Tasty Tuesdays - Paprika Pork (BBC GoodFood)

Hello and welcome back to my kitchen! Today I was meant to be bringing you a classic comfort dish for this dreary season from the wonderful Jamie Oliver – I own two of his cookbooks and they are fast becoming my culinary bibles – BUT, I fell foul of my own cack-handed cookery and ended up dropping most of it on the floor (and down my jeans, and on the rug). Sooooo instead I present to you – without one of my tasteful presentation shots (you will have to make do with the photo from the book) – Good Food Magazine’s Paprika Pork, from Orlando Murrin’s book ‘101 Simple Suppers – Tried and Tested Recipes’.

Now, when anyone asks me what my favourite meat is, it’s usually easy because, apart from chicken and fish (and occasionally lamb), I could happily go vegetarian. Following various failures to properly cook beef joints, coupled with today’s fiasco with what was supposed to be a delightful sausage cassoulet, I have realised that I rarely enjoy beef or pork products. And yet, this recipe remains a quick and tasty staple dish in my repertoire.

You start by gently softening 3 sliced red onions in a pan with some oil, a process which is well worth the time it takes because these onions will be beautifully rich by the end, before adding the diced pork. One of the main differences, which I should one day rectify, is that I use individual pork chops instead of the stated pork fillet – usually about 8-10 regular sized chops trimmed of fat for 4 people (trust me, you’ll need that many). Once these begin to brown, you add the two key ingredients: paprika and stock. As the recipe doesn’t state sweet or smoked paprika, you can use whichever you have, but I prefer sweet paprika because it enhances the natural sweetness of the onions. The stock, meanwhile, can be either chicken or vegetable, but I usually add a rich beef stock pot (Knorr or Oxo) as well to really boost the intensity of flavour which builds in the next step. All you need to do is cover it and let it sit just below boiling to soften the meat, infuse it with flavour, and allow the sauce to thicken.

If, during this step, the mixture gets too dry and sticks to the pan, just add a few splashes of water (or red wine, if you have it – I have yet to try this myself). Then all that’s left is to add the crème fraiche, garnish with fresh chopped parsley (flat leaf or curly, it’s up to you) and serve with rice and the green vegetable(s) of your choice (I usually pick broccoli but green beans, wilted spinach, or a kale salad would work just as well). And hopefully yours stays in the pan until it’s ready to be eaten!

PAPRIKA PORK (serves 4)

•      2 tbsp olive oil
•      3 onions, thinly sliced
•      600g/1lb 5oz pork fillet
•      2 tbsp paprika
•      300ml/ ½ pint chicken or vegetable stock
•      100ml crème fraiche (about half a carton)
•      Freshly chopped parsley, to serve
•      Rice and a green vegetable, to serve

1.       Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan, add the onions and fry for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly coloured.

2.       Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces, then add to the pan and stir over a fairly high heat to seal and brown all over. Stir in the paprika, cook briefly, then add the stock and bring to the boil.

3.       Cover and cook for 30-35 minutes, until the pork is tender. Stir in the crème fraiche and simmer for a further 2 minutes. Sprinkle parsley over the pork, before serving with rice and a green vegetable.