Char-grilled sirloin steak with peppercorn and whiskey sauce and crispy potato and gruyere dominoes

So this was the recipe I tried out most recently from the current Donna Hay magazine.  Not much to be said - I didn't like the sauce.  To be honest I'm not much of a sauce person when it comes to steak - I much prefer to just taste the flavour of the meat.  The sauce had an odd flavour to it.  The crispy potato and gruyere dominoes were really nice and I would definitely make them again.  I added more cheese than the recipe said but not too much more.  I won't even bother putting down the recipe for the sauce as I would never make it again but here is the recipe for the potatoes which are nice and easy to do and something a bit different.

Crispy Potato and Gruyere Dominoes

1kg large starchy potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
50g unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup finely grated gruyere
sea salt flakes

Preparation

Preheat oven to 200degrees.  Cut the potato slices into 8cm x 5cm rectangles.  Place in a large bown with the butter, cheese and salt and toss to combine.  Place potato slices, overlapping by 1cm, on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.  Repeat with the remaining potato.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Five-spice roasted pork with pumpkin puree and quince glaze (Donna Hay)

I am loving pork at the moment so I was excited to try this dish.  I enjoyed it but next time would add more five-spice to the pork as I didn't think the flavour came through enough.  I also wouldn't have as much pumpkin.  I like the pumpkin with the dish but I think only a very small amount as I just felt it was all very wet.  I absolutely loved the quince glaze and would save this recipe for if I was ever making duck as I'm certain they would go as well together as the quince glaze did with the pork.  All in all I loved it but would tweak it a bit next time round.

Ingredients
1kg blue kent pumpkin, skin on and chopped
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
sea salt and cracked black pepper
1.5kg boneless pork belly
1tbs sea salt flakes
1tsp chinese five-spice powder
quince glaze
100g quince paste, chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock

Preparation
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Place the pumpkin on a baking tray, drizzle with 1tbs of the olive oil and sprinkle with the cinnamon, salt and pepper.  Roast for about an hour or until golden and tender.  Scoop the pumpkin from the skin, place in a food processor and process until smooth.  Set aside and keep warm.


Reduce oven temperature to 180 degrees.  Using a small sharp knife, score the pork skin at 1cm intervals.  Make sure that you do not cut into the meat as this prevents the skin from crackling.
Please 1tsp of salt and the five-spice in a bowl and mix to combine.  Rub the meat with the five-spice salt and rub the skin with the remaining olive oil and salt.  Place the pork, skin-side down, in a baking tray and roast for 1 hours 30 minutes. 
Increase the oven temperature to 220 degrees.  Turn the pork and roast for a further 25-30 minutes or until the skin is golden and crispy and the meat is tender.


While the pork is cooking, make the quince glaze.  Please the quince, sugar, vinegar and stock in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes or until the quince is dissolved.  Increase heat to high, bring to the boil and cook for 4-5 minutes or until thickened slightly.  Divide the pumpkin puree between places, top with sliced pork belly and spoon over the quince glaze to serve.
Serves 4.