Spanish Pork Ragu

I have made this recipe for a pork ragu before for my family but the last time I made it I adapted it to become a Spanish pork ragu. 

There are flavours in the sauce that I associate with Spanish cooking and I happened to  have a small bottle of dry Sherry in the fridge which needed to be used……

Ever since eating at Pizarro I have developed a taste for Sherry and on meeting up with some blogging friends recently at Condesa, I realised I wasn’t the only one. 

A few of us there enjoyed sipping some Manzanilla whilst munching on delicious olives, almonds and Spanish cured meats and cheeses. 

As a result of which I went and bought a bottle of Sherry to have as a pre-dinner drink at home. I love the slight saltiness of it which goes so perfectly  with olives and almonds both of which I love, particularly the Spanish Marcona almonds which are unbelievably tasty

So, this little bottle of Sherry inspired me to turn a regular meat based ragu into a sauce with a Spanish twist. Pork happens to be my favourite meat and it works so well with the paprika, Rosemary, Bay leaves and Sherry that I make it far more than I do my standard beef/veal pasta sauce. Fortunately my family love it as much as me  and the best thing is you can leave it in the oven to tick away for 3 or 4 hours. I love food like this and I hope you do too

Ingredients 

-4tbsp olive oil,

-2 onions finely chopped,

-500g (approx) of pork shoulder chopped into bite size pieces,

-3 sticks of celery finely chopped,

-3 carrots peeled & finely chopped,

-2 garlic cloves peeled & finely chopped,

-1tbsp paprika or smoked paprika,

-A few Bay leaves,

-A sprig of Rosemary finely chopped,

-A large glass of dry or medium Sherry,

-A tin of peeled or chopped tinned tomatoes,

-A cup of water or chicken stock.

 Instructions

1. Heat 2tbsp of the oil in a large oven-proof casserole pan (which has a tight fitting lid) and fry the onions on a medium heat for about 5 minutes,

2. Add the chopped celery,carrot and garlic to the onions and fry for a further 5 minutes,

3. In a large frying pan add the other 2tbsp of oil and fry the pork shoulder on a high heat to brown and seal the meat. Season it well then transfer it to the frying vegetable mixture in the casserole,

4. Add the paprika, Bay, Rosemary and seasoning to the casserole. Continue to cook on a gentle heat,

5. In the frying pan you cooked the pork in, turn the heat back on and add the Sherry in order to de-glaze the pan and collect all the meat juices. Let it bubble for 2 minutes on a high heat before adding the Sherry to the casserole dish.

6. Add in the tinned tomatoes and the water/stock and bring the mixture to the boil,

7. Next, put the lid on the casserole and transfer the dish to a low oven, 140 degrees, for 3 to 4 hours,

8. Remove fro the oven and serve with the accompaniment of your choice.

 Notes

This is a perfect family dish, great to make if you are having friends over and want to make something that can cook away slowly in the oven while you enjoy yourself. It tastes even better the next day!