Hi guys! I’ve been missing you all but since I’m back at work even though my back is hurting as much as ever, I’ve spent most my afternoons konked out on the couch.  But I’ve managed, with the help of some peppery friends, to keep things colorful in my kitchen.

This pepper stew is exactly what home cooking should be—warm, comforting, sloppy, ugly, and something you’d never get in a restaurant.  It’s a barrage of peppers—fresh ones, roasted ones, spicy ones, and smoky ground ones.  If you can get your hands on any fresh ones still (I was surprised to find my local farm was still selling theirs) please make this stew.

Now that the weather’s gone cold, I think we may all need a little pep-me-up.  This is it.  I can’t promise it will cure a bad back, but it sure made me forget about my pains—for the length of dinnertime, at least.

Pepper Stew

adapted from Jamie Oliver

• 3 pound pork shoulder
• 2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 fresh small red chiles, deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 generously heaped tablespoons Spanish smoked paprika, plus a little extra for serving
• a small bunch of fresh thyme
• 5 fresh peppers, seeded and sliced
• 2 red peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded, and sliced
• 1 30 oz. can whole tomatoes
• 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Score the fat of the pork shoulder in a cross-hatch pattern.  In a large dutch oven add some olive oil and, when hot, the pork fat side down.  Let the fat of the pork render for 15 minutes, until browned.  Remove pork to a plate.

Add chiles, paprika, thyme, and fresh peppers to the dutch oven.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Add roasted peppers, tomatoes, vinegar.  Bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat and add pork back to the dutch oven, pushing it towards the bottom, so that it’s partially covered.  Cover and put in oven.

Cook for about 3 hours, or until the pork is very easily pulled apart with a fork.  Serve with rice or noodles and a dollop of sour cream if you like.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 3rd, 2008 at 5:11 pm and is filed under Dinner, Pork. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.