Orzotto with Pumpkin and Sausage - Test 1

https://blog.giallozafferano.it/soniamascioli/orzo-risottato-con-zucca-e-salsiccia/

1 - Ben and Paz are happy with all the ratios. I worry there's too much cream. The one recommendation we all agree on is that the pumpkin was cubed too big and a bit undercooked.

2 - Success! I increased the pumpkin from 8oz to 1lb, cut it into smaller cubes and reduced the cream from 1.5 cups to 1 cup, which I increased to re-heat it (successfully) on the second day.

3 - I made some substantial changes. I removed the cream in favor of broth and added white wine to deglaze the pan. I also used pre-cooked pumpkin which I roasted in wedges (my lovely Musquée de Provence). I also discovered that this type of dish has its own name in Italian so changed it from Risotto to Orzotto. Odd that the original came from an Italian site...

TRY THIS VERSION

1Tbsp + 1Tbsp vegetable oil

240g barley

4 cups vegetable broth, plus extra if needed

1 small onion (4oz/115g) chopped

1 chilli pepper, chopped OR 1 pinch red pepper flakes

1 lb sausage meat (I use hot Italian sausage meat)

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 lb roasted Musquée de Provence pumpkin, cut into bite-sized pieces

1½ oz grated Parmesan cheese, divided

3/4 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp pepper

Fresh parsley or lovage, chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the first tablespoon of oil in a saucepan and add the barley. Cook for a minute or two, stirring, until fragrant.
2. Add the broth, cover and cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until the barley is cooked but still pleasantly chewy. Add a little water if it starts to look dry.
3. While the barley is cooking, heat the rest of the oil in a large frying pan and sauté the onion and chilli until the onion is translucent.
4. Crumble in the sausage meat and cook until well browned.
5. Drain off most of the rendered fat if there is any, leaving about 1–2 Tbsps in the pan.
6. Add the wine and stir well, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking until the wine has reduced and is almost completely gone.
7. Add the pumpkin to the sausage mixture and stir. Cook uncovered for a few minutes to integrate the pumpkin and to let any excess moisture evaporate. You should see no water pooling but instead have a glossy mass of deliciousness steaming in your pan.
8. Add 1 oz of the Parmesan, stir to combine, then cover and set aside while the barley finishes cooking. The barley will look a little soupy if it isn't stirred. Once stirred, there should be some liquid 
9. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the cooked barley and stir to combine. If the mixture seems too thick, add a splash of broth to loosen it.
10. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
11. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan, chopped parsley or lovage and a few good grinds of black pepper.

LEFTOVERS 

To Reheat

Add more broth to reheat. The barley will have absorbed a lot of the moisture, so the extra broth brings it back to its previous sauciness. You will likely need much less than 1/2 cup.

To Make Patties

1 - This was very good. It took me a couple of goes, since I started just with the orzotto which easily crumbled when I tried flipping, then just with egg, same problem, until I added a bit of flour. I did it all pretty much on the fly, so I'm not sure what the ratios are at this point. But it worked well.

Can easily be made into patties. Add 1 or 2 eggs (probably just 1) and a bit of flour (of course I'll want to standardize this). Heat some oil in a pan for about 3-5 minutes before starting. Make 75gr patties and fry in the oil until browned on both sides.

Sourdough Crackers - Untested

https://zerowastechef.com/2015/11/18/sourdough-crackers-2-0/

2/3 cup unfed starter from the refrigerator
3 heaping Tbsps olive oil
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (or just plain white?)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
extra coarse salt for topping

1. Combine starter and oil in a non-metallic bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt and baking soda.
3. Add dry to wet ingredients and combine. If necessary, knead the dough a few times to incorporate the last bit of flour.
4. Cover the bowl and let rest for six hours at room temperature. (see NOTE)
5. When you’re ready to bake, divide the dough into two halves on a generously floured surface.
6. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
7. Roll the dough out to about two millimeters thick. If necessary, sprinkle with flour between rollings to prevent the dough from sticking to your work surface.
8. Transfer the dough to an ungreased cookie sheets.
9. Cut into rectangles with a pizza cutter or a knife. Sprinkle with salt.
10. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, turn the tray to help even browning and bake 6 to 8 minutes more.
11. The crackers are done when they're crispy and slightly browned.
12. Transfer the crackers to a cooling rack. Store in a glass jar once completely cooled.

NOTE: You can save the dough the fridge for about a week and bake only as much as you want at-a-time. Let it warm at room temperature for 15 minutes to half an hour to making rolling easier.

Ham braised in beer - Testing

http://www.banlieusardises.com/jambon-a-la-biere/
https://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--753/boiling-ham.asp

0 - compare the boiling instructions with the existing ham recipe.
00 - look up the use of molasses instead of sugar - note at end indicates molasses helps remove salt from the cured ham
000 - look up the use of milk to boil ham - uses, advantages, function
0000 - look up other beer-based ham recipes

1-I think I used an unsmoked boneless ham, which allowed me to shorten the cooking time considerably. I've added the alternate instructions in the notes. The flavour was good and the meat very tender, but I'm curious about the beer - is it just flavouring or is there chemistry with the meat involved? Also, for a smoked ham, is the 3-4 hours really necessary? Or is it because of the bone?
2 - Delicious! And Ben-approved. Used a smoked ham this time. And some notes for next time. Ok, size of ham is important to account for. I put in a little 4lb ham and after 4 hours of slow cooking on the wood stove the meat was already totally falling off the bone. It only makes sense that the 2+2+4=8 hours of cooking is for a big 10lb+ ham. I did a bit more research and have more to add in the recipe. Also, it was maybe a little bit dry, so I'm curious what will happen when I leave it in to cool completely in the liquid before roasting it.

3 - (pre-baking) I've removed the boiling instructions in this since I now have a standard recipe for that step which I quite like. It may also help me realize that this is a long, slow recipe.

UPDATE - the changes I made worked very well indeed. Very moist. The one thing to tweak is the long cooking time - it went over 155F which may have made it a bit dryer than it could have been, so 25 minutes per lb might be too much. I will alter it to 20 minutes per lb and add that if it isn't at 155F to check every 10 minutes.

1 picnic style smoked ham (If using a fresh ham, see NOTES)

1/2 cup (125g) brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1 bottle of lager-type beer
1/2 cup water

15+ cloves

1. Preheat the oven to 275F.
2. If you've boiled your own ham, cut away the skin (keep to make crackling if you want) and leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of fat.
3. In a small bowl mix together the sugar, mustard, beer and water. 
4. Put the ham in a roasting pan or casserole with a lid. Pour over the beer mixture. 
5. Cover and cook for 25 minutes 20 minutes per lb of ham, or until the meat falls off the bone and is fork-tender, or until the internal temperature reaches 155F. If the right temperature is not achieved, put back in and check every 10 minutes until you hit the 155F mark.
6. Score the fat with a grid pattern and poke in the cloves the intersections of lines.
7. Increase the temperature to 400F, put ham in an over-ready dish and spoon over some of the braising liquid; bake, uncovered, for another 10-15 minutes (or try the broiler) just to get the top to caramelize a bit.
8. Allow the ham to cool for about 20 minutes before carving.