Pork

Published on January 4th, 2014 | by Gareth

2

Granny Smith’s rice and ham salad

Happy New Year! Better to be four days late than never. Hopefully you had a great Christmas and New Year.

I’m back, with a few resolutions for 2014 and new ideas. Some of the ideas are serious, some silly, for example – a feature on amusing shaped vegetables and fruit. Of course, it’s juvenile and a tad unsophisticated, sometimes it’s even crude, but even Nina had to laugh at the butternut squash below. Come on, I bet you cracked a wee smile too.

Admit it, you laughed too

Right back in the room and the present, I wanted to share a thrifty recipe that makes for a great lunch or a light evening meal. The original recipe came from Jamie Oliver and requires pork belly. I substituted the pork belly for leftover Christmas ham (there is only so many ham and piccalilli sandwiches you can eat). It’s perhaps a bit late for a recipe using Christmas leftovers, but most butchers sell off cuts of ham. Bacon will work just as well. I made a few more changes to the recipe to give it more of a summer feel.

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 Minutes
Cookware: Large frying pan, saucepan, sharp knife, chopping board

Ingredients

• 2 cups of long grain rice
• 300g ham or bacon – roughly chopped
• 2 small Granny Smith’s apple – cored and roughly chopped
• 2 spring onions – finely sliced
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• Juice from half an orange
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. cider vinegar
• ½ cup fresh parsley leaves – finely chopped
• Handful of pistachio nuts – roughly chopped or crushed
• 1 fresh chilli – deseeded and finely chopped
• 8 cherry tomatoes – halved
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Cook the rice and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the ham. When the edges of the ham begin to brown add the chopped rosemary. When the ham has started to crisp on the outside, remove from the pan and set aside.
• Using the same frying pan cook the apple and pistachios. After a few minutes add the orange juice and cider vinegar. Within about 10 minutes the liquid will darken and become sticky. Add the cooked rice and the ham and toss together until the rice gets coated in the syrupy glaze.
• Add the parsley, cherry tomatoes, spring onion and chilli and toss one last time.
• Serve hot or cold with a glass of medium sweet cider.

What new years resolutions have you made?

Tasty light lunch

Tags: Apples, Rice

About the Author

Gareth Englishman in Sydney loves a whisky, pies and all things savoury. Digital Marketer by day, cook the rest of the time. Amateur writer, photographer & aspiring anthropologists.

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