Spare Ribs

Until very recently spare ribs were something we only ate in restaurants, and then not that often as there are not many places around here that have them on the menu. Don't ask me why, I can only think it was because I had no idea how they were cooked and didn't have a recipe ... hanging my head in shame here, lol. When one day I mentioned this to my dear friend Violets she very kindly gave me her recipe for this wonderful marinade. The method I use is Nigella's, so the following recipe has come about from the input of two great cooks. I give my sincere thanks to them both because spare ribs has now become a regular meal in our household and I am only sorry that it's taken so long for that to happen. However, as the old adage says, "better late than never"! Mr. P made a nice mixed leaf salad to serve on the side. He really is a dab hand at salads!

Spare Ribs - Serves 4

• 300ml tomato ketchup
• 2 tsp chinese five spice powder
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp soft brown sugar
• 2 large cloves garlic
• small piece of fresh ginger (chopped finely)
• half a small chilli chopped
• salt and black pepper
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 16 pork ribs

Mix all the ingredients together in a freezer bag and coat the ribs well, leave to marinade in the fridge overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Remove the ribs from the fridge, let them come up to room temperature, and transfer to a roasting tin squeezing out every last drop of the marinade. Cover loosely with aluminium foil. Cook's note: I line the tin with Bake-O-Glide to avoid having a nasty baked-on mess to clean up afterwards.

Cook the ribs in the oven for an hour, turning them over after half an hour.

Raise the oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and remove the foil from the roasting tin. Cook for a further 15-30 minutes, or until the ribs are sticky and cooked through.