The first time I made this I used a pork tenderloin and simmered it over low heat for 75 minutes.
This time I used part of a pork loin (I buy whole loins, then cut it up myself) and cooked it in a slow oven for about 3 hours.
A third alternative would be a slow-cooker.
The vegetables are done separately to better gauge how much liquid to add to the finished stew…. It should be very thick.
Serve with rice, barley or quinoa…. Or potatoes.
As usual, mon mari had potatoes and I had barley.
This makes 4 servings.
Pulled Pork Stew
Total time: 3 hours
Ingredients:
- 1 small pork loin, 20oz (600gr)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 cups 15oz (450gr) chopped tomatoes, with juices
- 1/4 cup (2oz, 60ml) beef stock
- 2 tsp chili powder, divided
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, cut in half the long way, then sliced
- 1 3/4 cup (15oz, 450gr) chickpeas, rinsed
- 1/2 cup green olives, cut in half
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tbs fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- hot sauce to taste optional
Instructions:
- Pork:
- Heat oil in a heavy pot or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid. Add pork and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, stock, 1 tsp chili powder, bay leaves and bring to a boil.
- Cover with a tight-fitting lid, put into the oven, 325F (160C), for 2 1/2 – 3 hours.Check after 90 minutes to make sure it’s not drying out.
- Vegetables:
- 45 minutes before eating:
- Heat oil in medium nonstick skillet. Add 1 tsp chili powder, cumin and sauté briefly.
- Add onion, garlic, celery and carrot, sauté until starting to get tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add chickpeas, oregano, fennel seeds and stir well.
- The pork should have quite a bit of juice by now; remove about 1/2 cup of juice and pour over vegetables. If not, use more beef stock.
- Cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes longer.
- To finish:
- Remove pork from pan. Using two forks, pull the meat apart, shredding it into large chunks.
- In large bowl combine pork, olives and vegetables.
- Using a slotted spoon, scoop the tomatoes out of the pork cooking pot.
- Discard bay leaves. Add as much (or all) of the stock left in the pan to make a thick, moist stew. Serve.
Every Tuesday, in my French class, the first thing we do is recount what we did over the weekend.
Most Tuesdays most of us say ‘rien de spécial’ – nothing special.
We then proceed to tell about working in gardens or painting ceilings or trimming hedges or (as in my case) working on the computer.
Occasionally, we are asked what we will do on our vacation….. Every 7 or 8 weeks we have a 2 week school holiday, along with all of the other students in France.
The answer to that question is the same….. ‘rien de spécial’.
Our teacher always looks surprised. She works all day long, 5 days a week.
We try to explain that she has a holiday, 2 weeks off.
We have 2 half-days off….. Hardly anything to get excited about.
That’s a long, round-about way of saying that I have nothing interesting to say today.
Happy Easter!
Last update on April 5, 2015
Happy Easter to you!
I no longer cook with chickpeas. I’ll put them on my salad, but about a year ago, I tried a recipe I’d found that had a wonderful picture, lots of garlic and rave reviews with chickpeas being the main ingredient. I followed the recipe exactly (always do the first time) and I am by no means an inexperienced cook, but what I ended up with was a gray, gooey mess. It was just awful. The thought now of anything other than ‘raw’ on my salad is…ugh. So, I’m going to make this, but omit the chickpeas if it’s all the same 🙂
I love that pork dish but I will have to put that recipe on hold !!
nightsmusic, I don’t use them often, so I always use canned and I’ve never had a problem. If you like them, just add them at the least minute.
Kate, I’d miss pork – is the lamb wonderful? Goat? You could do it with beef.
This pork dish is an heavenly combo flavors but according to my taste, there’re not enough vegetables (I prefer vegetables to meat…). I think some extra zucchini should be perfect!