Guacamole, Por Favor!

  • In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except the avocados and tortilla chips.
  • Peel and remove the pits from the avocados.
  • Cut the avocado coarsely and add to the rest of the mixture.
  • Mash the mixture with the back of a fork until you obtain a nice consistency. Do not over mash the avocado as guacamole should have chunks of avocado in it.
  • Serve immediately with tortilla chips or cover and refrigerate

Click here to read our blog about Tex-Mex cooking (with links to other recipes)

Couscous: North-Africa’s answer to pasta

Bread is great but it’s this couscous that’ll soak up all the stew!

Couscous on its own is quite bland. An easy way to overcome that is by using butter and adding chickpeas!

Method:

  • Combine dry couscous, salt, oil, melted butter and chickpeas in a dish with a lid.
  • Pour over boiling water, stir to combine, cover and allow to swell for about 5 minutes, fluff with a fork and serve immediately.

Tip: Serve couscous with a tajine, and a variety of Levantine dips such as hummus or baba ganouj.

Tabouleh: an unusual salad

  • Boil the water on the grill and add one tsp salt and the bulgur wheat. Boil for 7 minutes over medium heat, cover and let swell away from the heat for 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before making the salad.
  • Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, add the cooled bulgur and mix thoroughly. Add more salt or lemon if required.
  • Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and serve as a side.

BBQ and “mop” sauces for pulled-pork

See our recipe for cooking pulled-pork using the residual heat in the Fornetto (recipe also on this website). This recipe is for the “mop” (basting) sauce

  • A day ahead, whisk all ingredients together making sure that the sugar has dissolved.
  • Funnel into a squeeze bottle and refrigerate.
  • Will last in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Homemade old-fashioned grainy mustard

This mustard accompanies our recipe to smoke your own sausages (also on our website)

Start by soaking your yellow and black mustard seeds until soft. Do not boil them or pour boiling water over them as this will make them bitter!

  • Soak the mustard seeds together until tender, about 4 to 5 hours.
  • When sufficiently tender, pound or blend the seeds making sure to leave it coarse and not smooth.
  • Add in the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
  • Add in the beer/wine and vinegar. It’s ready to serve!

Enjoy it with smoked sausage, ham, chops or use it as a marinade mixed with a touch of honey for chicken or ribs. It’s also great on sandwiches.

Read our blog about smoking sausages – the prefect accompaniment to this mustard recipe!

Enjoy!

Brine for curing and smoking

This recipe will brine approximately 6 kilos (13 pounds) of meat

  • Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, tub or basin.
  • Add in the meat, weigh it down and allow to soak for 12 hours at room temperature.
  • Remove the meat from the brine and place in a container or bag that will fit in the refrigerator. Top off with brine and make sure that it is fully submerged and that there is no air present. Discard any remaining brine.
  • Allow the meat to cure for 4 days and up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
  • Smoke the meat as is or in the case of casing the meat in cloth or paper, such as with turkey breast, chicken or York style ham, be sure to rinse it under cold water before casing it.

Tip: The use of any herbs, spices, fresh fruits or vegetables may be used during the brining process and can be incorporated during the smoking process as seen above in the turkey breast on the right hand side of the photo that is flecked with mustard seeds and cracked black pepper.

Homemade Sauerkraut

In a very large bowl, and working in 4 layers, combine the shredded cabbage with the grated carrot and mix with a 1/4 of the salt.

  • Continue on in layers in this manner until the last layer is salt. Allow it to sit for about an hour and then combine it all together, mixing well.
  • Making sure that your hands are very clean pack it into a large jar and compress the mixture well with your fist. The cabbage and carrot will release a good amount of liquid. This can also be done using the back of a wooden spoon.
  • Once the entire mixture is in the jar, pack it one last time to ensure that everything is under the liquid.
  • Using a clean plastic bag, such as a zipper seal type bag, insert your hand into the bag and line the top of the jar while squeezing out the air between the bag and the liquid. Fill the bag with water. This will create an airtight seal between the kraut and the ambient air. If you are using a wide-mouth jar or a crock pot, pack the cabbage down well and sit a large plate on top to hold the cabbage down and allow the liquid to surface. Weigh the plate down using something heavy like a rock or brick.
  • Place the jar in a large dish to catch the drips as it ferments. Monitor for 1 week and press down every two days to allow the gas to be released. Remove any scum as/if it forms.
  • Depending on the ambient temperature, full fermentation can take anywhere from 10 days to 2 weeks. The higher the ambient temperature, the quicker the process.
  • Sauerkraut can be stored in the fridge for several months.
  • Now create a sauerkraut-based dish to cook in your Fornetto using smoked meats.
  • Watch the video below for full a visual guide to preparing it yourself.

Note: Never seal the jar during the fermentation process as this will cause a build-up of gas and you’ll end up with Sauerkraut all over your ceiling when you open it!