Juliet’s food diary
(makes a generous six portions)
REMIND ME, HOW MANY people from various households are allowed to meet outside, do bubbles count as one? I’m confused. It surprises me that outdoor drinking is in any way safer than being policed at a covid spaced indoor table. Stepping off the bus at The Shore last week it was nigh on impossible to walk along the pavement, such was the throng of outdoor drinkers stripping the booze fridges of Sainsbury’s Local. The Number 22 nearly ran over a couple of pensioners and a Jack Russell, forced to brave the cobbles. The allure of the river bank is all very well but couldn’t the police guide the masses to the vast space that is Leith Links? You can bevvy to your hearts content down there, get the disposable BBQ out, and enjoy a free lungful of marijuana while you’re at it. With such delights on offer the council could charge an entry fee.
My own thoughts have turned to outdoor dining, in the sector now known as “Street Food”. Watch any travel blogs and the adventurers rightfully delight in street food - home made from scratch, tasty fare that’s dirt cheap because, well, you have to eat in on the street. Scottish street food was once a chippy or kebab in a bus stop after a night on the lash, but has sadly evolved into artisan venison burgers for which you get little change from a tenner. So for your street, garden or kitchen eating delights I’ve come up with a street food type recipe and am so pleased with the results I’ve been looking up the cost of catering vans on Facebook Marketplace.
I know Pulled Pork is no new thing. I’m seldom a fan because the pork is often not just pulled but given a night of passion and breakfast in bed the next morning. It shouldn’t be mush, but unctuous and juicy. For this recipe I’ve used a smoked gammon for an extra punch of flavour. If you’re not as keen on saltiness as I am it’s a good idea to soak your gammon overnight before cooking. Accompanied by a zingy, nutty Satay Slaw, this recipe has a low, pleasant heat with a contrast of crunchy freshness.
PULLED SRIRACHA GAMMON WITH SATAY SLAW
• 1 750g Gammon Joint
• 1 Onion
• 4 tablespoons Sriracha
• 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce
• 1 tin Cherry Tomatoes
• 2 whole chillies
• 2 cloves garlic
• 250ml water
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
Pre heat the oven to 130°C. Cut the onion into wedges and place in the centre of a crock pot or oven proof dish with a tight lid.
Sit the gammon joint on the onions and pour over all the other ingredients, with 250ml water, leaving the chillies and garlic cloves whole. Cover and bake for 4 hours.
It’s a good idea to check after three and a half hours. The gammon should show some resistance when you pull it apart.
Remove the gammon from the sauce and shred into chunks. Remove the chillies from the sauce (or keep them in if you want a super fiery version) and either blitz the sauce with a hand or table top blender or pass through a sieve, finely chopping the onions and garlic.
Add two tablespoons of light brown sugar and reduce the sauce over a low heat until thickened to the coating the back of a spoon consistency.
Put two thirds of the sauce onto the gammon and mix well, reserving the other third for extra to pour on when serving.
SATAY SLAW
• 300g stir fry mix (or a mixture of beansprouts, shredded cabbage, onions, apples and carrots)
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Mix the mayonnaise, peanut butter and vinegar and season to taste. Mix into the vegetables. Serve the slaw and pulled gammon in a bun or wrap, alternatively serve with sticky rice.