Yesterday Rob and I tried to cook pigs trotters (aka hooves / feet). It was partially unsuccessful. I say partially because it was only the trotters that were horrible. The vegetables were amazing. We followed just the trotters part of this recipe: http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/tv-show/come-dine-with-me-recipes/honey-roasted-pigs-trotters-recipe
The most confusing part was step 2: You will know when they are ready when the meat starts to fall away from the bone when you prod them… What meat?!? There was no meat on this thing. I ripped it apart – caveman style, as is tradition – and in the very centre of fat, gristle, and bone was a tiny strand of meat. It may have even been something else, I’m not quite sure. It didn’t even taste that good. I should have known that this isn’t what trotters are best used for because the results of googling “pig trotters recipe” mostly featured simmering.
After the disappointing dinner, some of the Spaniards at the hostel told us that they usually use trotters to flavour broth for lentils. I think if used this way, trotters could be really good. One day I will get around to testing this.
The upside of the meal was the vegetables. I got Heston’s In Search of Total Perfection (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Total-Perfection-Search/dp/1408802449) from the library and we used part of the recipe for roast chicken. This book is Heston’s search of the perfect version of a few common dishes. Usually the recipes are too cumbersome to do regularly, but sometimes you can find little gems that you can use regularly, like the carrots in this recipe. Basically, roughly chop carrots and fry in butter on a low heat for 30 mins. Salt. Serve. We also followed the recipe for broccoli, which was also probably as good as broccoli gets, and also roast potatoes. The secret to the potatoes is to boil them in salted water first, then roast them in lots of oil until they are crispy. Next time I do roast potatoes I will follow this recipe, except using less oil. Stand by for results.