After three months in the UK, I'm really missing Spain, so our meals are tending to be very much Spanish oriented. Last week I picked up some lovely lean diced pork in Aldi, so I felt a Spanish meal coming on! As it was one of my 'cobbled together' specials, and I cooked it in the slow cooker, because we were out for the day and my brother was turning up to be fed in the evening, I can't give you exact timings and quantities, but then lots of Spanish food is cooked like that, isn't it?
Anyway, this is what I did:
First of all, I tossed the pork in equal quantities of seasoned cornflour and smoked paprika. I just flopped it in the dish, until it looked as if it would coat all the pork - 500 grams.
Then, I chopped up an onion, one yellow and one green pepper, and sliced a couple of large field mushrooms. I then browned the pork in some olive oil, then added the onions and peppers and cooked until the onions softened. Then it was in with the mushrooms, and a can of chopped tomatoes. If I'd been in Spain, it would have been fresh chopped tomatoes, but they're too expensive here.
I rinsed out the can with hot water, and added that, with a chicken stock cube, to the mix. A (large) glass of red wine, a bay leaf and a handful of fresh thyme completed the seasoning. I transferred the lot to the slow cooker, and cooked it on low for around 6 hours on the low setting. If I'd been at home while it was cooking, I'd have probably given it two hours in the oven, or just over an hour on the hob.
I served it up with English new potatoes and garden peas, but it would go well with rice. It was absolutely fantastic, and very Spanish tasting.
As usual, I forgot to photograph the dish before they all tucked in, so the image is similar, but not quite the same. My version was more red, as there was no cream in it, but you get the idea!
