Bring on 2021!

I also have to say that I’m extremely proud of the remarkable efforts that our restaurant and hospitality industry has collectively exhibited over the last year, bringing life, light, and hope to so many during these difficult times. I’ve always known that the restaurant community is full of incredibly hard-working, creative and resourceful people, but even I have been pleasantly surprised at the strength, determination, resilience and creativity shown by so many fighting to keep their business alive under stringent safety guidelines and trying economic circumstances over the past year.

Almost every colleague I know faces the hardship of a challenging winter ahead, and I would like to encourage you all to patronize your favourite local restaurants, when they can finally reopen safely again, and support them through their pickup and delivery business, or by purchasing gift cards and vouchers in the meantime.

As I reflect on the many positives that have also come from the past twelve months, I’m feeling hopeful and determined as we head into the New Year. I truly believe that our industry will we can come back stronger than ever if we can navigate through the next few months.

Restaurants have always been a place to break bread, a place to come together and share good times and great food with family and friends. Hopefully we will all be back soon as our guests mean the world to us and we cannot wait to have you smiling and enjoying warm, Mediterranean hospitality in the dining room in 2021!

This week’s recipe is creamy Piri-piri pork. Piri-piri is a spicy dish with roots in both Africa and Portugal. The dish was created in Angola and Mozambique when Portuguese settlers arrived with chilli peppers (known as piri-piri in Swahili). It’s a new dish on our delivery service menu, we’ve added a little natural yoghurt for a light, creamy sauce and we absolutely love it!

Portuguese style creamy piri-piri pork fillets

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

• 2 Fillets of pork, cleaned and diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 250g chopped tomatoes
• 100ml white wine
• 200ml Chicken stock
• 50ml natural yoghurt
• 1tbsp chopped parsley
• Salt & pepper

Basic Piri-piri sauce:

• 4 red red chilies
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 50m lemon juice
• 50ml olive oil
• 1tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
• 1tsp sugar
• Seasoning

For the basic piri-piri sauce, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a puree. Pour half the sauce over the pork pieces and marinate in the fridge for at least 4-6 hours.

Heat the olive in a heavy-bottomed pan and fry the pork pieces over a fierce heat for one minute.

Remove the pork and reduce the heat. Add the sliced red pepper to the pan and cook gently for about 1-2 minutes. Add the white wine, chicken stock and chopped tomatoes. Cook gently for 10 minutes and add the rest of the piri-piri sauce. Stir in the pork pieces and warm through. To finish, add the natural yoghurt, chopped parsley and season to taste. Serve immediately.