Pork Hock and Butterbean Stew

We spotted pork hocks in Waitrose on Saturday so grabbed one without knowing what we were going to do with it. A quick look in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s “Meat” book suggested it wasn’t much use for anything apart from flavouring stock. This didn’t seem quite right as I’m sure I’d seen other recipes where people has used the hock for both flavouring and eating.

A Google search confirmed my suspicion and threw up a few different ideas, we settled on a Spanish style stew. It turned out well; there was plenty of meat on the bone that was delicious and moist and the paprika gave a lovely sweet and smoky flavour. It wasn’t at all greasy or gelatinous as Hugh suggested.

Serves Three (two generous meals and one portion of lunch leftovers)

1 pork hock

1 large onion, sliced

Salt

1 red pepper, sliced

3 cloves garlic, sliced

Parsley stalks, chopped

Tablespoon paprika

Salt and pepper

125ml sherry

750ml chicken stock

150g butterbeans, soaked overnight

1 tin chopped tomatoes

Tomato puree

Bay leaf

Parsley, chopped, to serve

Start by covering the pork in cold water, bring to the boil and then drain. This removes any impurities.

Next, soften the onion, pepper and garlic with some salt for about 10 minutes. Add the parsley stalks and cook for a further five minutes before stirring in the paprika. Deglaze the pan with the sherry and allow to bubble for a minute or two.

Now add the rest of the ingredients, including the pork hock, bring to the boil and then simmer for two and a hlaf hours. Remove the pork hock, shred the meat and add this and the bone back to the pot. Cook for a further half an hour. You could cook it for longer but this is all the time we had. Just before serving, check for seasoning and add the chopped parsley.

Serve with plenty of crusty bread.