'Village' Spaghetti

We've been to Greece enough times now to have a pretty good idea of what food the country has to offer. Imagine my surprise, then, when a dish I hadn't actually heard of turned out not only to be delicious but quite new to us. Immediately after eating, I whipped out my phone and started writing what I thought could be a recipe for it, to try when I got home. And here's the result. Yes, I could have asked the chef how he made it, but that would be cheating, wouldn't it? My version has more Rosemary and Spinach in it for no other reason that I like them both...lots. Anyway, it's named after the restaurant we ate it in, just like they do.

'Village' Spaghetti (serves two hungry people)

Spaghetti

About 10-15 sliced green olives

Four pork sausages, taken from skins and pulled into peices

Three rasher of smoky, streaky bacon - chopped

150ml Double Cream

1 tblspn Tomato Puree

1 tspn Red Pesto

1/2 tspn Dijon (Or good English) Mustard

Pinch of dried Rosemary - or fresh is better

Spinach - a good couple of washed handfuls

Black Pepper

Olive Oil

1. Get your Spaghetti cooking in a deep pan of salted water.
2. With a glug of olive oil, brown your sausage pieces. When browned, add your bacon and turn down the heat to cook through.

3. When the bacon and sausage is cooked through, season liberally with black pepper & rosemary and add the sliced olives.

4. After a further couple of minutes, add the cream, pesto, mustard and puree to the meat and stir through to create your sauce.

5. By now your pasta will be well cooked, so drain it.

6. Stir the spinach into the sauce and let wilt; once wilted, you can pour over your pasta and mix.

7. Enjoy.

This is one of those dishes that looks familar due to the ingredients involved, but turns out to be quite unique. As always, do make sure you use good sausages and bacon - and you must use smoked bacon. So do give it a try, you'll like it, I tell ya.

I paired this (somewhat out of season) with Flying Dog's Dogtoberfest Ale. This Marzen-a-like has sweetness, but enough slightly smoky body to compliment the creamy sauce rather than overpower it.

Cheers!

The Old Village Taverna is on the main street in Skala, Kephalonia. Do try. It's one of the best tavernas in the village, and has great wine and whole fish dishes.

Pork Pinwheels with Skylark Pale Ale

A few weeks back, I received a nice surprise in the post; A couple of bottles of home-brewed beer from John of John's Random Ramblings. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect; but to say I was amazed was to say the least. One of the beers, Skylark Pale Ale, was an absolute revelation - I set about creating a little snack to go along with this fantastic pint.

My Grandfather was a butcher, and I spent many early years in a little smock and apron making these things in the back of the shop. They would sell well in the barbecue season, and were one of the few concessions to modernity that my (very traditional) grandad would make for his customers. I've done my best to replicate it.

Pork Pinwheels (makes two foot-long rolls, enough for about 4 people)

You will need:

1 & 1/2 lbs of Minced Pork

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 red onion, finely chopped

4 Spring Onions, chopped

1 Chilli, deseeded and chopped.

Flaky pastry, about 300g worth

Eggwash or clarified butter, to glaze

Seasoning: a little salt, white pepper, fresh thyme and parsley

1. Mix the chopped/diced veg with the pork in a large mixing bowl.

2. Roll out your pastry, and lay flat on a floured surface. With your hands, spread the mixture across the pastry, leaving a gap of about half an inch at the edges.

3. Very carefully, roll the pastry up like a swiss roll (a meat swiss roll!) tightly. Too loose and it will not hold together. You'll have a big pinwheel log at this stage.

4. Repeat with s much pastry and meat as you have - I reckon at least two logs.

5. Place in the fridge to firm up and chill for at least an hour.

6. When ready to cook, simply eggwash the top (or butter, I guess) and with a very very sharp knife (Not a serrated one), slice into portions and arrange on a baking tray. The knife must be sharp and you must use a smooth action - if you've made sushi, you know what I mean.

7. When on the tray, you can apply a little eggwash to the undersides, and bake in a preheated oven at 180c for about 30 minutes, or until golden.

There you go. Tasty, savoury bites that are surprisingly filling. Ideal for making for large groups as you can make the things the night before and then simply cook on the day. They also freeze excellently, providing you are using fresh pastry and meat.

The savoury, peppery pork paired really well with the Skylark Pale Ale; the Skylark was full of floral, honey aromas but tasted less so; to taste, a malty bite came through at the end. If this is the standard of beer being made in homebrew setups in Darlington then I, for one, am gladdened.

Obviously I am aware of the fact this pairing isn't possible for everyone. For a beer that I thought was surprisingly close in taste, I can recommend St Peter's Best Bitter for the malt profile, or Durham's Rolling Hitch - for the more floral, hoppier aspect of the Skylark.

Cheers, John!