Forksticks

This dish is fantastic with slow cooker (6 hours), and it's even better after 1 or 2 days.

I generally use pork neck as it's economical and less fattening than pork shoulder. However, if you like pork crackling to serve on the side, you can remove the excess skin from pork shoulder and grill the skin separately until it's crispy as you do with roast pork.

What you need:

• 8 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 2 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional), I use grounded Thai chilli (a bit of heat)
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 125ml (1/2 cup) lime juice
• 80ml (1/3 cup) orange juice
• 2kg boneless pork neck or pork shoulder (remove excess fat)

1. Combine everything in a bowl and marinate with the pork for at least 3 hours. I generally leave it covered in the fridge over night.

2. Put everything (including the marinate juice) into the slow cooker for 6 to 8 hours, till the pork is tender. 

(Alternatively, preheat oven to 160C. Place pork and marinade in a large flameproof casserole dish. Loosely cover surface with foil. Cover with lid. Roast, turning half way through cooking and basting occasionally for 3 hours or until pork is very tender. Set aside, covered, for 30 min to rest)

3.Served the pork in pan juice with Saurkraut or Asian pickles.

Or Shredded pork & serve with tortillas or Chinese bun or rice.

The options are endless. 

Another fabulous dish for the slow cooker.  I usually have the slow cooker on for 6 to 8 hours.

This is one of those top restaurant dishes that you can easily do at home. Beef cheek is not cheap, you can always substitute with other cheaper cut. However, it's worth spending a bit for the moment of indulgence. 

• 80 ml (⅓ cup)
• olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 thyme sprig
• 4 beef cheeks (about 350gm each), trimmed
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 350 ml dark ale
• 100 ml red wine
• 100 gm tomato purée

 Burghul salad 

• 150 gm coarse burghul (I used Polenta & Quinoa)
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, seeds removed, finely diced
• 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar   

To serve:

• micro-herbs, such as baby lamb's lettuce or micro-cress (Optional)

Bread and anchovy sauce

• 125 ml (½ cup)
• chicken stock
• 30 gm
• day-old white crusty bread, coarsely torn
• 3
• anchovy fillets
• 2 tsp
• olive oil

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1. Preheat oven to 140C. Heat half the oil in a casserole over medium heat, add onion, carrot, garlic and thyme, stir occasionally until onion is tender (8-10 minutes), transfer vegetables and thyme to a bowl and set aside. Heat remaining oil in pan, add beef cheeks and cook, turning once, until browned (3-4 minutes). Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add flour, stir occasionally until sand-coloured (1-2 minutes), add ale, wine and tomato purée, then return vegetables, thyme and beef to casserole. Add enough water to just cover, cover with foil, pierce foil with a sharp knife and braise until beef is very tender (3½-4 hours).

2. Meanwhile, for burghul salad, cook burghul in a saucepan of boiling salted water over medium-high heat until tender (2-3 minutes), drain well and spread on a tray to cool. Combine in a bowl with cucumber, oil and vinegar, season to taste and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, for bread and anchovy sauce, stir ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until bread is very soft (2-3 minutes), remove from heat, purée with a hand-held blender and season to taste. Serve warm with beef cheeks and burghul salad scattered with micro-herbs.

This dish has endless variations that are passed on by our mothers, grannies and it’s the regional love and called for reminiscence.