Estonia: Pork and Juniper Cauldron with Pannileib Potato Cake
I suspect that Estonia looks like faerie-land. Picture magical gothic architecture and ancient forests that are home to rare wild animals and plants that are virtually extinct in the rest of Europe. Imagine a country where sunlight seems to linger forever in summer and winter is a time of snow-drifted days of darkness.
The Republic of Estonia, is a northern mainland European country that also encompasses 2,222 Baltic Sea islands (of which 19 are inhabited). Near neighbours include Russia to the east, Latvia to the south, Sweden to the west (across the Baltic Sea), and Finland to the north (across the Gulf of Finland). Not surprisingly, traditional Estonian food practices were closely linked to the seasons, with gathering and conserving in spring/summer providing essential foods for the cold, dark days of winter.
Modernisation and supermarkets have removed the urgency of food storage, yet Estonians have shown a passion for preserving their unique cuisine. And so they should. The cuisine of Estonia is robust and beautiful.It has been blessed by culinary contributions from Viking history and neighbouring countries in Scandinavia and Northern Europe, but really, it is their own.
Our Estonian menu included:
PORK AND JUNIPER CAULDRON (Ühepajatoit)
&
PANNILEIB POTATO CAKE
Served with
Black Bread & Sour Cream
........................................................................................................
PORK AND JUNIPER CAULDRON (Ühepajatoit)
Ingredients
· 600 g Pork Scotch Fillet steaks, cut in quarters (about 50 gm per piece)
· 3 carrots
· 1 large parsnip
· 2 medium sized Swedes
· 2 stalks of celery
· 15 pearl onions, peeled
· 5 cloves of garlic, peeled
· 500ml chicken stock (preferably homemade)
· 3 tbsp flour
· 2 lengths fresh Rosemary
· 2 large sprigs fresh Parsley
· 2 Bay Leaves
· 4 sprigs fresh Thyme
· 2 tbs Tomato Paste
· 3 tbs Sunflower Oil
· 1 Juniper Berries, lightly crushed in mortal and pestle
· Zest of 2 lemons
· Juice of 1 Orange
· Zest of half an orange
· 2 tbsSour Cream
· Salt, to taste
· Black Pepper, freshly ground to taste
· Note: you need a large ‘Dutch Oven’ pot to cook this dish; something that can go from stove to oven & has a tight fitting lid
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C
2. Tie the fresh Rosemary, Parsley, Bay Leaves and Thyme firmly together into a bunch with kitchen string and leave a long enough piece of string to tie to the pot handle to make it easy to remove later
3. Peel & cut Carrots, Swedes & Parsnip into fat slices on the diagonal
4. Cut the Celery into fat slices on the diagonal as well
5. Season the flour with salt and pepper & place in a large paper bag or sealed container large enough to fit the meat easily
6. Add the Pork pieces to the flour bag/container, close & shake, so the flour completely coats the meat
7. Remove the meat from the bag & dust/shake off any excess flour
8. Discard the flour bag into your compost
9. Heat the Sunflower Oil in a large, heavy-bottomed stove top to oven proof dish
10. Add the pork to the hot pan & sear on all sides until well browned and slightly crisp
11. Then add the pearl onions & sauté a little to begin browning
12. Now add the tomato puree & stir with a wooden spoon
13. Add the stock & stir well to make sure all the ‘crisp’ bits are stirred in to add flavour & prevent the sauce burning
14. Add the juniper berries, orange juice, lemon and orange zests
Stir for a minute or two, then add the vegetables
15. Finally give a last stir, add the bunch of herbs into the sauce, then heat the cauldron to near boiling point
16. cover the pot with a lid & put it into the oven
17. After 1 hour take the ‘cauldron’ out of the oven
18. Carefully lift off the lid (away from you to prevent steam burn), & gently stir the ingredients being careful not to break the vegetables
19. Take a spoon, ladle off a small amount of the sauce for tasting & adjust the seasoning, adding more salt/pepper if needed
20. Cook for a further 30 minutes in the oven (if the sauce is thin do this without the lid, if it is thick leave the lid on)
21. When the ‘cauldron’ comes out of the oven you can let it sit on the bench to cool for up to 30 minutes before serving as it will be very very hot!!!
22. Before serving remove the bunch of herbs & stir in the sour cream
This is a Q-Zine original recipe created from originals found at:
PANNILEIB POTATO CAKE
Ingredients
· cooking spray
· 300gm bacon, cut in strips
· Ikg Yukon Gold Potatoes
· 2 onions
· 1 cups all-purpose flour, or more as needed
· 2 tsp salt
· 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
· 2 eggs, beaten
Method
1. preheat oven to 180C/350F
2. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and line with parchment paper
3. Place bacon in a frypan over medium heat; cook and stir until cooked through but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes
4. Set bacon aside to cool
5. Grate potatoes & onions in a food processor
6. transfer to a large bowl
1. Beat eggs, add to the potato/onion & mix to combine
2. Stir cooked bacon and bacon fat into the potato mixture
3. Mix in flour, salt & pepper and stir well
4. If mixture appears too wet, gradually mix in more flour for a firmer consistency
5. Spread mixture evenly over lined baking sheet
6. Cover tray with foil & bake in preheated oven one hour
7. Take the tray out of the oven, remove foil, turn the tray around to face the other way & put back into the over to cook for another half an hour oruntil lightly browned with crispy edges
8. Cool before slicing, about 10 minutes
This is a Q-Zine original recipe created from originals found at:
Comments
Post a Comment