tsp ground coriander
• 1 Bottle of Kankun Chipotle Sauce
• 1 Beef stock cube
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 Large bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped

 Method :-

Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan with a lid and fry the onion, pepper and garlic until softened.  Increase the heat and add the mince, cooking quickly until browned and breaking down any chunks of meat with a wooden spoon.  Once browned, drain off any excess fat, stir in the tomatoes, bottle of Kankun chipotle sauce, cumin, coriander and crumble in the stock cube.  Season well with salt & pepper and add some water to loosen the dish up.  Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook over a gentle heat for about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture is rich and thickened.  Add the kidney beans and fresh coriander, cook for a further 10 minutes uncovered.  Serve with rice, guacamole, sour cream and green salad.

Recipe courtesy of Kankun Sauce

Kankun Spicy Guacamole & Kankun Chipotle Pico de Gallo

Kankun Spicy Guacamole & Kankun Chipotle Pico de Gallo

Kankun Spicy Guacamole

• 2 Ripe avocados
• 2 Tbsp of fresh lime or lemon juice
• ½ Chopped red onion
• Kankun Habanero sauce
• 2 Tbsp chopped coriander
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 Ripe tomato

Method:- 

Cut the avocados in half and remove the seed.  Scoop the avocado from the peek and put into a mixing bowl.  Using a fork, roughly mash the avocado (don’t overdo it, the guacamole should be chunky.  Sprinkle with salt and the lime/lemon juice.  The acid in the juice will help stop the avocados from turning brown.  Add the chopped onion, coriander, black pepper and as much/little of the Kankun Habanero sauce as you like.  Cut the tomato into quarters, remove the seeds, cut each quarter into strips and then again until you have small bits of tomato, add to the guacamole, mix well and serve with tortillas or as a garnish with your favourite dish.

Kankun Chipotle Pico de Gallo

• 2 Tbsp of Kankun Chipotle Sauce
• 2 Chopped tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp chopped coriander
• ½ Red onion finely sliced
• 2 Tbsp of fresh lime juice
• Pinch of salt

Method:- 

Cut the tomatoes into quarters, remove the seeds, cut each quarter into strips and then again until you have small bits, add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Serve on bread, quesadillas or as a dip for tortillas.