Hāngī time: Christall Lowe celebrates food and recipes from the maunga to the moana

Kai Feast by Christall Lowe (Bateman Books, RRP $59.99). Photo / supplied

Oven-cooked hāngī with native rongoā

My nanna would often make a hāngī in the oven, especially in winter. She would use a piece of sacking normally reserved for the in-ground hāngī to get that distinctive earth-infused flavour. My version incorporates native rongoā as a way of bringing the earth element into the hāngī, and I’ve added tarata (lemonwood), kawakawa and matipo. You can use any meat, but pork, lamb and chicken are our favourites. Cooking it at 200°C for the first hour causes the rongoā and leafy greens to char, creating a subtle smoky flavour reminiscent of hāngī cooked in the ground.

Oven-Cooked Hāngī with Native Rongoā. Photo / Supplied

Celebrate Matariki | For your festive table | For a crowd | Family dinner

Serves 4-6

FOR THE STUFFING:

• 8 slices of bread
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 2 tbsp mixed herbs
• zest and juice of 1 medium lemon
• 2 tsp salt
• 100g butter, melted

FOR THE HĀNGĪ:

• a few handfuls tarata, kawakawa and matipo leaves, still on stems (optional)
• 1 cabbage with large outer leaves, and/or a mixture of green leafy vegetables, eg, silverbeet, watercress, kale, pūhā, spinach
• 4-6 pork chops, preferably shoulder
• 4-6 lamb chops, preferably shoulder
• 4-6 chicken drumsticks, or small chicken pieces
• salt
• 2 kūmara, peeled and chopped into chunks
• 4 potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
• ¼ pumpkin, peeled and chopped into chunks
• any other root veges of your choice, eg, yams, carrots
• 1 bunch fresh herbs still on stems, eg, sage, thyme
• 1 cup of water

Heat oven to 200°C.

To prepare the stuffing, break bread into small pieces either by hand or in a food processor. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.

Salt the meat well on both sides. Line a large, deep roasting dish with the tarata, kawakawa and matipo leaves, if using, just to cover the base. Add two layers of cabbage leaves, and/or other leafy greens to line the base and sides, and then add the meat evenly throughout the roasting dish. Add the vegetable chunks on top of the meat and in any gaps, and top with handfuls of stuffing. Lay a few bunches of herbs over the dish.

Pour the water evenly over the whole dish, and cover with two more layers of leafy greens, followed by a layer of tarata, kawakawa and matipo, if using. Cover snugly with two layers of tinfoil. Cook for 1 hour at 200°C, then lower the temperature to 150°C and cook for a further 2 hours. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the tinfoil and top layers of herbs and leafy greens. Serve immediately while still steaming hot.

Umu Pulled Pork with Orange and Garlic

Add to a big feast | For your festive table | Crowd pleaser

Umu Pulled Pork with Orange and Garlic. Photo / Supplied

I call this “umu pulled pork” because we first made this in the backyard, using fire and hāngī stones to create our umu. This recipe was inspired by the traditional Mayan way of cooking “cochinita pibil” underground. Cooking the pork with freshly squeezed orange juice makes for melt-in-your-mouth succulent meat. This is just as delicious cooked in the oven.

Serves 6+

FOR THE SPICY BARBECUE RUB:

• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp chopped horopito
• 1 tbsp dried thyme or oregano
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp chilli powder (optional)

FOR THE PORK:

• 2kg pork shoulder
• 2 red onions, chopped into chunks
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 apples, cored and quartered, or a bunch of crabapples
• ½ cup barbecue sauce
• juice of 4 oranges
• salt to season

QUICK PICKLED RED ONIONS:

• 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• ½ cup white vinegar
• ¼ cup caster sugar
• ½ tsp salt

Rub the spicy barbecue rub all over the pork. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Put the pork in a casserole, roasting or Dutch oven dish with a lid, ensuring the dish is big enough so that the lid fits on properly once all of the ingredients are in.

