Slow Cooked Spare Ribs

Spare Ribs have always been a firm favourite of mine. There was a time, not too long ago, that myself and Ali would find ourselves in Judge Roy Beans every Friday for a rack of them. A rapidly expanding waistline may have curtailed my binge eating but my love for ribs will always live on. Many restaurants will cook their ribs overnight on a very low heat to break down any fibers and tenderise the meat but at home 4 to 5 hours should be enough. 

This sauce works brilliantly with the ribs but you may wish to add more chilli powder. The one I used is a tongue melting type I got in Vienna, even a quarter teaspoon may have been a little too much!

Serves 1 Glutton, 2 Hungry Hippos or 4 Dieters

1 Rack of Pork Ribs (1.2 - 1.5 KG)

For the dry rub:
1 tsp each of Chilli Flakes, Dried Thyme, Chinese Five Spice
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

For the sauce:
210g Tomato Passata
10g Honey
5g White Wine Vinegar
20g Dark Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp Extra Hot Chilli Powder 

1. If the rack is too large for a baking tray cut it in half and put each half in a separate tray. Mix all the ingredients for the dry rub together and massage it into the meat for a few minutes. Cover each tray tightly with foil and put into a preheated 140 degree oven for 4 hours.

2. Meanwhile make the sauce. Put all of the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.

3. After the 4 hours are up, remove the ribs from the oven and carefully remove the foil. Brush a little of the sauce over the ribs and place back in the oven, uncovered, at 180 degrees for ten minutes. Remove and cut the ribs apart. Serve covered in the sauce with some chips and salad or, like me, with a ratatouille.

Gnocchi with Duck and Tomato Sauce

Gnocchi with Duck and Tomato Sauce

On Saturday, I decided it was time for a treat, on the lookout for something to make for dinner I happened upon a Duck and, having never cooked one before, took on the challenge! It turned out to be relatively simple to get a Duck tasting great, a tiny drop of olive oil and plenty of Salt and Pepper on top and half a Lemon inserted into its behind made for a delicious meal, even if I did have an extremely frustrating time carving the plonker! I also made a delicious Paté from its liver and reserved the fat for Sunday's Roasties, all in all a very productive evening!

Although we devoured the majority of the duck there was exactly 170g of leftover meat (after our 3 cats and dog had their bit of course) and today was the day to use it up! I had planned on doing something similar to the Duck Confit Pie I'd had in Paris (replacing the Lamb/Beef with Duck in a Shepards Pie) but I was feeling a little more adventurous so I settled on Gnocchi with Duck and Tomato Sauce!

Don't be put off by making Gnocchi, its relatively simple and the worst that should happen is that its heavy and a bit stodgy but it'll get better the more you make it. This master recipe for Gnocchi is way more than you'll need but freeze the leftovers on a baking tray and once frozen put into freezer bags (stops them sticking together). They can be cooked from frozen, it just takes 4-5 mins rather than 1-2!

For The Gnocchi:

1Kg Floury Potatoes
300g Plain Flour (extra to dust)
1 Egg (beaten)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

For the Duck and Sauce (Serves 2)

2tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion (finely chopped)
1 Small Chilli (Seeds in or out, finely chopped)
170g Cooked Duck (in small chunks)
1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
1tsp Sugar
1tsp Dried Oregano
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Freshly Grated Parmesan to serve


1. Keep the skins on the Potatoes and wash them well. Put them in a saucepan with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil. Cook until tender throughout but not falling apart, 20mins or so depending on size. Drain and peel as soon as possible, mash while still warm. Allow to cool for at least 30-45 minutes.

2. Season the Potatoes well and add the Egg, mix well and add in the Flour. Mix through and form into a dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and roll out chunks of it into long sausages. Cut with a sharp knife at 2cm intervals. If you're feeling patient you can roll each one off a fork to create ridges but its not essential.

3. Cook the Onion in the Oil over a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft, season with Salt and Pepper. Add the Chilli and cook for another 2-3 minutes before adding the Duck. Season well and cook for 5 mins. Add the tin of Chopped Tomatoes, the Sugar (to balance the acidity) and Oregano. Simmer uncovered for 15 mins.



4. Meanwhile bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil and 2 mins before the sauce is done add in enough Gnocchi for 2 (how hungry are you?!) When they float they're cooked! Remove with a slotted spoon and add straight to the pan with the Duck and Tomatoes. Mix well and Serve with plenty of Parmesan over the top.

Variations

This could be made with almost any leftover meat so dont go rushing out to get a Duck for it! Add whatever you like to the sauce, I usually prefer to make my sauce from Passata but I wanted this a little more chunky! Plenty of Basil in the sauce usually works well.

Finally my apologies for the terrible pictures!! I left my trusty camera in my Parents house yesterday and so had to rely on the phone! Not too bad considering!