Slow cooked pork with smoked paprika and lentils
Ingredients
800g lean pork chops
2 medium red onions
3 cloves of garlic
a handful of chestnut mushrooms
3 celery stalks
3 carrots
2 yellow and 1 green bell pepper
a packet of Ready to Eat Merchant Gourmet lentils
2 heaped tablespoons sweet smoked paprika
a splash of dry white wine
half a teaspoon of chilli flakes or 2 fresh chillies
500ml stock
salt and pepper
Sour cream to serve
Directions
- Heat up the oven to Gas Mark 3 / 160°C /325°F.
- Trim the pork chops of any fat and dice into 1 inch chunks. Brown the meat in 3 batches in a little vegetable oil in a very hot pan. Set aside.
- Add roughly chopped onions to the same pan, turn down the heat and sweat for 5 minutes until softened. Add finely sliced celery stalks, chunked carrots, quartered mushrooms and finely chopped chilli and garlic. Cover with a lid and stew for 10 minutes on low heat. Add a splash of white wine cook for half a minute to allow the alcohol to evaporate. Add the browned meat back into the pan, mix in the smoked paprika, add the stock and season with plenty of black pepper. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and transfer to a warm oven for 1.5 hours.
- Check the seasoning – add salt and pepper if needed. Add the bell peppers cut into 2 in pieces and put back in the oven for another half an hour.
- Finish off with the lentils – they will immediately thicken the sauce and add a mellow sweet flavour to the dish. Serve with potato rosti and a dollop of sour cream.