Pork belly with chorizo, shallot and bean stew

Pork Belly with Chorizo, Shallot and Bean Stew

FOR THE PORK

• 2 onions, thickly sliced
• 2kg free-range British pork belly, scored
• 500ml chicken stock
• 500ml dry white wine
• 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• A few fresh thyme sprigs 

FOR THE STEW      

• 5 shallots, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 120g cooking chorizo, cubed
• 4 large carrots, finely sliced on the diagonal
• 250ml dry white wine
• 400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed
• 250g spinach
• Small bunch fresh parsely, roughly chopped

Method:

Heat the oven to 140 degrees/120 degrees fan.  Line a large roasting tin with a double layer of foil. Lay the sliced onions in the middle of the tin along with the garlic to create a trivet.

 Sit the pork on top, skin-side up.  Generously rub all over with salt, getting it between the score marks. Pour the stock and wine into the tin around the pork, then add the thyme sprigs and a grind of black pepper.

Cook in the oven for 4 1/2-5 hours, uncovered, until the meat is fall apart tender.  Remove the pork from the oven, then turn up the heat to 240 degrees/220 degrees fan.  Drain and reserve the juices from the roasting tin, but spoon off almost all the fat from the surface (reserve 1 tbsp and cool and chill the rest for up to 3 days – it makes great roasties).  Return the pork to the oven for 25-30 minutes until the skin is crisp and crackled.

Meanwhile, heat the reserved 1 tbsp fat in a large, deep frying pan over a medium heat.  Add the shallots and soften for 5 minutes over a low heat.  Add the garlic and tomato puree and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the chorizo and carrots.  Fry for a further 5 minutes over a medium-high heat, then add the wine (reserving a splash to finish) and bubble for a further 2 minutes.  Add 350ml of the reserved pork juices and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the carrots are nearly tender.

When the pork is ready, remove it from the oven and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes, uncovered.

For the last 5 minutes of the resting time, stir the beans and spinach into the stew and gently simmer.  You may need to add the spinach in batches.

Slice the pork into thick pieces.  Stir the parsley and the remaining splash of wine into the stew, then serve straight away.

Whilst there is a lot of cooking involved in this recipe it is worth it to ensure the meat is fall-apart-tender and it will also be packed with flavour.

This recipe went down a treat in our household and is definitely on the do again list!  This recipe feeds 4-6 people, I therefore reduced the ingredients down somewhat as there were only two of us!  This dish is ideal any time of year, for a stew it's not actually really heavy and is certainly perfect for a dinner party.

Recipe courtesy of Delicious Magazine          

  

Creole Chicken Stew with Mustard Dumplings

Creole Chicken Stew with Mustard Dumplings

• 40g butter
• 20g plain flour
• 3 onions, roughly chopped
• 1 large green pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 4 tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 1 tsp hot smoked paprika
• ½ tsp mustard powder
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp ground white pepper
• Sea salt
• 1kg roasted chicken meat, skinned and cut into 3cm-wide strips
• Handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 50g pork scratchings, crushed for the mustard dumplings
• 150g plain flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp mustard powder
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 60g butter, melted
• 3-4 tbsp milk
• Handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, make the red-brown roux. Melt the butter, then add the flour, a third at a time, whisking until smooth before adding more. Cook over a medium-low heat, stirring often, for 10-20 minutes, until beginning to colour.

Add the onions, pepper, celery and tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes, until soft, stirring often to ensure the roux doesn't burn.

Bring the stock to the boil in a separate pan, then add to the roux and vegetables in batches, stirring as you go. Add the paprika, mustard, cayenne, white pepper and a big pinch of salt and simmer gently for 25 minutes. Add the chicken meat and simmer for five minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the dumplings, mix the flour, baking powder, mustard, cayenne and a big pinch of salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the eggs, butter and three tablespoons of milk. Pour the wet ingredients onto the dry to make a soft, spongy dough, adding a little more milk if necessary, then add the parsley and stir to mix evenly.

Dust your hands with flour and form the dough into small dumplings, dropping them directly onto the stew. Cover tightly with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve hot, with parsley and pork scratchings sprinkled over the top.

Recipe taken from Tom Parker Bowles cookery book “Lets Eat Meat”