Belly Pork, Chorizo and Bean Cassoulet

This recipe is always a winner for any occasion from a simple supper to a decadent dinner party. Slow cooking the pork for a couple of hours renders the fat so you end up with  beautifully tender and soft meat suitable for any Jack Sprat.

This recipe will feed 8-10 but you can easily halve the quantities to serve 4 or just make a big batch and freeze it.

Ingredients


2 red onions, finely diced
5 large cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
1½ red peppers, roughly cut into inch sized chunks
1½ kg belly pork, skin and ribs removed, cut into inch sized chunks
260g chorizo, halved lengthways and then cut into chunks
400g baby plum tomatoes
2 tblsp smoked paprika
salt, pepper and chilli flakes, to taste
½ bottle red wine
1 tin chopped tomatoes
300ml boiling water
600g approx (drained weight) of mixed beans, (e.g. cannellini, flageolet, haricot, butter beans)
a bunch of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Depending on how big your casserole dishes are, you may need to divide the mixture between 2 for this recipe. However make sure you stir the mixture altogether before serving, to ensure an evenly flavoured cassoulet.

Method

• Preheat the oven to Fan 140°C.
• In a large casserole dish over a low to medium heat, fry off the red onions in a little olive oil for 6-8 minutes until soft, adding the garlic in the last few minutes.
• Add the red pepper and fry for a further few minutes before removing the contents from the pan and put to one side.
• Turn the heat up to high, add a splash more olive oil, before adding the diced belly pork. Stir the meat around the pan until light brown all over.
• Add the chorizo to the pan and stir for a few minutes until it starts to release it’s red oils.
• Return the onion, garlic and pepper to the pan along with the baby plum tomatoes and paprika.
• Scatter over some salt, pepper and dried chilli flakes and give everything a really good stir.
• Pour over the red wine, chopped tomatoes and boiling water.
• Bring to the boil before putting a lid on and popping in the oven for an 1½ hours.
• Remove the casserole dish from the oven and add the beans (which should be drained and rinsed).
• Stir the beans through and return the dish to the oven without the lid for a further 30 minutes.
• After the 30 minutes, give the cassoulet a final stir and check the seasoning before serving up and scattering with parsley.
• Serve with salad and crusty bread.