Hell's Kitchen: Jerk Pork
I've been worried I might have to have a bit of a break from blogging, as my kitchen currently looks like this:
Its been like this for a few days now, and it all happened a lot more quickly than I expected as our builders are excellent. This has meant most of last week was spent alternating takeaways (Tiffin Tin and Bedouin Lounge since you ask) and meals out at lovely Likya. When I struggled to squeeze into my shorts at the end of the week, I knew things had to stop, so got to work emergency batch cooking the entire contents of my fridge and freezer. I've done this once before, when I was heavily pregnant and determined not to live on a diet of pizza in the event that my life turned into chaos when the baby arrived. It didn't, but I was pleased to have microwave-ready vats of healthy Thai curries, chicken bakes and cassoulet in any event.
This time was slightly more rushed, as I had a matter of maybe 8 hours left of oven accessibility, so cooked as much as humanly possible in this time. and thought I'd share some of them with you over the coming weeks as it might be useful to others in a similar situation; batch cooking doesn't have to mean giant lasagnes. So, welcome to my mini series of mostly healthy cook ahead microwaveable dinners - I'm calling it 'Hell's Kitchen', because I'm imaginative like that.
First, this slow roast jerk pork. I knew that a roast in a microwave would be impossible - and to be honest I do find a standard roast kind of boring - so I marinated a big rolled pork leg in jerk seasoning (I didn't make my own this time), honey, extra chilli and a bit of tomato puree all mixed in with olive oil. I rubbed it all over the meat, covered in foil, then roasted in the oven at 160C for about three hours.
The result is nicely spiced, peppery fragrant pork that has maintained its succulence and it perfect for slicing into portions and freezing ready for heating up whenever you like.
We had it with pre-packaged cauliflower rice that is ready to microwave, some salad, spring onions and yoghurt with coriander stirred through. Proof that microwave meals do not have to be unhealthy (see my series on The Debrief for more!)
Wish me luck in attempting to maintain my fledgling career of recipe and food writing sans kitchen. Until tomorrow...