Nigel Slater's Recipes for Roast Pork with Peach Salsa and Roasted Grapes
The other day, the other day the butcher had a glorious row of pork ribs – a long rectangle of meat with everything I could ask for: skin neatly slashed for puffiness and crackle in the oven; bones to gnaw on and plenty of fat to roast a few potatoes.
The cut is inexpensive compared to the loin and lamb, and is also eaten nice and cold, with sea salt crystals and ribbons of pickled cabbage on its side.
I made a loose paste of garlic, soybeans, five Chinese spices and chili flakes, brushing it over the fat and down into the cut edges of the meat. The batter blackens and caramelizes in the bottom of the roasting pan. Wash it down with a little water, wine, or broth, giving you juices to drip onto the meat. You can add a handful of partially boiled potatoes to the pan to roast them in the juices.
The fat is both sweet and salty, and comes alive with a spicy salsa. I used peaches, tossing them with crisp cherry tomatoes and lime juice as sharp as a pin. Oh, and a squeeze of the bottle of sriracha to add depth and warmth.
If decent peaches prove elusive, you can use slices of orange or grapefruit instead.
There are lots of bunches of grapes at the moment, some of them sweet, honeyed Muscat. I put a few clusters in the oven, sprinkled with sugar, then I spilled a small glass of cognac on them. Half an hour later, they emerged wrinkled like black olives, surrounded by an intense fluke of inky juice, which we first ate with a spoon and then mopped up with our fingers.
Roast from pork, peach salsaAsk the butcher to score the skin for you. If you prefer to do it yourself, a Stanley knife is better than even the sharpest kitchen knives. For 4 people
Pork ribs 1.5 kg
For the rub: garlic 4 cloves light soy sauce 3 tbsp peanut oil 2 tbsp salt 2 tbsp dried salt chili flakes 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder 1½ lightly heaped tsp
For the peach salsa: spring onions 2 , small red chilli 1, medium hot peaches 450g cherry tomatoes 8 coriander a small bunch lime juice 3 mint leaves 6g, stems removed sriracha 2-3 tsp
Place the pork, skin side up, in a porcelain, stainless steel or glass dish. Peel the garlic and crush the cloves into a smooth paste using a pestle and mortar. Stir in the soy sauce, peanut oil, salt, chili flakes and five-spice powder and spread all over the pork skin.
Put the Pork aside for an hour in a cool, airy room or leave overnight in the fridge (take out of the fridge a good hour before cooking).
Set the oven to 220C/ thermostat 7. Place the pork in a roasting pan, then cook, skin side up, for about 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 200°C/thermostat 6 and continue cooking for 40 to 50 minutes, until the skin is dark and slightly puffy.
Remove the pork out of the oven and let it sit for at least 15 minutes.
Prepare the salsa: Slice and finely chop the spring onions and put them in a mixing bowl. Finely chop the chilli, removing the seeds if desired. Peel, pit and finely chop the peaches, then finely chop the tomatoes and coriander and add them to the spring onions. Squeeze the limes and incorporate most of the juice. Add the coarsely chopped mint leaves and 2 teaspoons of sriracha.
Toss the salad and dressing with a little salt, then taste and, if desired , add more lime juice, salt and sriracha.
Carve pork and ribs into thick slices and serve with salsa.
Roast grapes
The other day, the other day the butcher had a glorious row of pork ribs – a long rectangle of meat with everything I could ask for: skin neatly slashed for puffiness and crackle in the oven; bones to gnaw on and plenty of fat to roast a few potatoes.
The cut is inexpensive compared to the loin and lamb, and is also eaten nice and cold, with sea salt crystals and ribbons of pickled cabbage on its side.
I made a loose paste of garlic, soybeans, five Chinese spices and chili flakes, brushing it over the fat and down into the cut edges of the meat. The batter blackens and caramelizes in the bottom of the roasting pan. Wash it down with a little water, wine, or broth, giving you juices to drip onto the meat. You can add a handful of partially boiled potatoes to the pan to roast them in the juices.
The fat is both sweet and salty, and comes alive with a spicy salsa. I used peaches, tossing them with crisp cherry tomatoes and lime juice as sharp as a pin. Oh, and a squeeze of the bottle of sriracha to add depth and warmth.
If decent peaches prove elusive, you can use slices of orange or grapefruit instead.
There are lots of bunches of grapes at the moment, some of them sweet, honeyed Muscat. I put a few clusters in the oven, sprinkled with sugar, then I spilled a small glass of cognac on them. Half an hour later, they emerged wrinkled like black olives, surrounded by an intense fluke of inky juice, which we first ate with a spoon and then mopped up with our fingers.
Roast from pork, peach salsaAsk the butcher to score the skin for you. If you prefer to do it yourself, a Stanley knife is better than even the sharpest kitchen knives. For 4 people
Pork ribs 1.5 kg
For the rub: garlic 4 cloves light soy sauce 3 tbsp peanut oil 2 tbsp salt 2 tbsp dried salt chili flakes 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder 1½ lightly heaped tsp
For the peach salsa: spring onions 2 , small red chilli 1, medium hot peaches 450g cherry tomatoes 8 coriander a small bunch lime juice 3 mint leaves 6g, stems removed sriracha 2-3 tsp
Place the pork, skin side up, in a porcelain, stainless steel or glass dish. Peel the garlic and crush the cloves into a smooth paste using a pestle and mortar. Stir in the soy sauce, peanut oil, salt, chili flakes and five-spice powder and spread all over the pork skin.
Put the Pork aside for an hour in a cool, airy room or leave overnight in the fridge (take out of the fridge a good hour before cooking).
Set the oven to 220C/ thermostat 7. Place the pork in a roasting pan, then cook, skin side up, for about 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 200°C/thermostat 6 and continue cooking for 40 to 50 minutes, until the skin is dark and slightly puffy.
Remove the pork out of the oven and let it sit for at least 15 minutes.
Prepare the salsa: Slice and finely chop the spring onions and put them in a mixing bowl. Finely chop the chilli, removing the seeds if desired. Peel, pit and finely chop the peaches, then finely chop the tomatoes and coriander and add them to the spring onions. Squeeze the limes and incorporate most of the juice. Add the coarsely chopped mint leaves and 2 teaspoons of sriracha.
Toss the salad and dressing with a little salt, then taste and, if desired , add more lime juice, salt and sriracha.
Carve pork and ribs into thick slices and serve with salsa.
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