Cook

WITH BERN THE CHEF www.bernthechef.com.au

Bern the Chef

is a local caterer who has been in the Lane Cove area for over 15 years. She has worked in many corporate catering positions as well as operating a small business. Bern loves catering and the freedom that clients give her to do what she does best. Cooking is her forte and Bern loves the classics as well as keeping up to date with the latest food trends. www.bernthechef.com.au

It’s the ideal time to get your roasting dishes Autumn bliss There’s nothing quite like walking into a warm home with aromas out and let your house fill with warm spicy aromas. Rich Christmas fare is warmly of baked puddings and a roast dinner. With more time spent inside, the change of welcomed here at this time of year. season provides the perfect excuse to try new recipes. BY BERNADETTE KENNEALY.Upside Down Pear Cake

Mandarin and Ginger Pork Cheeks

Any meat cooked on the bone has more flavour. Although it does take longer to cook, the flavour intensity is worth it! This recipe is based on feeding 6 people. Work on one Maryland per person, skin on.

Cooking is great for so many reasons, whether it be therapy; to crack open that great red wine; or to grab a bunch of friends on a weekend afternoon for nourishment, a laugh and a bowl of comfort. Walking past the butcher’s daily offerings, are there meat cuts you wish you knew how to use? Perhaps skirt steak, pork cheeks or chicken Maryland? Pork cheeks are one of my favourites and my ears prick up every time I hear of a new recipe. The version below would be delicious with rice noodles and broth and is best made the morning of, or even the day before.

Chicken Maryland with Bacon and Polenta

• Oil for frying • 3 onions, finely chopped • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped • 2 carrots, roughly chopped. • 6 pork cheeks - approx 1 kilo (or substitute with beef cheeks) • 2 inches ginger, peel and slice • 1/2 cup light soy sauce • 500mls chicken stock • 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine • 3 pieces dried mandarin peel (Asian grocer) • 2 whole star anise • 2 dried red chillies (or to taste) • 2 cinnamon sticks • 1 tspn white peppercorns • 2 tblspn dark soy sauce • 2 tblspn brown sugar • 6 mandarins, whole Sauté onions in a heavy based pot with oil for 4-5 minutes until translucent. Add the trimmed pork cheeks and brown on each side. Add the ginger, carrot and aromatic spices and cook stirring for another 3 minutes until the whole pot is fragrant. Add the stock and Shaoxing wine, transfer into an oven dish, cover and slow cook on 140 degrees for 2 hours. Add the whole mandarins, the dark soy and brown sugar,

• 250 gm unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing • 200 gm (1 cup firmly packed) light brown sugar • 1 kilo pears, peeled and cut into 2 cm slices • 300 gm (2 cups) plain flour • 50 gm almond meal • 2 tsp baking powder • 1 tsp ground ginger • 1/2 tsp ground cloves • 1/2 tsp salt • 300 ml milk • 2 tsp vanilla extract • 360 gm white sugar Roasted Pork, Cider & Pears • Spice rub • 1 tblspn sea salt • 6 eggs, separated Look for a free-range pork shoulder with the skin on. Rinsed and dried, score the skin about 5 millimetres deep, 1 cm across the whole piece. Carefully pour a whole jug of boiling water over the skin, let it drain & dry while you prepare the roasting dish. • 1 tblspn smoked paprika • 1 tblspn ground cumin • 4 springs fresh thyme leaves • 1 tspn dry mustard powder Preheat the oven to 170C. Melt 75gm butter over medium heat, add brown sugar, stir occasionally until dissolved (3-4 minutes). Spread in the base of a buttered 22cm x 32cm cake tin or baking dish, arrange fruit on top in rows, overlapping slightly, set aside. 2 peeled & roughly sliced onions, 2 lengthwise split carrots & a teaspoon of fennel seeds scattered on the tray gives a delicious bed of flavour to sit the pork on. A tablespoon of olive oil and salt rubbed into the pork skin to encourage the driest flakiest crackle and place in the oven at 160 degrees for around 2 hours for a 2-3 kilo piece. • 1 tspn ground white pepper Combine sifted flour, baking powder, ground ginger & cloves and salt in a large bowl and add almond meal. Combine milk and vanilla in a separate bowl and set aside. Beat remaining butter and sugar in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mixing at low speed, add one-third of the flour mixture then half the milk mixture and mix to just While the pork is cooking, prepare your favourite combine. Add remaining flour mixture, then remaining milk vegetables. mixture, mix to just combine, then transfer to a large bowl. Allowing enough for ½ a pear per person, peel & core pears, place in a roasting pan inside part facing up. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, plenty of freshly cracked black pepper, sea salt and roughly chopped sage. Dot a teaspoon of butter on each piece of pear, sprinkle with a little brown sugar & add a bottle of pear cider. Roast for 40 minutes along with the pork. Mix all spice ingredients together in a bowl. Slash the chicken legs, place a couple of slashes on the thigh and then rub the spices into all the nooks and crannies. Place onto a tray in a single layer and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Add a couple of wedge cut Spanish onions, 4 smashed whole garlic cloves, 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes (whole), and one Whisk egg white and a pinch of salt in an electric mixer until foamy. Whisking continuously, gradually add remaining sugar and whisk until medium peaks form. Fold half the egg white mixture into the batter, then fold in the remaining egg white mixture. Spoon into the cake tin over fruit, spreading evenly. Bake until the cake is golden and the centre springs back when lightly pressed (50 minutes-1 hour), cool in the tin (10 minutes). Turn out gently. Delectable warm or cold with Baste the pears with the cider a couple of times while orange cut into quarters. Drizzle with olive oil and place double cream, custard or ice cream. cooking. When your pork is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it rest. If your crackle still needs love, pop it back into the oven to crisp up. Add a tablespoon of mustard and a dollop of cream to the cooking juices for gravy. into a medium hot oven (160 degrees). Roast for 30 to 40 minutes. As that is roasting, sauté a couple of chopped bacon rashers enjoy in a heavy based pot. Add 2 cups of polenta and 1 litre of chicken stock, working quickly until a soft porridge consistency. Turn the heat off and cover. Leave for 5 minutes to absorb and soften, add 100gms butter, freshly chopped parsley and 100gms cheddar cheese.

Pears go well with blackberries, raspberries, pistachio, almonds, ginger, vanilla, brie, blue cheese & pork.