We discovered on Friday that our local Waitrose were selling Pig Cheeks. Yes, that’s meat and it is from the head of a pig, just like it says. Now I’ve vaguely taken in that they were fashionable amongst chefs and never having tried them I decide we should. Noreen took a little, but not a lot, of persuading. And then I realised they were ridiculously cheap — like £2.99 a kilo! Even cheap sausages cost more than this! So we bought a complete vacuum pack, which weighed just under 400gm and turned out to contain 7 cheeks. We have just eaten them, thus …

Pig Cheeks Casseroled in Cider

You will need:
2 or 3 Pig Cheeks per person
500ml bottle of dry Cider (more if you’re cooking more than about 8 cheeks)
1 large or 2 medium Onions, roughly chopped
As much Garlic as you like, roughly chopped
A few ripe Tomatoes, quartered (optional)
A few Mushrooms (optional)
Worcester Sauce
Plain Flour seasoned with salt, pepper and herbs
Salt, Black Pepper and Dried Herbs
Olive Oil

And this is what you do:

1. Take a suitably sized casserole, cast iron is best as you can put it on the hob otherwise you’ll need a frying pan as well.
2. Pre-heat the oven to about 180°C.
3. Fry the onion and garlic in a little olive oil in the casserole (or frying pan).
4. When the onion is beginning to go translucent, toss the pig cheeks in the seasoned flour and add to the casserole. Sear the meat on both sides.
5. Add the tomatoes and mushrooms followed by about half the cider, pinch of salt, plenty of pepper, a big pinch or two of dried herbs and a good big dash of Worcester Sauce. Bring it all to boiling point.
6. If using a frying pan, transfer the meat etc. to the casserole at this stage.
7. Add the rest of the cider and (if on the hob) bring it to the simmer.
8. Put the casserole in the oven and cook for about 90 minutes.
9. Do not throw away any remaining seasoned flour, because …
10. Just before the end of the cooking time decant into a small saucepan some of the liquid from the casserole (it will probably be quite thin) to make a gravy/sauce. Thicken this sauce with some of the remaining seasoned flour (a tablespoon or so will be enough) and cook gently for 5 minutes or so to cook the flour.

By now word will have got round the house because it smells so good.

I served mine with roughly mashed potato and parsnip, steamed sprout tops, apple sauce, gravy and a bottle of robust red wine (although obviously cider would be good too). The meat is just so tender it really does melt in the mouth.

And, no, I didn’t photograph it — you all know what casserole looks like!

I first posted this recipe at Christmas a couple of years ago, but I’m going to repeat it here as it’s a quick way to make someone a last minute Christmas present. Or to just treat yourself!

Biscotti (Italian for biscuit) are those nice little almond morsels one sometimes gets with coffee or with a dessert, especially in continental cafés. They’re dead easy and quick to make and much nicer than the commercial ones. I’ve just made two batches in 90 minutes and wrapped several presents in between times.

Almond Biscotti (makes 25-30)

Ingredients
2 large eggs
175g sugar
50g butter (preferably melted)
200g blanched or flaked almonds (preferably toasted)
250g plain white flour
30g ground almonds
1 teasp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 teasp vanilla essence
2 teasp almond essence

Method

1. Blend together the eggs and sugar.
2. Add all the other ingredients except the almonds and blend to make a sticky dough.
3. Now add the almonds and mix them in.
4. If you can be bothered let the dough rest in the fridge for an hour; I don’t bother.
5. Cover a couple of baking sheets with baking parchment.
6. Spread the mixture onto the baking sheets making a long shape about 6-8cm wide and 1cm thick. Don’t worry if it is uneven, no-one will even realise and they’re supposed to look “rustic”.
7. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 175°C for 25 minutes. (If you have a fan assisted oven, use the fan.)
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes.
9. Carefully remove the baking parchment and cut with a sharp knife into approx. 1cm slices. Angle the cuts to get the authentic look.
10. Now return the slices to the baking sheet, with one cut side down, and re-bake at 175°C for 10-15 minutes.
11. Cool and store in an airtight box.
12. Serve with coffee or ice-cream desserts; or use as presents.

Notes

1. You can use a food processor for all the mixing, it’s much quicker. But unless you have a large professional machine don’t double up the mixture.
2. If using a food processor go gently when mixing in the almonds as you don’t want them smashed up — which happens to flaked almonds all too easily.
3. I use flaked almonds because they are kinder to the teeth especially if you’re giving them to anyone elderly.
4. Do not be tempted to over cook or you will get a hard result.
5. The biscotti will be a bit soft after the first bake so you will need to cut them carefully with a very sharp knife.
6. How long you make the second bake depends on how crunchy you like the end result. I find 10 minutes is enough: crunchy when cold but not too tough on the teeth.
7. There are a number of variants on this: some add a small amount of instant coffee, or citrus rind. Or you can leave out the ground almonds (if so add just a small amount more flour), the vanilla essence or almond essence.
8. For a really rich result you can part dip the biscotti in melted dark chocolate. Personally I think they are scrummy and rich enough without.
9. The end slices, which may not be good as presents, could be used for that Christmas Day trifle.

Photo by me of the second batch I made this afternoon.