Delia

Spanish Braised Pork with Potatoes and Olives

This is a new version of a recipe originally published in 1978 – the pork slowly braises in tomatoes and red wine, absorbing the flavour of the olives. Because I now cook potatoes in with it, all it needs is a green vegetable or a salad for a complete meal. I started off stoning the olives, but I now prefer them whole, as they look far nicer.

Serves 4-6

This recipe is taken from How to Cook Book Two and The Delia Collection Pork

Spanish Braised Pork with Potatoes and Olives
Ingredients
 2lb (900g) British pork, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
 1 lb (450 g) salad potatoes, halved if large
 1½ oz (40 g) black olives
 1½ oz (40 g) green olives
 1 lb (450 g) ripe red tomatoes
 2 tablespoons olive oil
 2 medium onions, peeled and sliced into half-moon shapes
 1 large red pepper, deseeded and sliced into 1¼ inch (3 cm) strips
 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
 1 heaped teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, plus a few small sprigs
 10 fl oz (275 ml) red wine
 2 bay leaves
 salt and freshly milled black pepper
 Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275F (140C)
Equipment
You will also need a lidded flameproof casserole with a capacity of 6 pints (3.5 litres).

Method

First, skin the tomatoes: pour boiling water over them and leave them for exactly 1 minute before draining and slipping off their skins, then roughly chop them. Now heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in the casserole over a high heat, pat the cubes of pork with kitchen paper and brown them on all sides, about 6 pieces at a time, removing them to a plate as they're browned.

Then, keeping the heat high, add the rest of the oil, then the onions and pepper, and brown them a little at the edges – about 6 minutes. 

Now add the garlic, stir that around for about 1 minute, then return the browned meat to the casserole and add all the thyme, tomatoes, red wine, olives and bay leaves. Bring everything up to a gentle simmer, seasoning well, then put the lid on and transfer the casserole to the middle shelf of the oven for 1¼ hours. 

After that, add the potatoes, cover the pan again and cook for a further 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
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