This mellow, fruitful casserole combines apples – the quintessential flavour of a British autumn – with tender pork, smooth dry cider and earthy sage to create a beautifully-balanced, comforting supper, less heavy going than traditional beef or lamb casseroles and gently easing us into heartier winter dishes-to-come.
Ingredients (serves 6)
1kg high-welfare pork shoulder, cut into chunks
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1-2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
500ml dry cider
200ml chicken or vegetable stock
2-3 small eating apples, cored and chopped into wedges
1-2 tbsp butter
1-2 tbsp Dijon mustard
4 tbsp double cream
2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
To serve: creamy mashed potato; buttered seasonal greens.
Method
Heat the oven to 170c/gas mark 3. Season the chopped pork with salt and black pepper, heat a little vegetable oil in a large casserole dish and brown the meat all over in batches, transferring the browned chunks to a plate as you go.
Add the onions, carrots and celery to the casserole dish and saute slowly until soft, adding the garlic to the pan for the last minute or so. Return the browned pork chunks to the dish followed by the wholegrain mustard, cider and stock. Stir well and bring to a gentle simmer before covering the pan with a lid and putting in the oven for around 3-3 ½ hours, or until the pork is tender.
Meanwhile, fry the apple wedges in the butter until lightly golden and set to one side. After the initial oven cooking time is up, take the casserole out of the oven, remove the lid and add the fried apples, Dijon mustard, cream and 1 tbsp of the chopped sage. Stir well and return to the oven for another 30 minutes.
To serve, stir the reserved chopped sage through the casserole and serve in warm bowls accompanied by the mashed potato and seasonal greens.
