I don’t know why I get such immense pleasure from proving fussy eaters wrong, but I do. So, on Monday, while cooking for goon at his flat, I took advantage of an opportunity to get him over one of his food fears.
To be fair, Andy can’t really be classed as a fussy eater. He will try almost anything once (apart from cod roe) and seems to be actively adventurous in restaurants. However he has three major culinary flaws.
- He doesn’t like figs unless they’re in fig rolls
- He prefers normal brocolli to purple sprouting
- He’s not all that keen on oysters
Number 3 is an absolute crime but there wasn’t much I could do about that. Number 1 seemed like a good one to deal with, especially since there are some lovely juicy figs around now. I picked up 3 from the Iranian store on Hammersmith Road and thought about how I could find a way that Andy would like them.
Since goon is a simple creature, the easiest way to make him eat something is to cover it in cheese. I went one better.
I cut the fig into little pieces, caramelised them and then spread them over a pork spare rib chop which had been slow cooked in ruby port, so it went really juicy and tender. Then I covered the whole thing with loads of melted blue stilton and served it with a port reduction, mashed potato and cabbage.
No sign of the figs!
The plan nearly failed as goon came into the kitchen while I was slicing the figs. He asked me ‘what I was doing with the passionfruit.’ Bless. I didn’t tell him that I was actually holding a fig but I did let him know that it definitely wasn’t anything tropical.
In the end, the trick worked. Goon ate the figs and liked them and was suprised when he found out what they were. I was very pleased with how the pork turned out. Slow cooking in liquid makes these cuts go beautifully tender. The port, cheese and fig combination is a classic!
I’m never happy making mash with no butter or cream though. Ah well, I’ll have my own fridge soon to stock up with full-fat goodness.
I don’t know why I get such immense pleasure from proving fussy eaters wrong, but I do. So, on Monday, while cooking for goon at his flat, I took advantage of an opportunity to get him over one of his food fears.
To be fair, Andy can’t really be classed as a fussy eater. He will try almost anything once (apart from cod roe) and seems to be actively adventurous in restaurants. However he has three major culinary flaws.
- He doesn’t like figs unless they’re in fig rolls
- He prefers normal brocolli to purple sprouting
- He’s not all that keen on oysters
Number 3 is an absolute crime but there wasn’t much I could do about that. Number 1 seemed like a good one to deal with, especially since there are some lovely juicy figs around now. I picked up 3 from the Iranian store on Hammersmith Road and thought about how I could find a way that Andy would like them.
Since goon is a simple creature, the easiest way to make him eat something is to cover it in cheese. I went one better.
I cut the fig into little pieces, caramelised them and then spread them over a pork spare rib chop which had been slow cooked in ruby port, so it went really juicy and tender. Then I covered the whole thing with loads of melted blue stilton and served it with a port reduction, mashed potato and cabbage.
No sign of the figs!
The plan nearly failed as goon came into the kitchen while I was slicing the figs. He asked me ‘what I was doing with the passionfruit.’ Bless. I didn’t tell him that I was actually holding a fig but I did let him know that it definitely wasn’t anything tropical.
In the end, the trick worked. Goon ate the figs and liked them and was suprised when he found out what they were. I was very pleased with how the pork turned out. Slow cooking in liquid makes these cuts go beautifully tender. The port, cheese and fig combination is a classic!
I’m never happy making mash with no butter or cream though. Ah well, I’ll have my own fridge soon to stock up with full-fat goodness.