Add the onions, garlic and apples around the pork, and sprinkle some garlic over the pork as well.

Mix the barbecue sauce and orange juice together, and pour over and around the whole dish.

Cover with the lid and cook in the oven, turning the pork occasionally to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the dish, for 4-5 hours, or until the pork falls apart when pulled with a fork.

To make the quick pickled red onions, put all of the ingredients into a medium bowl and massage the onions until soft by squeezing them in your hands. Cover and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Quick pickled red onions can be kept in the fridge, covered, for up to one week.

Remove the pork from the dish and leave it to rest for 10 minutes. Do not discard what is remaining in the dish! After the pork has rested, “pull” the pork by shredding it with two forks.

Spoon out and discard the excess oil from the top of the sauce remaining in the dish. Roughly mash the apples and onions and add more water if necessary to create a sauce with a pourable consistency. Season with more salt to taste. Return the pork to the dish and stir it through the sauce.

Serve with flat bread, quick pickled red onions, coleslaw and potato salad.

COOK’S NOTE: If using a slow cooker, cook for 5-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.

Kūmara Doughnuts with Kawakawa Sugar

Celebrate Matariki | Add to a grazing table | For a kids’ party

Kūmara Doughnuts with Kawakawa Sugar. Photo / Supplied

With kūmara as the star ingredient, and kawakawa to perfectly complement it, these soft and puffy little doughnut bites are irresistible.

Makes 36 mini doughnut balls

FOR THE KAWAKAWA SUGAR:

• ½ cup caster sugar
• 4 fresh kawakawa leaves, finely chopped, or 1 tbsp cinnamon

FOR THE KŪMARA DOUGHNUTS:

• 2 medium orange kūmara, to yield 1 cup cooked, mashed kūmara
• 1 tbsp instant or active yeast
• ½ cup warm milk
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1⁄3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 4 cups neutral oil for frying, eg, canola oil
• 50g chocolate, chopped (optional)

To make the kawakawa sugar, put the caster sugar and chopped kawakawa (or cinnamon if using), in a small bowl and mix together. The kawakawa sugar can be made in advance, and left in a sealed jar for a few days to infuse.

Peel and cube the kūmara, and boil in a pot with water until tender. Drain and mash. Set aside to cool. If using active yeast, add the yeast to the warm milk, mix and set aside for 10 minutes.

Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the instant yeast on top (if using). Add the eggs, milk, sugar and orange zest to the mashed kūmara. Beat until combined and smooth.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a rubber spatula until just combined. Cover the bowl and leave to prove in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the dough has nearly doubled in size. The dough should be tacky and sticky.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or large saucepan over a medium heat to 180°C. You need plenty of oil so that the doughnuts aren’t touching the bottom of the pan while cooking. If you don’t have a thermometer, dip the handle of a wooden spoon into the oil. If the oil starts steadily bubbling, then it is hot enough. Vigorous bubbling means it needs to cool down. If the oil is too hot, the doughnuts will brown before they are cooked inside.

Give the dough a quick mix with a spoon. Form small balls using two tablespoons – one to scoop up the dough and one to shape into a ball. Use one spoon to carefully scrape and drop the dough ball into the oil. Fry the doughnut balls, 8-10 at a time, turning frequently to ensure even cooking, for around 2-3 minutes, until golden (check one to make sure it’s cooked all the way through). Remove doughnuts with a slotted spoon, drain off excess oil, and transfer to a dish lined with paper towels.

Pop the warm doughnuts into a large bowl and sprinkle with the kawakawa sugar, tossing to coat.

Make a chocolate drizzle by melting the chocolate pieces in a microwave-safe bowl in 10-second bursts, stirring between each one, until smooth. Or melt in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water.

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the doughnuts and serve.

COOK’S NOTE: For a lemon glaze or drizzle, mix together ½ cup of icing sugar and 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice.

An edited extract from Kai Feast by Christall Lowe (Bateman Books, RRP $59.99).