Not all elements are necessary for you to enjoy this dish. You could just make the meatballs and enjoy with some plain boiled rice, some greens and a few pickles. I just love the way the salty, umami feta compliments the sweet spicy sobrasada in both inside the meatballs and in the oil.
You may substitute the pork steaks with pork mince and the sobrasada with chorizo sausage but remove the skin before using as it is quite hard at times.
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 2 pork choulder steaks, 350g
- 50g sobrasada sausage meat
- 20g panko crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp flour
- 75ml EVOO & 75ml Sunflower oil to fry with
For the feta cream
- 70g feta cheese
- 50g yogurt
- 50ml full fat milk
For the sobrasada oil
- 1 shallot
- 75g sobrasada sausage meat
- ½ tsp sweet paprika
- A pinch of hot paprika
For the pickled vegetables
- 3 baby cucumbers
- 2 radishes
- 75ml cider vinegar
- 75ml water
- 25g caster sugar
For the rice
- 150g easy to cook rice
- 300ml water
- 1 tsp vegetable bouillon
For the Bok Choy
- 2 Bok choy
- 1 tsp vegetable bouillon
Method
For the pork balls, cut the steaks in bite size chunks and mince or chop in a small blender. Transfer to a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Use your hands to massage the mix well, cover and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Take the mince mix out of the fridge and weigh 20g spoonfuls. Roll in your hands into balls and lay on a tin lined with baking paper.
Bring a medium frying pan to a high heat and add the oil. Dust the meatballs with flour and fry for a few minutes, reducing the heat a little so that the balls cook all the way through. Drain on some kitchen paper.#
To make the feta cream, mix in a small blender all the ingredients.
To make the sobrasada oil, chop finely the shallot and put in a small pan with the oil. Cook on a low to medium heat for a few minutes until soft, add the sobrasada meat and the paprika and stir well to break up the sausage meat. Cook (or rather confit) for 10 minutes on a very low heat and use a cheesecloth to strain. Keep in a squeezy bottle. You can use this oil over pasta, in a dressing for a hot salad or many other dishes.
Rinse the rice and put in a saucepan with the water and the bouillon, bring to the boil, cover, lower the heat and cook for about 12 minutes until done. Turn the heat off and leave covered until needed. Fluff up with a fork to serve.
Separate the leaves of the Bok choy and rinse under the tap. Cut in bite size chunks and cook in a saucepan with 2-3 tbsp of water and the bouillon powder until cooked but firm, 3-4 minutes.
To quickly pickle the vegetables, wash and trim the baby cucumbers and radishes. Bring a saucepan with the vinegar, water and sugar to the boil and turn off the heat. You may add aromatics such as fennel seeds, pink pepper or pretty much anything you like. Leave the liquid to cool and drop the sliced vegetables into it. Transfer to the fridge until needed.