Hard working boys, pulled pork and yet another gorgeous sunset

The new year found us well and I hope the same for all of you too...

The magic of Swedish country side is still upon us. It has been a month now since we arrived here and soon we are leaving back home. After all these weeks at the country side, we realise that country life might suit us perfectly... There were some things we have been doing and seen, such as getting visits from mouses, experiencing the most gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, working hard to prepare firewood for many cold days to come, cut down the trees, trying new recipes, getting creative and crafting things out of the wood from the trees we cut and of course celebrating the holidays, visiting family and friends... 

My part on the hard work was rather little, instead I got all creative took millions of pictures, trying to capture all the beauty around us. You would be amazed how beautiful nature can be, I for my part could spend the whole day outside taking pictures, if there just would not be that huge, big and irresistible desire to cook or bake.... My boys however were just amazing, being all manly and strong, making sure the firewood stock is filled up for the yet cold days to come. Pablo got equipped with the same tools as papa, just in a mini format and would strive for the same performance as his daddy. I on the other hand was almost exploding from pride and joy, seeing papa and son making sure our home stays warm and cosy.

After such a hard work my boys got rewarded with "pulled pork" in the bun for dinner. Pulled pork seemed to be quite a hit in Sweden these days, I was not aware of it till recently. We got it served at friends place and wanted to try it out ourselves too. The day we decided to stock up on the firewood, seemed perfect for the pulled pork, as this dish needs to be slowly cooked for several hours in the oven. My husband took the lead on the meat (so today I am actually sharing a recipe from my husband) and I contributed with homemade buns, coleslaw salad and yogurt sauce to round up the dinner...

Pulled pork

• 1,5 kl pork shoulder roast
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon grounded cumin 
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 5 garlic gloves

Cut the garlic as small as you can, add all the spices and mix. Rub the meat with all the spices, put it in a dish you will use later for cooking, cover with wrapping foil and let it rest over the night (up to 12 hours) in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 125 C. Put the meat into the oven and let is cook for 5-6 hours. Prepare the salsa, to rub the meat with this after those 5-6 hours. 

• 1 tablespoon worcester sauce
• 200 ml ketchup
• 50 ml apple vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon tabasco
• 50 g brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan, mix together and let it cook on medium/high heat for 3 minutes. Let it cool down. After your meat has been roasting for 5-6 hours, start rubbing the meat with the sauce, 3-4 times within additional 1 hour. In total your meat will be roasting for about 7-8 hours. Once done, take the meat out and pull it apart with 2 forks.

Homemade buns

• 1 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
• 250 ml warm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 30 g butter melted
• 1 egg
• 500 g flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

In a mixing bowl add some water and sugar, sprinkle the yeast over it, steer briefly. Cover it with clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 5-10 min, to activate the yeast (the mixture will get foamy and you will smell the yeast). Add melted butter, egg, some flour and salt, mix. Add about 400 g flour in total and start the kneading (about 2-3 minutes using your stand mixer). Check the dough with your rubber spatula, if the dough will stick to it add more flour....spoon wise and continue the kneading. Do the spatula test again. Sprinkle bit of olive oil over the dough (the sides of your mixing bowl should be clean) and turn the dough ball couple of times in the bowl, making sure it got all covered with the oil. Cover the bow with the kitchen towel and let it raise for about 1 hour, till it doubled in size. Make sure there is no wind draw, otherwise you dough won´t raise.

Flour your kitchen worktop slightly and take the dough out of the bowl. Knead couple of times with your hands, taking all the air out, and divide in 6-8 equal dough pieces. Knead each piece in a bowl, flatting it to a round bun form and put it on the baking tray or baking dish. Cover with wrapping foil and kitchen towel and let it raise for additional 40-60 minutes, till doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Brush the buns, very gently, with an egg wash (egg and a bit of milk and sprinkle it with some sesame seeds. Bake for 18-20 minutes, till golden brown. Take it out and let is cool down.

Coleslaw

• cabbage
• salt
• pepper

Cut the cabbage in thin slices, best you shred it in your food processor. Put some salt and pepper over it. Smash the cabbage with your hand, basically rubbing the spices inside, for some minutes. Let it rest.

Yogurt sauce

• yogurt or creme fraiche
• salt
• dry garlic powder
• fresh herbs you like

Mix everything together...

After the dinner we put on the fire, resting from the hard working day and very nutritious dinner...

Enjoy!

P.S. can you see the monkey face on the picture with the small wood piece lying on the stones?