Pork and Apple Stroganoff with Spätzle

Last weekend, I was in Germany and brought back a packet of fresh spätzle. The freezer held some outdoor reared pork cut into strips. As I was making it, the dish evolved. The apple wasn't planned. Leave out the meat and make it a mushroom and apple stroganoff.

(Serves 4, though somehow we managed to eat it between two of us. Oops!)

400 g fresh spätzle (dry spätzle, fresh/dry tagliatelle or orechiette)

500 g pork, cut into strips
350 g mushrooms
1 apple
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
1 celery stick
2 tbsp chopped fresh celery leaves (optional)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
150 ml whipping cream
1 tsp flour
100 ml milk or cold water
extra virgin olive oil

1. Slice or quarter the mushrooms. Chop the onion, garlic, celery and celery leaves. Wash, quarter and cube the apple.

2. Heat oil in two pans. Add the meat and apple to one pan and the onion, garlic, celery and mushrooms to the other.

3. Sauté the veg and brown the pork and apple. Mix the milk/water with the flour. (If using dried pasta cook it now as per packet instructions.)

4. When cooked combine in one pan, add the cream and bring to the boil. Add the flour milk/water mix. Now add the fresh/cooked spätzle or other pasta.

5. Heat through. The served in warmed plates accompanied by a leafy salad.

Layered Aubergine, Tomato, Chorizo and Mash Bake

We've been on holiday at home for the last week and as the weather was gorgeous spend a lot of time in the garden though we still haven't had a barbecue. When the temperatures dropped to 8 °C today and we had driving rain and even hail stones, interspersed with sunny, if chilly, intervals I was a bit at a loss as to what to cook. My other half craved potatoes – baked, mashed, roasted, whatever. A look in the fridge revealed several aubergines, a couple of kilos of vine tomatoes, fresh taragon and soft chorizo sausages. There was also some left-over white bread earmarked for bread crumbs. The cooking gears in my brain started grinding and before I knew it I was well on my way to create another new dish. And only now do I realise that there was neither garlic nor onions in this dish. Never missed them.

This dish is incredibly versatile as it can be vegetarian, vegan and even gluten free. It's great as a main course with a side salad or a side dish with a roast, pork chops, poached, fried or baked fish.

(serves 3-4)

2 aubergines
4 fist-sized potatoes
2 small soft chorizo sausages, approx. 110 g
2 small pointed red peppers
5 plum vine tomatoes
(elderflower-infused) olive oil
2 sprigs of fresh taragon
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
milk
bread crumbs

1. Peel and quarter the potatoes, wash and place into a saucepan. Season with about 1 tsp sea salt and pepper. Add boiling water so the potatoes are just covered and boil for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain off the water, add a good glug of milk and a splash of olive oil. Mash, check the flavour and set aside.

2. Meanwhile slice the two aubergines into 1 cm slices. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a frying pan. Fry in batches until golden, then drain on kitchen paper.

3. Half the peppers lengthways and core. Slice and fry for a couple of minutes.

4. Slice the chorizo and fry until brown on both sides.

5. Cut the tomatoes into 1/2 cm thick slices. Pick the leaves of the taragon sprigs and chop.

6. Assemble the dish in an oven-proof dish: Layer the first aubergine, season with pepper and salt. Place all the tomato slices on top and season with pepper and a little salt. Scatter the taragon on chorizo slices over the tomatoes. Next add the sautéd pepper and another layer of aubergines. Spread the mash on top and bake for 45 minutes at 200 °C/gas mark 5.

7. Mix a couple of small handfuls of fresh bread crumbs with a little olive oil. Scatter over the mash and bake for another 10 minutes.