Chicken or Pork Adobo

THIS IS A BLUE RECIPE

I love adobo and this one is so fragrant and lovely. You can use chicken or pork or a mixture of both. Choose chicken thighs not breasts which are dry and bland. For pork, pick pieces with some bone and a little bit of fat, this adds to the flavor and keeps the meat tender. I like to eat this with brown rice and my stir fried aubergines with tomato and chili, the recipe for which will be coming in a few days.

For 2

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 large stalk of lemongrass bashed but still whole

4 small chicken thighs or two pork chops

½ dessertspoon of fish sauce

2 tablespoons of rice vinegar

1 mug of chicken stock

Fry the garlic in oil until brown

Add the lemongrass and meat and brown off the mear

Add the other ingredients, cover and simmer for 20 minutes

Remove the lid and reduce the liquid for 10 minutes

Fringilla Farm and Butchery

Fringilla Farm and Lodge is about 40 km from Lusaka out on the Great North Road, a decent enough distance to make us feel like we are escape the big smoke for a while but not too far.

We were told about this farm by a friend and we were very impressed, the complex is very big, with beautifully kept grounds, a restaurant with excellent service and a well maintained farm. We were especially excited by the butchery that sells everything from beef to game meat and the staff were attentive. Unfortunately they were out of pork spare ribs but we did leave with a leg of lamb – lamb is very rare in Zambia, and some lovely free range chicken. We can't wait to go back and stock up, the meat is of such good quality because the animals clearly live happy lives, being allowed to roam free and are well fed.

Spaghetti with Easy Meatballs

We had a friend over for dinner and to show off our new Tv by watching some American football. Well, they watched and I fell asleep! I had been busy all day and decided on this low maintenance dish made extra special by the addition of wine and cream. Add some dried herbs if you want, I didn't have any. Make sure the sausages are cold when you make the meatballs, they are easier to handle.

Serves 3

6 pork sausages
Large onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic sliced
1 tablespoon of oil
A large glass of red wine
1 tin of tomatoes
Salt
Sugar
450 grams of spaghetti
3 dessertspoons of cream

Soften the onions and garlic over a moderate heat.

Take a sausage, squeeze a third of the meat from the case, it should be kind of ball shaped, but you can mould it a bit with your hand and drop it into the frying pan

Repeat with the rest of the sausages

Cook until sealed though not necessarily brown on all sides

Add the wine and reduce for about five minutes

Add the tomatoes and break them down with a spoon

Add salt, about half a teaspoon, but taste carefully, some tinned tomatoes are saltier than others.
Add a scant half teaspoon of sugar.

Simmer gently for about 40 minutes until you have a thick, rich sauce and tender meatballs.

Cook the spaghetti in plenty of well salted water.

Divide the spaghetti into three dishes

Add the meatballs and sauce (there should be six, good size balls per dish)

Spoon over a little cream and serve.

*When I made this, I think the meatballs were a bit too big, they should be bitesized.*

Tangy Stove Top Pork and chicken

Some of you will notice a slight resemblance to adobo with this dish with the pork and chicken steeped in soy and vinegar. There’s also a slight nod to cassoulet here with the bacon and beans. This all came about by accident - as some of the nicest dishes do – trying as I have to use up some of our store cupboard staples and frozen meats in anticipation of moving out of our flat in a few days.
Good quality bacon makes all the difference, a decent piece of pancetta is also a lovely addition, but try and get some butcher’s best bacon, or even a piece of smoked ham hock which you can cut into pieces and also cook with the bone. For the chicken I chose thighs and drumsticks because they are on the bone and are generally more tender. You can cook them with the skin on and then remove the skin after cooking.
Serves 2
- 2 tbl spns of olive oil
- 2 chicken thighs or drumsticks
- 2 pork steaks or chops
- Either 3 rashers of smoked back bacon or 250g of smoked pancetta or ham hock which you cut into pieces yourself
- 1 sliced onion
- 2 chopped cloves of garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsps of peppercorns
- 100 mls each of soy sauce and vinegar (balsamic or malt or a mixture of both)
- 1 tsp on smoked paprika
- 200 mls of chicken stock
- 1 450g can of missed beans
- 1 level tsp of brown sugar

Fry the onion in the oil until soft over a medium heat
Add the bacon pieces and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes
Add the bayleaves and meat and brown the meat a little
Add the soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorns and paprika and cook for a couple of minutes
Add the chicken stock, mixed beans and brown sugar
Simmer for about 30 minutes until the meat is cooked through and tender and the sauce is thickened

If there is sauce left after you’ve eaten it can be made into soup for the next day.