Cooking with Paula McIntyre

Rhubarb compote
100g castor sugar
250g rhubarb, chopped into 1cm pieces
Zest and juice of 1 orange
Splash of gin ( optional)
Cook the sugar and orange zest and juice until the sugar has dissolved over medium heat.
Add the rhubarb, cover with parchment and simmer gently until just cooked – really only a couple of minutes.Turn off and cool.
Pastry
225g plain flour
100g butter
60g icing sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
Rub the flour, butter and sugar together until the mixture resembles fine crumbs ( do this in a food processor if you wish). Mix the egg and the yolk and add to make a dough.
Wrap in cling and chill for an hour.
Strawberry jam
Lightly butter 2 tartlet tins and set oven to 180oc.
Roll the pastry out until thin and cut out rounds to fit in the hole.
Chop half the rhubarb and mix with an equal amount of jam. Spoon into the pastry and bake for 15 minutes. Cool and remove from tins.
Serve with a dollop of the cream.
Coconut custard cream
225 ml milk
2 egg yolks
75 g caster sugar
10 g plain flour, sieved
10g cornflour
Simmer the milk. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornflour and flour and then pour over milk. Whisk well and return to pan over low heat. Stir constantly until custard is thick. Pour into a bowl and cover surface with cling, cool and chill.
25g desiccated coconut
250ml double cream
Spread the coconut onto a baking tray lined with parchment and cook in a 180oc oven for about 5 minutes or until golden. Cool.
Whip the cream, fold in the cold custard and coconut.

Recipe
Pickled mustard seeds
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Place the seeds in a small bowl and cover with vinegar. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 2 days before using
4 x 175g boneless shoulder chops
1 tablespoon oil
½ teaspoon smoked seasalt ( or regular seasalt)
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
15g butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
200ml chicken stock
2 teaspoons pickled mustard seeds
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped chives
Mix the oil with the salt, maple syrup and vinegar and rub all over the chops. Cover and chill overnight.
Heat a large pan until smoking hot and add the chops. Cook for 2 minutes each side then lower the heat and cook through gently. Remove from pan and set aside, covered in foil. Add the butter and shallots to the pan and cook until golden. Add the stock and reduce by half. Whisk in the mustard and then add the pickled mustard seeds. Add resting juices from pork and the chives and warm through. Check the seasoning. Slice the pork and spoon over the sauce.
Cider Cabbage
1 sweetheart cabbage
1 tablespoon oil
Salt and pepper
20g butter
150ml dry local cider
Cut the cabbage in quarters through the root.
Heat the oil in a large pan until smoking hot. Add the cabbage wedges. Cook until golden brown on both sides and add the butter. Turn to coat in the butter. Season with salt and pepper and add the cider. Cover with a lid, lower the heat slightly and cook for about 8 minutes or until cooked through. Boil to reduce any excess liquid. Serve with the pork and some mash.

Recipe
Flapjacks
175g golden syrup
135g butter
175g porridge oats
Line an 8inch square tin with parchment paper and set oven to 180oc.
Melt the syrup and butter in a pan and then mix in the oats. Press into the tin and bake for 25 minutes. Cool for a couple of minutes and cut into squares. Cool in the tin and then remove.
Honeycomb
150g castor sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon liquid glucose
2 teaspoons baking soda
Place the sugar, water, honey and glucose in a pan and cook to an amber liquid. Avoid stirring too much as it can cause the mixture to crystallise. Add the baking soda and mix briefly. It will foam up so be careful. Pour onto a sheet of parchment paper. Allow to cool.
Whiskey and honeycomb cream
250ml double cream
50ml whiskey
4 tablespoons honeycomb crumbled
Whip the cream to stiff peaks and fold in the whiskey and honeycomb.
250g raspberries
Top the flapjacks with the honeycomb cream and dot over 2 or 3 raspberries. Top with more crumbled honeycomb.

Recipe
500g shin of beef, bone in
1 tablespoon oil
35g root ginger sliced finely
2 onions, peeled and chopped roughly
3 cloves garlic, peeled
500ml beef stock – you can buy ready made stock or use 2 cubes
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 scallions
1 red chilli
2 tablespoons crispy onions ( available in supermarkets and delis)
100g basmati rice
Heat the oil in a pan or casserole until smoking hot and add the shin. Cook on both sides for a couple of minutes then add the ginger, garlic and onions. Transfer to a saucepan and cover with the stock and soy. Add some more water if necessary. Either gently simmer on the stove with a lid on or place in a 170oc oven in a casserole for about 2 hours or until fork tender. Either way check there’s enough liquid to cover the meat throughout. Boil the rice until cooked, drain and cool under cold water.
Cut the scallions into 3 slices then cut them into thin strips. Split the chilli and cut into thin strips. Place in iced water.
Remove shin and blend the remaining liquid to a smooth soup. Add water to spoon coating consistency. Shred the meat from the shin and add to the soup. Check the seasoning. Spoon the rice into 4 bowls and top with the hot soup. Garnish with the scallion and chilli strips and crispy onion.

Grilled bacon chop on toast with fermented red cabbage, beetroot and apple, mustard and dill, gherkin sourcream
Fermented red cabbage with beetroot and apple
500g red cabbage, roots removed and finely shredded
1 large beetroot, peeled and coarsely grated
2 eating apples, coarsely grated
1 red onion, finely sliced
10g seasalt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chilli paste ( chipotle works well here)
1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
Place the red cabbage, beetroot, apples and onions in a bowl and mix in the seasalt. Mix together for 5 minutes, rubbing in the salt – use gloves! Cover with a teatowel and leave for a few hours, mixing occasionally. Mix in the chilli, pepper and coriander and press into a sterilized jar or jars and press down to ensure the mixture is covered with liquid. If not make up a brine of 10g salt to 100ml of water, simmer until salt has dissolved and pour onto the vegetables. Press down and place a lid on top but don’t tighten it. Keep at room temperature for a week, pressing down frequently. Place lid on after a week and store in the fridge.
2 bacon chops
4 slices sourdough bread
200ml sour cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped gherkin or cornichon
2 tablespoons dill, chopped
2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
Place the chops fat side down on a pan over medium heat and cook until the fat is golden. Cook on both sides for about 3 minutes each side or until cooked through and rest for 5 minutes.
Mix the sourcream with the gherkins, dill and mustard. Toast the bread.
Spread some of the sourcream on to the toast, top with sliced bacon and then some of the fermented cabbage. Garnish with dill and serve.