Bone in the Throat by Anthony Bourdain Recipe - Roasted Belly Pork Lettuce Cups with Harissa Greek Yoghurt, Celeriac Coleslaw with Pickled Mushrooms by Lee Majhen-Todd
This is a book I was very reluctant to pick, mainly because I’m not an absolute fan of Anthony Bourdain. No reason other than I’m sometimes very reluctant to be a fan of the over hyped. Do you know what i mean?
Those bad films that have a lot of publicity or the Kardashions (Well, not really in the same category, after all Bourdain has talent), and for some unknown reason, books on the bestsellers list, partially because he had programmes on the TV, Kitchen Confidential and host of Parts Unknown on CNN, and because it’s not a bad read either.
Bone in the Throat The real reason, my lovely son is a massive fan of Anthony Bourdain , and this is why I decided to go with this book.
So, what’s it about?
Tommy Pagana has spent his life trying to stay out of his fathers business (A made guy in the mafia) and stay out of the trouble.
Working as chef in his uncles restaurant in Manhattan’s little Italy, he becomes an unwitting partner in crime when the mob uses the kitchen as a scene for a murder and dismemberment.
Between the FBI and the mafia bosses, Tommy struggles with his conscience, and of course to stay alive.
The FBI want Tommy to testify about all he knows on the murder, but Tommy can't narc on a relative—especially one who's a homicidal animal.
Pressured by both sides, he also feels guilty over the murder.
Overall I thought this was a book with humour with some fun characters, I think my son would enjoy it as a read to and maybe add it to his collection.
I was reading a few reviews and it seems not everyone liked it.
The main complaint being the anticlimactic ending.
I’m going to let you judge for yourself on that and give the book a 2 egg rating.
Two egg rating
Two eggs for Anthony Bourdain
I’ve been lucky enough to have fabulous chefs gift me recipes for Foodie Book Club, but not this month.
This month there is only me and my Roasted Belly Pork Lettuce Cups.
The fact that there isn’t a bone in the pork, let’s keep that between us.
Go on, give it a go
Enjoy Your Sweet Life
Roasted Belly Pork Lettuce Cups with Harissa Greek Yoghurt, Celeriac Coleslaw and Pickled Mushrooms.
Everything on it
What You Need
Pork
1 Iceberg lettuce – Separate the leaves, wash and dried
2 tsp Maldon salt
Pork Belly – Bone out, scored and skin dried
2 tsp Za’atar
All in one bite
Coleslaw
½ Celeriac – Peeled and sliced into thin strips
Cucumber-Prepared and sliced into thin strips – See Tip Box
Apple – Cored and sliced really thinly
Spring Onion – Sliced thinly
Red Pepper – Sliced thinly
200ml Rice wine vinegar
100m Olive oil
Lime juice and zest – Split into two
Scoop out the inside of the cucumber
Harissa Greek Yoghurt
1 Pot Plain Greek Yoghurt – See Tip Box
1 tsp Harissa Powder – See Tip Box
1 Garlic Clove - Minced
Harissa Greek Yoghurt
Pickled Mushrooms
Chestnut Mushrooms – Cleaned and thinly sliced – See Tip Box
200ml White wine vinegar
1 Garlic clove - Minced
The longer you leave the mushrooms in the pickling liquid, the harsher the pickle
How It’s Done
Pork
Heat the oven to 250c
Mix the salt and the Za’atar together and rub over both sides of the pork
Place the prepared pork into an oven proof tin, place into the hot the oven and then turn the heat down to 200c
Cook the belly pork until the skin is crispy and the pork is cooked through but still moist.
Once cooked, set aside to cool.
Once the pork is cooled, remove the crackling with a sharp knife and slice the meat into thin strips. - See Tip Box
Set aside until needed.
make an emulsion with the oil and vinegar
Coleslaw
Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and pour half the lime juice over everything so that none of the vegetables go brown. Give it a mix
Place the oil, vinegar and rest of the lime juice into a small bowl
Whisk them together until the ingredients get a little bit cloudy – See Tip Box
Pour the mixture over the vegetables, give it a good mix and set it aside until needed.
Juicy pork and crunchy slaw
Pickled Mushrooms
Place the prepared mushrooms into a bowl and pour over the vinegar and minced garlic.
Mix everything together really well and set it aside.
Give it a gentle stir once in a while just to make sure that all the mushrooms get a pickle. – See Tip Box
Once pickled to your liking, drain them and set aside until needed.
Harissa Greek Yoghurt
Combine all the ingredients to a bowl and mix really well – See Tip Box
Assembly
Lay a lettuce leaf on a plate and layer up the coleslaw, pork, mushrooms and harissa Greek yoghurt
Wrap it up and take a bite
Tip Box
Harissa – 1) Use either powder or paste
2) Start with 1 tsp and give it a taste before adding more. It can be spicy
Mushrooms – 1) Don’t wash the mushrooms, they are very absorbent. Wipe them down with a damp kitchen towel and make sure they are dry.
2) Keep an eye on the mushrooms as they pickle. They very quickly go from “they taste good” to “wow, my mouth”
Cucumber – Leave the skin on the cucumber. Scoop out the seeds from middle of the cucumber before you slice it very thinly
Dressing – Whisking the oil, vinegar and lime juice together
Cracking - Don’t waste the crackling - chop it into strips and serve it on the side
