Tomatoes - keeping it simple

As the first flush of ripe tomatoes come through what could be better than a fresh tomato salad, served at room temperature and with all the flavour of Summer?

When tomatoes are in season, you simply want to celebrate their taste.  So any accompaniment should be a partnership to the tomato's natural flavour.

• four large ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges (if you've bought these from the supermarket, leave them on the side to bring to room temperature - this will maximise their flavour)
• one small red onion, halved and sliced thinly
• a handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped roughly
• two dessert spoons of salted capers, chopped roughly
• 2 good glugs of extra virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, add all the above and using your hands, make sure that everything has a coating of oil.  Cover with clingfilm and leave on the side for an hour or more.

Use as salad on its own, as a filling in crusty bread or, add olives and feta and gorge yourself whilst sitting in the sun...

Garlic Pork with Pinto beans

This is my first late Summer, early Autumn, dish and one that has a number of really good attributes. 

 

The favours in this dish hit you on so many levels.  Try for the large chops or thick steaks for this dish as the portions really do work out wonderfully for four people.   No additional vegetables are needed as a main course and, as this is relatively low maintenance recipe, this is not only great for a supper dish after work (as you can cook it the previous day and then re-heat) but also a great reserve for dinner parties as, unerringly, this is quite a light dish so can be twined with starters, a fish course and a dessert if you feel so inclined.

As you can see from the photographs, I've used Fragata olives and capers for this dish.  As the cooking time is quite long, the waxy quality of black olives helps them hold their shape even when sliced.  The capers are a great way to cut through the earthy favours of the beans and these particular ones were large and juicy!  Always a good thing.

The garlic I've used this time around is elephant garlic and the cloves are huge!  Brilliant in this dish, if you can get a hold of them, as they have milder, almost sweeter flavour, so I've used two.

I've also used what I've knicknamed sour peppers (which are pictured separately), please let me know if you have the proper name for them.  Helpfully, they are described as "Eastern" peppers in my local market.  As my descriptive knickname suggests, they taste sour, rather than bitter and with their seeds they are actually a little spicy.

The reason I've added the Tarragon in two batches during the initial cooking of the vegetables is that it seems to give a deeper flavour.  The addition of sherry or vermouth to the stock just prior to putting this in the oven is optional, but this also enhances the tarragon and is well worth it.

• 1 Kg of Pork, ideally four large chops or thick cut steaks on the bone
• 700 grams of cooked Pinto Beans
• Six plump garlic cloves, halved and sliced thinly
• One medium onion, chopped roughly
• Two medium red paprika, chopped roughly
• One medium white paprika, chopped roughly
• Two medium "sour" peppers, chopped roughly
• 50 grams of black olives, sliced
• Three good teaspoons of capers
• 15 grams of tarragon, roughly chopped
• 500 mls of veg/chicken stock
• 50 mils of dry sherry (or vermouth)
• 25 mls of extra virgin olive oil

In a deep oven/hob dish (at least five litre capacity), warm the oil through on a medium to high heat.  Brown the pork on each side.  You will need to do this in two batches.  Put aside.

Turn down the heat at notch or two and add the chopped vegetables, and only adding half the tarragon  Cook until softened and then stir in the capers and olives and remaining tarragon and stir thoroughly.  Then add the cooked beans and again, stir thoroughly, ensuring the mixture is warmed through completely. 

Then, take two thirds of mixture out of the dish and place the two of the chops/steaks on a base of the mixture, adding a further third of the mixture on top and then adding the final two chops/steaks on top these.  Using the remaining bean mixture to finish off the layers.

Take the stock and sherry (or vermouth) and pour gently into the dish.  Depending upon the dish itself, you may need to add a further 100 ml of water just to bring the levels up to just above the top layer of pork.

Cover the dish and place in a medium to hot oven at 180c for an hour and 30 minutes.

Again, many thanks to Fragata for the above ingredients, please see go and visit them at http://www.facebook.com/FragataUK/ or fragata.co.uk