Tag: Victorian farmers’ markets

FREE RANGE PORK WITH NORTHERN ITALIAN FLAVOURS

These free -range pork chops bought at a Farmers’ Market were simply and quickly cooked and tasted delicious. The meat was very tender and extremely flavourful. I used sage, thyme and juniper berries and these are Northern Italian flavours.

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This Berkshire pork  comes from Brooklands Free Range Farms in Blamfield, in the central highlands of Victoria.

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If you live in Victoria, the pork is sold in some of Farmers Markets – see list on the photo below, it is on the back of their business card.

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WHY GIN OR DRY VERMOUTH TO DEGLAZE?

When I use juniper berries I like to deglaze the pan either with dry vermouth or gin rather than white wine. Juniper berries are a spice used in a wide variety of culinary dishes and best known for the primary flavouring in gin – you will not need much and it will enhance the taste of the sauce.

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Add a small amount of extra virgin olive oil to a frying pan, then place the meat, a pinch of salt, herbs and juniper berries. I used approximately eight juniper berries. The pork is lean and pink, just how I like it.

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Turn them over when coloured on one side, cover and cook on low heat for approximately six minutes.

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Turn again, deglaze. Turn off heat, rest for a few minutes before serving.

Thank you Brooklands Free Range Farms for producing top quality produce and what i particularly like is that these pigs not only frolic on rich volcanic soils but that other local producers contribute to feeding these pigs- local grain, vegetables and whey. The pigs also eat seasonal acorns…very European.

Sicilian recipes for pork:
BRACIOLI DI MAIALI O’ VINU (Sicilian for Pork Chops Cooked In Wine)

PORK IN RAGUSA (I Ragusani mangiano molto maiale)

 

 

RICOTTA and FRIED PEPPERS (Peperoni fritti). The Butter Factory at Myrtleford

Her name is Naomi and she is very skilled at what she does.  But Naomi wishes to expand her expertise and she is travelling to Europe in the near future.
She is a champion butter maker at The Butter Factory at Myrtleford, a restored historic building.  She sources the cream locally and the butter is hand-made. And I admire her even more because she did it the hard way, first by helping her mother to set the place up, developing her trade and by finding the abandoned, rusty machinery in various old sheds and paddocks and having it reconditioned – she has a cooling, a heating and a separating machine and all three work a treat.
Naomi also makes pure buttermilk and has been making small quantities of ricotta with buttermilk. She sells her produce locally from The Butter Factory and at Victorian farmers markets – driving from Myrtleford to markets in Melbourne on weekends after a hard week takes some determination. She intends to pursue her ricotta making skills and wishes to try smoking some of her ricotta soon.
Her Mother Bronwyn Ingleton cooks on the same premises – I sampled some of her cooking recently in the cafe and judging from the number of customers eating her food, I am not the only one to enjoy it.
When I first discovered Naomi’s produce, I discussed in a previous post eating the slightly sour tasting ricotta with poached figs. This time I presented the ricotta as an antipasto with fried red peppers, the long, banana shaped variety which Italians fry (I bought these from a grower in Myrtleford). The red coloured peppers are sweeter, but when you buy them ask if they are hot – they often are, and in this case could overshadow the delicate taste of the ricotta.
INGREDIENTS
red, banana peppers (I used just over 1 kilo)
extra virgin olive oil, ½ cup or more
wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon
sugar, ¾ tablespoon
salt to taste
PROCESSES
Cut the peppers lengthwise in half, remove the seeds and ribs and cut into strips.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan (don’t crowd them or they will stew), add the peppers and fry on high heat. Toss them about often to prevent burning.
Add salt and once softened and when they begin to brown, add vinegar and let evaporate.
Add a pinch of sugar and stir gently for about 1 minute.
The peppers are presented at room temperature with the ricotta.
http://www.thebutterfactory.com.au/

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