Crab Cakes with Sriracha Lime Mayonnaise

I had some leftover champ (Northern Ireland’s version of colcannon – mashed potato with spring onions instead of cabbage) from Sunday’s pork belly dish and some homemade coleslaw from the pork sandwiches I made the next day to use up, so on Tuesday I decided to try my hand at crab cakes! I’ve tried making fish cakes with freshly-made mashed potatoes before and they have just fallen apart in the pan. These crab cakes worked out really nicely though – I think the starch probably builds up in cold mash, meaning that they stick together a lot better.

The mix was very much a combination of things we had in the fridge; you could use different herbs, or leave out the chilli, garlic and/or ginger if you prefer.

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the crab cakes:

Leftover mashed potato (I had about half the champ from the pork belly recipe, so probably 250g equivalent in raw potatoes)

228 g white crab meat (I used Ocean Finest, currently on offer in Morrison’s!)

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

Juice of 1/2 a lime

Zest of 1 lime

small bunch of parsley, finely chopped

2 spring onions, finely chopped (you could use 2 more if starting with plain mashed potato – mine had spring onions mixed through it already)

2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated

2 eggs

150g breadcrumbs

For the Sriracha mayonnaise 

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp Sriracha

Juice of half a lime

Method

Couldn’t be any easier; simply put all of the crab cake ingredients in a bowl…

… and combine (you can see my sous chef, Gwen, in the background here if you look carefully!)

Shape the mix into patties (I used a mould for two of mine, which made two HUGE crab cakes, as you can see below! I would probably just do the old fashioned method of shaping them by hand in future)

Pop these in the fridge while you make your salad (I just tossed some watercress, rocket, cucumber and tomato with a tablespoon of balsamic).

To make the Sriracha mayonnaise, simply combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Beat the two eggs in a small bowl; mix the breadcrumbs with some salt and pepper in another small bowl. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a deep frying pan.

Dip each crab cake in the beaten egg, then the breadcrumbs, then into the pan, moving them around so that all of the breadcrumbs turn golden and the crab cakes heat through. When they’re done, pop them on a piece of kitchen roll before plating them up with your salad and sriracha mayo.

 

Slow cooked pork belly, crispy crackling, champ, apple sauce, mustard leeks, pork gravy

This was a lovely Sunday roast – inspired by a delicious lunch at The Lion Inn in Trellech over the New Year break, when we stayed at The Chickenshed with my in-laws. It is actually a former chicken shed that has been converted into a beautiful holiday home! The Lion Inn is a proper old-fashioned village pub (we bumped into the local vicar on our lunchtime there!). We enjoyed Sunday night jazz there on the last night of our holiday!

Anyway, back to dinner. I have tried for years to achieve the perfect crispy crackling and I think I have almost cracked (crackled?!) it. The secret, I think, is to remove the fat for the last bit of cooking and finish it off separately when the roast is resting.

We had leftovers of everything apart from the leeks; I made pork rolls for sandwiches the next day with the leftover pork and apple sauce, together with homemade coleslaw, barbecue sauce and salad. The mashed potatoes were used in Tuesday’s crab cakes!

Ingredients (serves 2, with leftovers for sandwiches!)

1 small pork belly joint (approx 800g)

small bunch of sage leaves

zest of 1 lemon

500g King Edward or Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

4 scallions, sliced

2 Bramley apples, peeled, cored and sliced

50g demerara sugar

2 leeks

125ml double cream

75g salted butter

1 tsp dijon mustard

500ml pork stock

2 tbsp flour

Method

1. Preheat the oven to  200°C/180°C fan.

2. Cut some deep scores through the pork skin in a criss-cross pattern.

3. Finely chop the sage leaves; mix with the lemon zest and rub it all over the pork joint. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper, and place it on a wire rack over a roasting tray.

4. Pop the pork in the oven for an hour, then reduce the heat to 180°C and cook for a further 90 minutes. Keep an eye on it, and if it starts to get a bit black at the edges, wrap the whole joint in tin foil.

5. Place the potato chunks into a pot of cold, salted water, and simmer for about 30 minutes, until soft. Drain and return to the hot pan, mash immediately before adding half the butter and cream, scallions and salt and pepper. Keep warm.

6. Melt the remaining butter in a pan and sauté the leeks over a medium heat until soft. Add the remaining cream and mustard; season to taste. Add a little more mustard if you prefer. The mustard leeks can be reheated just before serving.

7. Place the apple slices and sugar in a small pan with a splash of boiled water; stir over a medium heat until the sugar has melted and the apple has softened to a puree texture. Add a little more water if it starts to stick. The apple sauce can also be heated again before serving.

8. Take the pork out of the oven and separate the fat from the meat. Pour the roasting juices from the pan into a small pot. Wrap the joint of meat in tin foil and pop it in the bottom of the oven. Turn the oven back up to 200°C. Place the fat back on the roasting rack to let it crisp up (about 30 minutes more). Take the meat out of the oven after about 15 minutes and if it’s nice and tender, leave it to rest, wrapped in the tin foil, on a warmed plate.

