The exact ingredients of this southern French speciality are hotly debated with recipes often interpreted with a local spin. What’s undisputed is that it’s a great way to use up some of the less-popular cuts of meat and can be bulked out with pulses should you desire.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 50g lard or 3tbsp vegetable oil
- 750g pork neck fillet, cut into rough 3cm cubes
- 140-200g whole piece of streaky bacon, cut into 2cm chunks
- 1½ tbsp flour
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large onions, peeled, halved and finely chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 tsp tomato purée
- 3-4 good-quality, meaty/Toulouse-style sausages, lightly grilled
- 200g dried carling peas (maple peas) soaked overnight in plenty of cold water
- Salt
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- A few sprigs of thyme
- 2 litres beef or chicken stock
For the topping:
- 30-40g fresh white breadcrumbs
- 20-30g pork crackling, crushed up
Method
- Drain and rinse the carling peas, place them in a saucepan with the salt, the bicarbonate of soda and cover well with water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for about an hour, or until they are tender, then drain.
- Heat the lard or oil in a heavy-based frying pan. Season the pork neck with salt and pepper, lightly flour and fry quickly on a high heat until nicely coloured all over. Remove the pieces of pork and place on a plate. Fry the pieces of bacon on a high heat until coloured and transfer to the plate with the pork.
- Add the onions, garlic and thyme to the pan and cook gently over a low heat for 2-3 minutes until they soften, then transfer to a heavy-based saucepan. Add the rest of the flour and tomato purée and stir well, then gradually stir or whisk in the stock. Add the drained peas, pork neck and bacon, season lightly and simmer for 40 minutes, skimming and reserving the fat in a pot. Add the sausages and continue simmering for another 15 minutes or so, or until the pork is tender and the sauce has thickened and coated the meats.
- Mix the breadcrumbs, pork crackling and a little of the skimmed fat together, transfer the meats and sauce to an ovenproof dish, scatter the breadcrumb mixture on top and lightly brown under a medium grill or in a moderate oven.
Wine recommendations
This dish is so easy to pair with a wide range of full, fruity reds. The big-boned wines of south-west France are natural bedfellows as are the rich, ripe flavours of the Rhône. We predict reds that have a lighter touch will be the go-to gastronomic bottles of the future – wines like Warwick’s First Lady from the Cape and our Generation Series Vinsobres which is ripe-tasting but not heavy.
