A winter’s evening and the kitchen is at its most hospitable. A glowing light from the glass door of the oven, the smell of something slow-cooked, softly spiced and deeply aromatic floats on the air, calling us to the table. A smell that seems both mysterious and strangely familiar. I can’t think of a place I would rather be.
For an hour or so, the kitchen has smelled of sweet onions, ginger and aniseed. The latter is something I keep in glass jars in the cupboard, both a powdered version and in whole, dried seed pods. Brown stars of anise are perhaps the most beautiful of all spices. Twist the lid, close your eyes, breathe in and you are instantly in Chinatown, in the basement of a grocer’s shop among huge packs of dried rust-red chillies, rough buds of dried Sichuan pepper and tiny dried shrimps.
The star-shaped heads are for slow cooking, the hard, brown seeds releasing their flavour gradually. They need moisture – a deep broth of bones and onions in which to simmer – and enjoy rubbing shoulders with a cinnamon stick or some thin coins of ginger. They are at their most comfortable when in the presence of a thick cut of pork, baking in the casserole in stock with perhaps garlic, dry sherry and soy.
This time, the stars came out for a hearty casserole. A slow-cooked mixture of thick steaks of pork, seasoned with not just anise but ginger and soy and thick snippets of smoked pancetta, a deeply savoury supper with an aniseed and sherry scented broth.
On a sweeter note, I finally got round to baking the butternut that has been haunting the vegetable rack for too long. (Part of their appeal is their keeping quality, but after a while I simply fail to see them.) I scooped out the seeds and core with a spoon, then tucked bacon into it – I could have also used tofu here – and, perhaps surprisingly, a trickle of maple syrup. Rather than adding further sugary notes to an already sweet vegetable, the maple syrup introduces a pleasing, mellow, smoky tone that is especially welcome on a winter’s night.
Pork with ginger, soy and butter beans
Thick pork steaks are what I used here, the meat coming with a generous marbling of creamy white fat, but you could also use very thick pork chops, when the broth will be enriched by the bones. No accompaniment is necessary (offer spoons for the juices), but we mopped our plates with a salad of oranges and fennel. Serves 4. Ready in 90 minutes
smoked pancetta 250g, in one piece
groundnut oil
onions 2, medium
rosemary leaves 1 tbsp
garlic 3 cloves
ginger 60g, fresh
star anise 3
pork steaks 4, thick cut (about 750g total)
butter beans 1 x 400g tin
dry sherry 60ml
chicken or vegetable stock 500ml
rice wine 100ml
soy sauce 60ml
Cut the pancetta into short, thick lardons (about the size of a little finger), then put them into a large, heavy-based saucepan over a low-to-moderate heat and let them cook for 7-10 minutes until the fat turns golden. If the pancetta is unusually lean, use a tbsp or two of oil.
Peel and roughly chop the onions, then stir them into the pancetta and its fat, adding a little oil if necessary and let the onions cook for about 15-20 minutes until soft and pale gold. Chop and stir in the rosemary. Peel and thinly slice the garlic, then let it cook with the onions. Peel the ginger and cut it into thin coins, then stir in together with the star anise. Heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 6.
Warm 3 tbsp of oil in a shallow pan. Fry the pork on both sides untll the fat is golden, then remove and tuck the pork among the onions. Drain the butter beans and add to the pork and onions. Pour the sherry into the shallow pan, turn up the heat and let it bubble, stirring any tasty caramelisation left behind by the pork. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil.
Pour the stock and sherry mixture into the pan with the pork and onions, pour in the rice wine and soy sauce, a little salt and some black pepper, cover with a lid and bake for about an hour until the pork is tender but not falling apart. Serve in shallow bowls or deep plates.
Baked butternut with bacon and maple syrup
It is important to make sure the butternut is truly tender before you fill the hollows with the bacon and maple syrup and return it to the oven. To make a vegetarian version, swap the bacon for squares of silken tofu. Serves 2. Ready in about 1 hour
butternut squash 1, medium
olive oil
smoked bacon 4 rashers
thyme leaves 2 tsp
maple syrup 4 tbsp
Slice the butternut squash in half lengthways, then cut each half into 2. Scoop out any seeds and pulp with a spoon. Each piece needs a hollow in which to put the rest of the ingredients, so dig a deep hole into each piece with a spoon. Heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.
Place the 4 pieces of squash in a baking dish. Brush each half with a little olive oil and pour a little into each hollow. Grind over some salt and pepper, then bake for about 50 minutes until the flesh is tender and giving when pressed.
Roll up the rashers of bacon, then pop one into each of the 4 hollows. Finely chop the thyme leaves and divide between the squash, sprinkling it over the bacon, then pour 1 tbsp of maple syrup into each hollow.
Return the butternut to the oven for 20 minutes or until the bacon fat is golden. Serve 2 pieces per person.
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