Sweet parsnips work well with pork in this one pot autumnal warmer – it really needs little or no accompaniment
INGREDIENT :
6 tbsp vegetable oil
900g diced pork
2 small onions, finely sliced
1 tbsp plain flour
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
225g ready-to-eat dried apricot
finely grated zest 1 lemon
finely grated zest 1 orange
2 Cox's apples, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp each finely chopped fresh thyme, rosemary and sage
good pinch of curry powder
½ tsp ground fennel seed
½ bottle red wine
600ml vegetable stock
650g parsnip
200g self-raising flour
85g shredded suet
50g chilled butter, grated
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
beaten egg, to glaze
RECIPE DIRECTION :
For the filling, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan and fry the pork in small batches for 4-5 minutes until just browned, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onions to the pan and fry for 5-6 minutes until soft and golden. Return the pork to the pan and sprinkle in the flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring well.
Add the celery, apricots, lemon and orange zest, apples, garlic, herbs and spices. Pour in the wine and stock and bring to simmering point, then cover and gently cook for 11⁄4 hours or until the pork is tender. Remove from the heat.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6/fan oven 180C. Peel and cut the parsnips into 2.5cm/1in dice. Put the remaining oil in a roasting tin and put in the oven for 5 minutes until hot. Tip the parsnip chunks into the roasting tin and coat in the hot oil. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes until cooked through and golden brown. Drain and set aside. When the pork is tender, stir in the parsnips. Spoon into a 2 litre/31⁄2 pint ovenproof dish and leave to cool completely.
For the cobbler crust, sift the flour and season. Add the suet, butter and parsley and lightly mix in with a fork. Make a well in the centre, then add the lemon zest and juice and gently bring together to make a soft and pliable dough. If it is too dry, add a little cold water, but don’t knead the dough or it will become tough. Reduce the temperature to 180C/Gas 4/fan oven 160C.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 5mm/1⁄4in thick. Cut the dough into rounds using a 7.5cm/3in pastry cutter. Re-roll the trimmings and cut out more rounds until all the dough is used up. Arrange the circles of dough so that they slightly overlap on top.
Brush the dough with beaten egg and bake in the oven for 45 minutes until the crust is golden.
