Gluten-free FEASTS

Rediscover the joy of cooking and eating with former MasterChef Australia contestant Melanie Persson, aka The Very Hungry Coeliac

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Carnitas - Mexican pulled pork

SERVES 61.

5kg pork shoulder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1½ teaspoons soft light brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 onions, sliced

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 fresh jalapeños (or other mild chillies), sliced

2 chipotle peppers in adobo (with sauce, see notes)

500ml pineapple juice, plus extra if needed

1 Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Pat pork dry with paper towels. If there is any rind on the meat (there likely will be if purchased as a roasting joint), trim it off with a sharp knife. Cut shoulder into 2 or 3 roughly even pieces.

2 Combine garlic and onion powders, cumin, oregano, paprika, sugar and salt in a small bowl, then sprinkle evenly over all sides of pork pieces. Place in a deep, oven-safe lidded pot or casserole dish.

3 Place onion, garlic, jalapeños and chipotle peppers around pork, then add pineapple juice. The pork should be 75 percent submerged, so add a little more juice if needed.

4 Cover pot with the lid (or tightly with foil), then cook for 3 hours. Remove lid and cook for another 25-30 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half.

5 Shred pork pieces with forks and allow the meat to rest in the sauce until ready to serve. You can either serve it like this (simply reheat if necessary) or you can crisp it up slightly.

6 To crisp the meat, heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Spread shredded pork evenly over surface of the pan. Move meat around as it fries to get crispy portions throughout, adding some of the braising liquid if necessary to keep it from getting too dry. Serve while hot.

Beer-battered snapper

SERVES 2-3