Recipes

From Henrietta Green’s New Country Kitchen

Although some butchers do sell ‘stewing pork’ for slow braises or stews, I prefer to buy a whole piece and then cut it. Use one of the cheaper cuts from the forequarter such as shoulder, blade or hand and spring. This way I know exactly what I am buying and how fresh the meat is. I can also trim off some of the excess fat when I am cutting the meat into cubes.

Serves 4

    30g (1oz) dried wild mushrooms
    5 tbsp olive oil
    1 small onion, chopped
    675g (1½ lb) shoulder of pork, cut into 2.5cm (1in) cubes
    100ml (3 ½ fl oz) dry white wine
    2 tbsp white wine vinegar
    3 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
    1 tsp finely chopped fresh marjoram
    Bay leaf
    20 juniper berries, crushed
    Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Soak the mushrooms for 30 minutes in 350ml (12 fl oz) of lukewarm water. Using a slotted spoon, lift them out of the water. As they can sometimes be full of grit, rinse them thoroughly under cold running water, drain and roughly chop. Leave the soaking water to settle, so any grit sinks to the bottom, then strain it through a lined sieve and reserve.

In a flameproof casserole with a tight-fitting lid, heat the olive oil over a medium heat and soften the onion in it. Add the pork, turn p the heat slightly and brown the meat to seal it. Pour in the wine and vinegar and raise the heat again slightly. Cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly. Stir in the mushrooms, the water in which they have been soaked, the anchovies, marjoram, bay leaf and crushed juniper berries. Season with plenty of black pepper, but go easy with the salt as the anchovies are quite salty.

Turn the heat down to low, cover the pan with the lid lined with a sheet of greaseproof paper and simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until the meat is tender.