This week our Teen Chef will be making – Blood orange and paprika pork with creamed celeriac

Subject to availability we will be using blood oranges in our recipe they have a relatively short season, often making availability difficult.

At their sweetest in January to March, due to the drop in temperature during the cold nights that follow warm, Mediterranean winter days is what turns the citrus fruit a deliciously deep red or vivid orange.

Typically only available until March, these winter specialities are tangy and juicy, and packed with Vitamin C. They make a delicious sticky sauce for warming winter main courses and will really complement our pork.

Pork, is integral to many of Britain’s national dishes – from Pork pie to Roast pork with apple sauce, fruits are traditionally served with pork to offset its richness.  

Pork should have a slight marbling of fat throughout the cut, which should look firm and white. Every part of the pig can be eaten; from nose to tail. The key to cooking pork well is an understanding of which cooking method is appropriate for each cut.

Another important tip to remember when cooking pork is that the meat needs to be seasoned well with an array of ingredients to choose from like herbs, spices or a brine to impart flavour, or simply salt and pepper.

Like most meats, pork should be allowed to come up to room temperature before cooking and left to rest for a period after cooking.

The tender, less exercised cuts of pork are better suited to cooking quickly – either in a pan on the stove or in the oven. Overcooked pork is dry and tough, so care needs to be taken when cooking.

The cuts of pork most suited to rapid cooking include loin which we will be using in the form of steaks and tenderloin fillet.

Although we can now start to think about spring and all the fresh, exciting produce it brings, there is still an abundance of root vegetables to enjoy.

Celeriac is a firm root vegetable loved by chefs thanks to its complex celery-like nutty flavour. It’s also incredibly versatile as an ingredient, which for our recipe will be creamed which in culinary terms means food that is prepared by slow simmering or poaching in milk or cream.

In this week’s dish we will be using the following skills: Weighing, measuring, zesting, squeezing, cutting, slicing, mixing/combining, blending, simmering, boiling, reducing, searing, sautéing and resting.

See you Saturday Teen Chefs.