Looking for a Mediterranean winter warmer? This is absolutely up your street. All the flavours of Spain without a cancelled airline booking!
Melt in the mouth pork cheeks with a sticky sherry sauce, served with a fluffy smoked garlic butter bean mash and a crunchy gremolata topping of almonds, garlic lemon and parsley.
Sounds complicated? Let me tell you this couldn’t be simpler!
Here's what you'll need....
Ingredients for pork
1.2kg Iberico pork cheeks available from The Gourmet Market
50g dried prunes
2 large roughly chopped carrots
2 small red onions, roughly chopped
4 tbsp Pedro ximenez sherry base/sauce available from The Gourmet Market
1 small glass ximenez (sweet Spanish sherry)
300ml pork stock (a cube will do)
2 sticks celery roughly chopped
2 fat garlic cloves
80g pancetta (or small pack)
4 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp smoked paprika available from The Gourmet Market
Ingredients for Butter bean mash
Good glug of good quality Spanish olive oil available from The Gourmet Market
2 large jars (800g) giant butter beans available from The Gourmet Market
2 cloves chopped smoked garlic
Pinch sea salt
Ingredients for Gremolata topping
Good handful of chopped flat leaf parsley
50g finely chopped almonds
1 finely chopped garlic clove
Grated Zest from 1 lemon
Here's how..........
Pork cheek Method
Pre heat oven to 160c
Firstly trim any obvious sinew or silver-skin from the pork cheeks, try not to remove too much fat, there’s loads of flavour in there!
Dust the cheeks in flour and smoked paprika, then shallow fry in hot veg oil until nicely browned both sides.
Repeat until all the cheeks are done, now add them to an oven proof casserole dish.
Now in the same frying pan add the pancetta and fry until the fat is crisp, add to pork cheeks.
Add garlic, onions, carrots and celery to the frying pan with the pancetta fat and sauté until beginning to soften, add prunes, sherry and sherry base. Use your spoon to deglaze the pan and add everything to the casserole dish with the pork cheeks.
Top up the dish with stock until almost covered.
Place lid on your dish and cook on 160 for 3 hours.
Remove pork cheeks carefully onto a warm dish then pass the sauce through a fine sieve and reduce until glossy and dark.
Butterbean mash method
Heat a good glug of olive oil in a large saucepan, add chopped smoked garlic and VERY gently sauté. (don’t colour)
Add butterbeans and continue to heat through.
Once hot use a potato masher and mash to your desired consistency ( I like it chunky)
If you feel its too dry just add some boiling water or hot milk for extra creaminess.
Season to taste.
Gremolata topping
Finely chop almonds, and toast for a couple of minutes, mix with lemon zest, and chopped parsley.
To assemble add a good quantity of butter bean mash to a warm plate, add 2/3 sticky cheeks, drizzle with reduced sauce then top with gremolata.
For 10% DISCOUNT on your first order with The Gourmet market
simply quote FIRST TIME when you place your order….HAPPY SHOPPING!
Buen Provecho!
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