Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

300g veal mince

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup white wine

500g chicken stock

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons salted capers, rinsed well

3 cups orecchiette pasta

To serve:

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese

Method:
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil for the pasta.

Heat olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat.

Add onion and garlic, cook gently until softened and fragrant. Increase the heat, add veal mince, season with salt and pepper, and cook until browned, breaking it up as it cooks.

Deglaze with white wine, scraping the base of the pan, and let it reduce by half. Stir in tomato paste, oregano, capers, and chicken stock. Lower the heat and let it simmer until the sauce thickens and the flavours round out, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the orecchiette until al dente, reserving a cup of the pasta water. Toss the pasta directly into the sauce, loosening with splashes of pasta water until it clings to the shells.

Finish with parsley, a drizzle of olive oil, and a heavy snowfall of pecorino romano. serve immediately — it should taste bright, savoury, and just a little briny from the capers.

This pie uses the lamb from 4-5 shanks that have been slow-cooked in advance which gives a tender and soft texture with plenty of flavour. Cooking the lamb shanks slow in advance (red wine, stock, herbs) gives the richest flavour—perfect for next-day pies (see this recipe for cooking timings for lamb shanks).

If you don't have time to slow cook the shanks you can use any type of left over lamb or flash fry a loin or even use mince.

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 1 egg yolk, beaten (for glaze)
• 2 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
• 4–5 lamb shanks, slow-cooked, meat picked from the bone 
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 rosemary sprigs, leaves finely chopped
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 300ml white wine
• 1.5l chicken stock
• 25g butter
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 250g frozen peas
• 5 spring onions, finely sliced
• small handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped

Method:

1. In a wide pan, warm the oil and gently sweat the onions with rosemary and thyme until soft and fragrant.
2. Stir in the butter and flour, cooking for 1–2 minutes to make a light roux.
3. Deglaze with the wine, scraping the pan, then slowly whisk in the stock. Simmer for 20–25 minutes until slightly thickened and glossy.
4. Fold through the lamb meat, peas, spring onions, and mint and season well. Let the filling cool completely.
5. Preheat oven to 200°c. Spoon the cooled lamb mixture into a deep pie dish. drape the puff pastry over, trimming edges neatly, and brush with egg yolk.
6. Bake 25–30 minutes until golden, puffed, and bubbling at the edges.
7. Serve with mash or minted new potatoes for a proper feast.

Ingredients

• 1kg pork belly, skin scored (ask the team to do this for you)
• 4 tbsp sea salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil

For the slaw

• 1 raw beetroot, peeled & grated
• ¾ red cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp white miso paste
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°c. Pat the pork belly dry, rub with salt and olive oil, and place skin-side up on a tray. Roast 30 minutes, then reduce to 160°c and cook 1½–2 hours until tender. Finish with 15 minutes at 220°c to crisp the crackling. Rest 10 minutes before carving.

For the slaw: whisk together miso, vinegar, maple, soy, garlic, ginger and olive oil to form a dressing. Toss cabbage, beetroot, red onion and spring onions in the dressing until coated. sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Slice the pork belly into thick slabs and serve alongside a mound of fresh, tangy miso slaw.

Notes:

The slaw should stay crunchy, so dress it just before serving.

Add a little chilli or yuzu juice for extra brightness.

This works beautifully as a bao bun filling too.