9. Gently heat the pork juices in the small pan (you may need to add some butter until melted, if you have fewer than 2 tbsp of juices) and whisk in the flour. Slowly add the stock, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.

Rose Harissa Chicken with Sumac Roasted Vegetables, Pilau Rice and Yoghurt Sauce

I had opened a jar of rose harissa to accompany Sabrina Ghayour’s delicious Spiced lamb kebab-loghmeh from Sirocco over the weekend and was keen to use the rest of the jar quickly! So I came up with this little recipe, using free-range corn-fed chicken legs currently available in Asda (about £2.50 for a pack of two). The yoghurt sauce is heavily inspired by Sabrina’s lamb kebab accompaniment.

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the chicken with sumac-roasted vegetables:
2 chicken legs (or 4 thighs/drumsticks, or 2 of each!)

2 tablespoons rose harissa

1 courgette, sliced

1 red onion, chopped into six wedges

1 red pepper, sliced

juice of 1 lemon

3 teaspoons sumac

3 cloves garlic, crushed with the flat of a knife

12 cherry tomatoes on the vine

2 tablespoons olive oil

For the pilau rice:

175 g basmati rice

1 cinnamon stick

6 cloves

8 green cardamon pods

300ml boiling water

2 tbsp sunflower oil

3 shallots, very finely sliced into rings

For the yoghurt sauce:

200g Greek-style yoghurt

squeeze of lemon juice

pinch of cumin

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 cucumber, cut into small dice

handful of pomegranate seeds

small bunch of mint, chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan.

2. Cut a couple of deep incisions into the chicken legs. Rub the rose harissa into the chicken legs and set aside to marinade for a few minutes. Season the skin side with salt and pepper.

3. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over a high heat (there is no need to add oil). Add the chicken, skin side down, and season with salt and pepper on the underside. Move the chicken legs around the skillet to prevent them from sticking to the pan. When the skin is nice and crispy, flip the legs over and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat

4. In a small bowl, toss the onion wedges with a little oil and half the sumac. Nestle them under the chicken legs in your skillet and bung the whole thing into the oven (without a lid) for 10 minutes.

5. While the chicken and onions are getting to know each other in the oven, you can crack on with your yoghurt sauce. Simply mix the yoghurt, lemon juice, olive oil and cumin in a small bowl until they’re all combined, then mix in the diced cucumber. Sprinkle the mint and pomegranate seeds on top and set aside.

6. Using the same bowl you used for the onion wedges, toss the courgette in olive oil and sumac (you will probably need to add another slosh of oil and another bit of sumac to what’s already in the bowl). Lift the chicken out of the skillet and add the courgettes, tossing them around with the onions to give them a good mix. Replace the chicken on top of the veggies and put the dish back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

7. Put the rice in a sieve and rinse under a cold tap until the water runs quite clear. Place the rice in a pot of cold water and leave to stand for 10 minutes.

8. Heat half the sunflower oil in a pan over a high heat and quickly fry the shallot slices until they are crispy (keep an eye on them, the line between ‘crispy’ and ‘burned’ is a fine one here!). Remove with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper to allow the oil to drain off.

9. Toss the pepper slices in the small bowl with any remaining oil and sumac, the lemon juice and garlic cloves. Again, gently lift the chicken out of the skillet, add the pepper mix to the other vegetables, and give everything a good mix around before replacing the chicken on top, putting the whole lot back in the oven for another 10 minutes. I added the squeezed lemon halves to the dish for an added lemon kick, you can leave them out if you prefer. If you do add them, don’t forget to take them out before you serve, to avoid any nasty surprises amongst the sweet roasted vegetables!

10. Drain the rice in a sieve and set aside. Heat the remaining sunflower oil in a pot for which you have a tight-fitting lid and fry the cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom pods just for a few seconds, until fragrant. Then throw in the rice, bay leaves, a good pinch of salt, and the boiling water. Stir once, quickly bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and stir one more time before putting the lid on. Leave untouched over the lower heat for 10 minutes. Do not be tempted to check it!

11. Take your chicken out to test it – it should be done at this stage. To check, pierce the leg at a couple of its thickest parts and if the juices run clear, it’s done. If it’s not done, return it to the oven for another five or so minutes. If it is done, very gently make a place for the tomato vines and give them a roll around in the cooking juices. You want to be careful here to keep them on the vine. Return the dish to the oven for about five minutes, until the skin of the tomatoes is wrinkly – don’t leave them too long or they’ll turn into a mush.

12. Take your rice off the heat – the rice should have absorbed all the water by now. Stir in the crispy shallots. Serve immediately with the chicken and vegetable mix, and the yoghurt on the side.