Slowly Does It

I love slow recipes. I love how it pays off to take a breath, to be patient, to coddle and nudge instead of rush and push. It's so unlike me. I'm like the roadrunner in the cartoon, only way fatter, not blue and a shitload less chirpy. I am ALWAYS late, running from client to client and pillar to post wondering where the time went. Even when I stop running and lie down I can't slow down. As a kid I'd move my fingers, endlessly playing my piano pieces. As a grownup I still move my fingers, only now I'm endlessly typing. (If the world were fair my fingers would be still and my stomach muscles would be doing crunches - who needs thin fingers right?)

Perhaps it's because I'm so hyped, so damn late, that my patience is so thin, my irritation so high. Dawdlers drive me crazy. Sunday drivers drive me ballistic. People who walk behind my car when I'm clearly reversing enrage me. Pedestrians who take their time to cross the street infuriate me. At night I lay in bed moving my fingers, imagining sticking them in the eyes of the asshole that came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk today while his lizard brain tried to remember if he wanted to go left or right.

But with food I'm a different person. I slow things down. Take them down a notch. Turn down the heat. Throw away the timer and take out the calender. Because with food you are rewarded for that patience. Subtle flavours develop and grow and tough meat becomes succulent and tender. The pork in this dish, gently cooking away for 8 hours, is so tender they call it Pulled Pork, because you can pull it apart so easily.

Now if only I could slow cook myself. Become Pulled June. Instead of Panicked June. Learn to pause. And breathe. And practice slowing down.

Now hurry up and get out of my way already so I can start working on it dammit!

xx

J

PULLED PORK WITH TORTILLAS, THREE SALSAS, YOGHURT AND LIME

60ml Olive oil

1.25kg Deboned pork leg

2 Onions roughly chopped

3 Cloves of garlic chopped

200g Tomato paste

400g Tin chopped tomatoes

750ml Red wine

45ml Smoked paprika

Handful oreganum

Fry the whole pork leg until nicely browned then remove. Add the onion and garlic and fry for about 5 minutes. Add the pork and the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil. Put into an oven dish and cover with a tight fitting lid or double sheet of foil. Cook in the oven for at least 8 hours at 110C. Since I did mine overnight I ended up switching off the heat after 8 hours but left it in the oven for another 2.

Tortillas

2c Flour

1.5t Baking powder

1t Salt

2t Vegetable oil

3/4c Warm milk

Mix together everything but the milk. Make a well then add the milk slowly, stirring until you have a sticky ball. Add a bit of flour to prevent it gluing to your hands. Knead for about 2 minutes. Put in a bowl, cover with a dishtowel and leave for 20 minutes. Break into 8 pieces and leave to rest for another 10 minutes. Roll out and fry in a dry pan or one sprayed with a bit of olive oil until slightly browned on both sides.

Other

500ml Greek yoghurt

4 Limes

Pineapple Salsa

1 Pineapple chopped 

1 Red onion chopped

2 Cloves garlic crushed

1 Chilli chopped

1 Lemon juice and zest 

Mix together and season.

Cucumber and Mint Salsa

1 Cucumber chopped

45ml White vinegar

30ml Sugar

Hand mint chopped

1 Chilli chopped

Mix together and season.

Tomato Salsa

400g Cherry tomatoes quartered

1 Red onion chopped

1 Lemon juice and zest

1 Chilli chopped

Mix together and season.