About the Recipe
With a couple of hours of slow cooking and making the most of Italian inspired herbs and spices will work miracles even with cheap cuts of meat that you can freeze for other occasions and allows you to enjoy this glorious dish over the course of a few days. This means you can buy those larger cuts of meat that supermarkets usually sell for slightly less and make the most of it!
Ingredients
For the stew
1.2kg pork shoulder (or any other cut which is slow roast at the supermarket except gammon)
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
Mirepoix: celery, carrot and onion in equal proportion; diced. (Do not fret if you don't like celery just include it and trust me, you won't be able to notice it - I'm not much of a fan of celery myself)
3 cloves roughly chopped garlic
Seasoning: 2 bay leaves, oregano. Optional: thyme, basil, chilli, chilli flakes, sage, marjoram, etc...
1 can tomato (400g)
Salt
Pepper
Oil
1 glass cheap red wine
For the mash
3-4 potatoes (2 at a time as this should cover a few servings)
Optional: 2 tablespoons double or extra-thick double cream
Butter: as much as you can put in before your conscience steps in and says its unhealthy
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Sear the meat: place the meat in a pot with a spoonful of oil at the bottom on high heat. Add the meat and brown on each side then remove.
Cook your mirepoix: cook the onion, carrot and celery for a little bit in the same pot and then add tomato paste and garlic after 5-8 mins.
Prepare the stew: add your meat back to the pot. Add all the rest of your seasoning, stock pots, can tomato and a glass of red wine. Top off with enough water that the pork is submerged.
In terms of cooking you have options. Should you want, and should your situation permit it, you can place the whole lot in an oven at 200C for around 2hours and it will come out delicious. If you only have a stovetop available, then place it on the stove top for around 3-4 hours and it will be equally delicious. With the stovetop method you may have to occasionally top it off with some water. This dish is actually best when you cool it down and let it rest overnight and serve the next day as this allows it to develop the best flavours.
To serve, simply mash some boiled potatoes with as much butter as your eyes can bare, a pinch of salt and some pepper and add the stew on top!