Italian Pork Stew with Summer Herbs

Name: Italian Pork Stew with Summer Herbs
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 8 h
Total time: 8 h 25 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 tbsp dried oregano; a pinch of caster sugar; 125 ml/4 fl oz/½ cup Vegetable Stock or ready-made stock, plus extra if needed; 1 tbsp dried thyme; 2–3 tbsp dried mint; 1 celery stick, finely chopped; 1 carrot, finely chopped; 250 ml/9 fl oz/1 cup passata; 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 1 onion, finely chopped; 750 g/1 lb 10 oz boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into large chunks; finely shredded mint or chopped parsley leaves, to serve; 400 g/14 oz tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 400 g/14 oz tinned plum tomatoes; soft polenta, to serve; 2 tbsp olive oil

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
9 hr

Appears in

I Love My Slow Cooker

By Beverly LeBlanc

Published 2012

About

Don’t be alarmed by the quantity of dried herbs in this recipe – it isn’t a typing error! After the stew simmers for eight hours, the herbs mellow and the flavour of mint shines through. I find this dish particularly welcome in the middle of winter, when dried herbs really come into their own.

Ingredients

750 g/1 lb 10 oz boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into large chunks

Europe
Italy
Main course
Gluten-free
Summer
Mediterranean

Method

Put the pork, chickpeas and plum tomatoes in the slow cooker.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion, carrot and celery and fry, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for a further 1–3 minutes until the onion is softened.

Add the passata, stock, dried herbs and sugar, then season with salt and pepper and bring to t