Pork and Cannelini Beans

Pork and Beans — Pork and Cannelini beans

A SIMPLE BOWL OF SUNSHINE FOR A DREARY DAY!

This is unashamedly another one of my ‘accidental’ dishes it was thrown together whilst one part of my brain was trying to figure out how much time I had to get back out of the house and get back into town to the Martial Arts class I teach and the other half was thinking about bed….the great big lovely warm cosy thing I just left about 5 minutes ago to write this blog post…….

The result was a pretty dam fine thing…whatever the hell it might be, I honestly struggle to put a name to it! But maybe that’s the point, why should it have a name at all? Why should it be categorised? This dish is the coming together of a few things that make up one that I like a lot and Clare greedily scoffed finishing up with an Oliver Twist look on her face.

So maybe that’s the other point is cooking as much about making someone feel good (including yourself obviously) as much as being a expert alchemist in the kitchen? Friends often tell me they can’t cook simply because they don’t know “what goes with what”…well….to them I say…”if it feels good do it…if it tastes good eat it”.

Pork, Beans and all that Jazz – serving two

1/2 Pork Fillet (cubed and seasoned well)

6 baby courgettes roughly

6-8 cherry tomatoes (1/2’d and seeded)

1 tin Cannelini beans (drained and washed)

handful of button mushrooms

Good squirt of tomato puree

500mls of chicken stock

2 tps smoked paprika

1 tps chili powder

2 cloves garlic minced

Salt and cracked black pepper

Splash of white wine vinegar

1 tbs heavy cream (or Creme Fraiche fat arse)

Another one pan wonder this!

Oil up a deep pan and get it smokin’ hot – sling in the pork and cook through, remove, set aside then in with the courgette and mushrooms – let them cook out for 5 minutes then back in with the pork.

Next bounce in the tomato puree – a good manly squirt and cook out a little (loosen with the white wine vinegar, another manly splash)

Finally add the remaining ingredients – beans, cherry tomatoes, paprika, chilli and garlic. Add the stock, stir in the cream and leave to simmer for 30minutes or until the beans are soft but not breaking up.

Serve with another dollop of cream…or Creme Fraiche – Call this whatever you will but it will blow your socks off – it is essentially a spring Pork and Bean stew!