|
My recipe
Hotpot with beef, pork belly and apples, Finnish style
Introduction
The climate in Finland does not allow to grow grapes, cherries, apricots, peaches and many other fruits, but there's one fruit, which yields in abundance – apples! There are hundreds of different varieties, all delicious, juicy and flavorous. Apples could rate as a favourite fruit in Finland. They are widely used in cooking, not only for traditional jams and apples pies, but also for savoury meals.
This hotpot is one of those meals
- 500 g boneless beef
- 400 g pork ribs (pork belly)
- 150 g leek
- 500 g potato
- 300 g parsnip
- 2 carrots
- 300 g apples
- 2-3 corns allspice
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 3-4 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 300 ml apple juice
- 200 ml hot water
- salt, pepper
- knob of butter
- Slice the leeks, carrots and parsnip, making sure all have similar size.
- Peel apples and potatoes and cut in quarters
- Chop the ribs and cut the beef into cubes
- Heat a knob of butter in a pan, add rosemary, thyme and fry the meat until golden brown from all sides. Add the leek and keep on cooking for 2-3 min stirring occasionally
- Transfer the meat to a heavy casserole dish or roasting tray, add salt, pepper, allspice and bay leaf
- Heat 2 tbsp of butter in a pan and fry slices of carrots and parsnip
- Layer the meat with the potatoes, carrots and parsnips. Season each layer of vegetables with salt and pepper
- Mix together hot water with apple juice and pour over the hotpot (it should cover the vegetables completely)
- Cover with the lid and cook in the oven for 1- 1 1/2 hour at the preheated oven at 200C
- Add apples and continue cooking for 30 min
Thoughts and Ideas
Make sure the meat is of room temperature before you start cooking it. You can use any juice, fresh or bottled. Usually, the vegetables are not fried before being added to the hotpot, but I prefer to fry them first.
|
|
