Accidental Ice Cream with Berry Compote

As the title suggests, this recipe evolved completely by accident. I was attempting to make cake icing out of some left-over mascarpone, but after adding too much milk the mixture was far too runny to do anything with...or so I thought. After putting it in the freezer in an attempt to thicken the mixture, I totally forgot about it and found it a few of hours later when it was completely solid, however after trying it, my housemate and I realised that this series of disasters had actually resulted in some delicious and ridiculously easy-to-make ice cream. It seems every cloud does has a silver lining! The only problem with an accidental recipe is that I obviously wasn't measuring anything as I went along, so I have had to so some guesswork - you get the general idea though. 

You Will Need...

250g mascarpone cheese

Roughly 200ml whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

3-5 tbsp icing sugar

A small punnet each of raspberries & blueberries

You Will Need To...

- Put the raspberries and blueberries in a saucepan with a dash of water and leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes, until they have burst and resemble a jammy compote. To make this ultra smooth pass through a sieve. Leave to cool.

- Whisk the mascarpone until smooth. Gradually add the milk to thin the mixture, and whisk until the lumps have disappeared. 

- Stir in the vanilla and sugar to taste. Put in the freezer for half an hour or so, until semi-set.

- Once the ice cream is partially set, fold through half of the compote to achieve a rippled effect - be very gentle to avoid the whole thing turning into an ugly pink mess.

- Place the ice-cream back in the freezer for a couple of hours or until completely frozen.

- Serve with the rest of the compote spooned on top.

Enjoy! C x

Slow Roast Pork with Seasonal Apple Sauce & Roast Veg

 As the nights are drawing in and the weather is getting colder, a hearty plate of roast pork with all the trimmings and a sharp apple sauce sounds very appetising. The apple sauce is a brilliant way of using the surplus of apples at this time of year, and if you are lucky enough to have vegetables in your garden they can be used up too.

This recipe is one I have used a few times now, and it is always a winner. I have adapted it from Jamie Oliver's 6 Hour Slow Roast Pork. The key to this recipe is using a roasting tin with a lid like this one:

Alternatively, you can cover the pork in tin foil but I found that this lets too much moisture out, and the meat is much dryer than if using a covered roasting tin. I have also experimented using a shoulder of pork with the bone and a rolled gigot of pork with no bone. Without the bone I cooked the meat for a little longer as there is no bone to conduct the heat. This way of cooking means no carving is required so it is quick and easy to serve.

To serve 4-6 people you will need... 

2kg shoulder of pork bone in skin on

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 red onions, halved

2 carrots, peeled and halved lengthways

2 sticks celery, halved

1 bulb garlic, skin on, broken into cloves

6-8 bay leaves

You will need to...

-Preheat your oven to 220°C, place the meat skin side up in the roasting tin, if it is tied with string leave the sting tied. Lightly score the skin making sure you don't cut through to the meat, then rub salt into all the scores. Season the underside with salt and pepper too.

Next place the pork in the oven for half an hour with the lid off so the skin puffs up and turns in to crackling. After half an hour, or when the crackling looks golden and crispy put the lid on the roasting tin and turn the oven down to 170°C cook for 4 and a half hours basting occasionally. For the last hour of cooking add all to veg- this makes delicious gravy. Remove from the oven and allow the meat to rest. Pour all the juices and vegetables into a sauce pan, and add 200ml of chicken stock, a dash of red wine, a splash of apple juice, and plenty of salt and pepper. Sieve into a jug and pour over the meat as gravy.

For the apple sauce you will need...

2 cooking apples

3 shallots

200ml of chicken stock

Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

You will need to..

Peel and core the apples then chop into 2cm chunks, then finely chop the shallots. Add the shallots and apples to a saucepan gently heat for about 4 minutes. Next add chicken stock Dijon mustard and seasoning - the apple should be soft but the sauce should not be too runny.

For the roast veg you will need...

2 beetroots

1 parsnips

1 carrot

1/2 a butternut squash

1 courgette

Alternatively you can use whatever veg you have in supply

You will need to...

Peel the carrots parsnips, beet root and butternut squash. Chop carrots parsnips and squash into carrot stick sizes. Chop beetroot into thin circles - it is important these are not too thick as beetroot takes longer than the other vegetables to roast. Place all veg into a roasting tin season with salt and pepper drizzle with honey and roast for about 1 hour at 200°C.

The pork is delicious served with mashed or roast potatoes but my favourite is with dauphinoise. 

Enjoy! Z x