Pork and Cider Stew
This is one of my favourite dish for cold winter nights. A slow-cooked stew of pork, mushrooms, garlic, apples and woody spices. It’s full of umami and fills the kitchen with a wonderfully nurturing and warming smell.
Equipment
- Large casserole Preferably cast iron. It needs to go on the stovetop and in the oven. It must have a close-fitting lid.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg Pork neck cut into 3cm cubes
- 1 can apple cider
- 2 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tsp cumin seed ground
- 1 tsp fennel seed ground
- 1 tsp coriander seed ground
- olive oil
- flour I use rice flour to make this dish gluten-free
- 1 brown onion medium, chopped
- 2 carrots; medium medium, chopped
- 1 stick celery strings removed, chopped
- 1 leek roughly chopped
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp Goddess of Hunting
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 kg mushrooms stems removed and quartered. I often use portobello mushrooms but use whatever are the best you can get your hands on.
Instructions
- Combine the pork, cider, garlic, cumin, coriander and fennel in a bowl, cover and put in the fridge for 2-3 hours1.5 kg Pork neck, 1 can apple cider, 2 tsp crushed garlic, 1 tsp cumin seed, 1 tsp fennel seed, 1 tsp coriander seed
- Pre-heat the oven to 150c
- Put a dash of olive oil into the casserole and heat until moderately hot, but not smokingolive oil
- Brown the pork pieces in the casserole a few at time and put them aside for the moment. I do this not to “seal” the meat, but to get those wonderful flavours of caramelised pork into the dish. Reserve the marinade, you’ll need it shortly.
- Lightly coat the pork with flour after it has been removed from the casserole. The flour will slightly thicken the stew as it cooks. Adding it now avoids faffing about making a paste and getting all the lumps out later.flour
- Turn the temperature under the casserole to medium and add the chopped onion. Give it a few minutes to soften and start turning gold, and then add the chopped leek, celery, carrots and the marinade.1 brown onion, 2 carrots; medium, 1 stick celery, 1 leek
- Bring to a gentle simmer, while stirring gently to deglaze the bottom of the casserole. This ensures all the flavour of the pork is captured in the stew. The gravy will go cloudy brown.
- Add the pork, Goddess of Hunting, chilli, bay leaves, salt and pepper and enough water just to cover. Bring it to a gentle simmer.2-3 bay leaves, 1 tsp Goddess of Hunting, 1/2 tsp chilli flakes, salt, black pepper
- Put the lid on the casserole and put it in the oven.
- After about an hour add the mushrooms and return to the oven for about 90 minutes. Check it occasionally. Add more water if it looks too dry. It’s done then the pork is tender and pulls apart easily.1 kg mushrooms