Michael and Rachel's

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Pork and Cider Casserole

Updated: 12 Sep 2015

Ingredients

  • Approx. 720g pork shoulder, diced
  • 200g smoked streaky bacon, sliced
  • 400g shallots, peeled and left whole
  • 1 onion
  • 450ml dry cider
  • 450ml chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp dried sage
  • 4 sticks celery cut in chunky slices
  • 2 tbsp wholegrain dijon mustard

  • 4 tbsp creme fraiche

  • 30g plain flour + 30g butter for beurre manie

  • OR 2 tbsp cornflour and enough water to make a paste

  • Jacket potato / new potatoes / mashed potatoes

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 160C.
  2. In a large oven-safe pan, brown the bacon and pork shoulder pieces on the hob. Once browned, remove and set to one side.
  3. Saute the shallots, onion, and celery for a few minutes until just starting to colour.
  4. Add the meat back to the pan, along with the sage and a few twists of pepper. Stir to combine then add the cider and chicken stock. Make sure the meat is covered. Place a lid on the pan and place in the oven.
  5. Cook for about 2 hours, stirring halfway through.
  6. Remove from the oven and place on the hob on a medium heat. Stir through the mustard and creme fraiche. If using the beurre manie method, mix together the butter and flour until it makes a smooth paste then add this to the casserole and leave to simmer and thicken. If using cornflour, add water to make a paste and add this to the casserole, stirring continuously.
  7. Once thickened, check the seasoning and serve with mashed potatoes, new potatoes, or half a jacket potato. If additional veg is desired, broccoli would go well.

Makes enough for four dinner portions and one lunch portion.

N.B 'tip' from original recipe: if peeling lots of shallots, cover with boiled water in a heatproof bowl for 2 minutes. Then cool by running under cold water before trying to peel them.