Slow cooked paprika pork stew - for 2-3 people
800g boneless pork shoulder, rind scored
1 tsp of sea salt
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tbsp paprika - hot, sweet or smoked
3/4 lemon juice
Couple of tbsps of oil - rapeseed/sunflower
2 potatoes, halved
300ml water to mix with marinade in a small jug
1 large carrot, cut into chunks, medium sized
6 shallots, halved
1 stick celery, cut into chunks
1/2 can of kidney beans
Flat leaf parsley
Bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, halved
Red wine, 250ml glass
Umami to taste (if you have some)
2-3 slices of lemon
Couple of tsps of honey
1 tsp harissa (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
This recipe takes a long time to cook slowly, but not all that much time to prepare. Personally, I think it’s worth it. So far, I have only made this for Charlie and myself, but it would be excellent to cook for friends coming over - just double or triple the quantities.
It is best to marinade the pork shoulder overnight. Pat the pork dry and score the fat in ridges with a very sharp knife, only cutting into the fat, not down to the meat.
In a food processor or pestle and mortar, combine the garlic, paprika, lemon juice and oil into a loose paste. Using a knife, spread the marinade over the meat, covering well on all sides but not touching any of the fat.
Measure out 300ml of water, integrate with any remaining marinade and then reserve in a jug, to use next day for cooking.
Place the joint on a plate and cover loosely with greaseproof paper and put in the fridge for the night.
TIMING
1/2 hour - take the pork out of the fridge
3 hours - cook the meat, under foil
2 hours - add the vegetables and beans, cook under foil
1 hour - remove vegetables to another dish, increase heat,
remove foil and make crackling, watching carefully
1/2 hour - allow meat to rest and make mash and other vegetables
The above timing is to give you a general idea of how long it is going to take until it’s ready.
The next day, heat the oven to 150C/130 Fan/Gas 2.
Take the meat out of the fridge to come to room temperature. Cut two potatoes into halves, slicing off tops as necessary to make flat and use to make a trivet for the pork to sit on in a deep baking tin, that will be able to hold all the vegetables and liquid. The meat should sit proud of the side of the tin, if possible.
Add any remaining marinade to the 300ml marinade/water mix which you have reserved.
Take 1tsp sea salt and carefully rub into the scored ridges you have made in the pork fat. Place the pork on the potato trivet and carefully pour the marinade mix AROUND the pork shoulder, not on it.
Cover the tray with foil, put in the oven and leave for 3 hours.
After 3 hours, remove the foil and pour in the wine, add bay leaf, parsley, lemon slices, couple of shakes of umami and honey. Mix carefully and then add the shallots, garlic, carrots, celery and kidney beans. Make sure everything is almost covered. Put foil back on and cook for further 2 hours. You might want to add salt and pepper to taste, as well as harissa if you want a spicier taste.
Turn the oven up to 180C/160Fan/Gas 4. Take dish out of the oven, remove vegetables and liquid to another heatproof dish with a lid. Try to keep the potato trivet underneath the meat.
Put the meat back into the oven, foil removed. The crackling will initially be soft, but will start to harden up. I get nervous here, so tend to set a timer to check every 10 minutes to see how the crackling is doing and nothing is getting burned. Make sure that the potato wedges are keeping the meat up, so that it can be browned nicely. Cook for anything up to an hour.
Remove the meat from the oven to rest for 20-30 minutes. Place foil around the meat, to keep it warm, but do not cover the crackling.
In the meantime, turn the oven back down to 150C/130C Fan/Gas 2 and put the vegetables and sauce back in to heat up.
This stew is really good with creamy leek mash, served with any green vegetable.
To serve the pork, cut the crackling and fat off, place the meat on a warmed serving dish and with 2 forks, slowly pull the meat apart. You will find that it is meltingly tender.