Wednesday, 5 May 2010

Thyme for pork and cider stew

I made this yesterday and for once, came back for seconds. Normally when I cook, by the time I've finished, I am not that hungry... however, the long slow cook at the end really helps. I just happened to buy a vacuum sealer and a mass of pork which I'd cubed, then sealed and frozen. I found a similar recipe with things like honey in, which I am not keen on. I also wanted more of a bite and had bought some Cannellini beans some time back which needed using. Beware though, even with the extractor full on, the smell of this cooking in the oven (especially the heavenly Thyme) is phenomenal!

Serves 3 to 4-ish

  • 600ml (1 pint) Chicken Stock
  • 250g Lean Pork, cubed (I used loin steaks)
  • 300ml (½ pint ish) Cider
  • 1 x 4 oz can Cannellini beans
  • 1 x 4 oz can of Kidney Beans (both drained)
  • 2 Medium Carrots, sliced
  • 3 Leeks, sliced
  • 2 Sticks Celery, sliced
  • 1 Medium Onion, stuck with a few whole cloves
  • 1 Bouquet Garni
  • 16 good splashes of Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 Chilli (not birds eye), finely sliced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp of Thyme
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • Salt and pepper

  1. Place the pork into a le creuset or similar cast iron casserole into the heated olive oil and fry until the fat runs.
  2. Drain the beans and add to the pork.
  3. Add the cider, onion, bouquet garni, carrots, leeks, celery, Worcestershire sauce and chilli. Top up with the stock (I use a knorr stock cube for this)
  4. Gently bring to the boil, cover and put in the oven for about an hour on GM3, taste, adjust the seasoning and then reduce to GM1 and cook for a further hour (or whatever!)
  5. Remove the bouquet garni and serve when ready.
  6. Prepare some new potatoes by removing any gnarly bits or really dirty bits and eyes. Cut into equivalent sized bits and put into saucepan, pour remainder of the stock in and top up with salted water.
  7. Serve with peas and the potatoes.

I made this lot with the intention of freezing some of it, but plans change and I am soooo going to eat the rest tonight!
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4 comments:

  1. meemalee7 May 2010 at 06:38

    I approve of all porkiness - this sounds like a corker.

    Cider is so good with pork - once, in desperation I used an Apple Bacardi Breezer in a marinade. Worked weirdly well.

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  2. chumbles7 May 2010 at 12:39

    Thank you :-)) I have used all sorts of things, but alcohol tends to go down my neck! But cider does work well; my only regret was that I went for "Old English" rather than the much drier Dry Blackthorn. Also, the chilli does add a much needed heat for palates like ours which like the burn. Cooked like this, it really does tenderise the meat. It eventually turned into a 10 day soup along with some additional fennel, leeks and onion!

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  3. meemalee8 May 2010 at 02:36

    Porky soup - mmmmmm - love it :)

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  4. chumbles7 June 2010 at 06:41

    Just done this again, but instead of Worcestershire Sauce I used about 8 splashed of nam pla and instead of the cider used some passata and dry white wine and a good load of basil instead of the thyme - different flavout but still good. This is going to remain a favourite because the basis seems really forgiving in terms of different ingredients.

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