Four dishes, cook just once: Alex Bluett's pork belly, black bean and chorizo stew
A warming black bean, chorizo and pork belly stew with crispy crackling is a sumptuous centrepiece that can also give life during your busy week to a quick lunchtime burrito, a spicy Mexican tamale pie and a 'sloppy joe' pork belly bun
Pork belly and black bean stew with crispy skin and spring onion. Photograph: Kristin Perers for the Guardian
Pork belly, black beans and chorizo combine to make a great winter warmer similar to a Brazilian feijoada, with hints of chilli, thyme and chipotle – and the leftovers can be used in a number of ways to create three meals that rival the original dish. Pork belly is my favourite cut for this stew but you can happily swap it for pork shoulder, beef shin, cheek or even oxtail. This recipe makes enough to create the three leftover meals plus a few portions to hide away in your freezer for a rainy day.
The main event: Pork belly and black bean stew with crispy skin and spring onion (above)
Using the crispy pork skin to garnish the stew lifts the look of the finished dish and gives it a great taste and texture combination. But you can leave this out for a very easy one-pot wonder.
Serves 4 (with lots of leftovers)
- 2kg pork belly, skin removed and diced into 2.5cm pieces
- 4 spring onions, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 250g chorizo, chopped into 2.5cm chunks
- 400g black beans, soaked overnight and cooked until just tender
- 4 medium onion, diced
- 4 celery stalks, diced
- 4 carrots, diced
- 1 head of garlic, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp chipotle paste
- 3 tbsp chilli powder
- 3 tbsp ground cumin
- 10 sprigs thyme, leaves only
- 5 sprigs rosemary, leaves only
- 1 pint heavy ale/porter
- 1 pint chicken stock
- 3 tins tomatoes
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- Sour cream, to serve
- Bread or steamed rice, to serve
1 To prepare the crispy skin and spring onion, ask your butcher to remove the pork skin from the belly or carefully do it yourself with a very sharp knife, making sure there is no meat left on the skin.
2 Put the pork skin in a pan of cold water and bring to a low simmer for 45 minutes. Remove the skin from the water with tongs, sprinkle with a little salt, wrap in a clean tea towel and allow it to dry out for 30 minutes.
3 Preheat the oven to 210C/410F/gas mark 6. Remove the pork skin from the towel, lightly score with a very sharp knife, sprinkle with a little more salt and place on a baking sheet. Put in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. The skin should be crunchy and bubbly with no rubbery bits.
4 Once cool, chop roughly into a very rough crumb and mix with the chopped spring onions.
5 To make the stew, preheat the oven to 160C/325F/gas mark 3 – or alternatively you can use a slow cooker – I'd leave this dish in for 6-7 hours). Heat the rapeseed oil in a large heavy-based casserole and quickly brown off the pork belly and chorizo. Remove the meat and reserve. Throw the black beans, onions, celery and carrots into the oil and sweat off for 5 minutes.
6 Add the garlic, tomato paste, chipotle paste, chilli powder, cumin, thyme and rosemary. Sweat off for a further 5 minutes. Add the beer, chicken stock, dijon mustard and tinned tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the pork belly, beans and chorizo, cover with a lid and put in the oven for 3 hours, until the meat is falling apart.
7 Remove from the oven, taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with the crispy pork and spring onion crumbs and serve with a dollop of sour cream and crusty bread or over steamed rice.
The spicy supper: Tamale pie with cornbread topper and cheddar
Not strictly traditional but still delicious, this Cazuela de Tamale is a filling and warming use of the leftover stew that goes really well with a light green salad and a generous dollop of sour cream.
A filling and warming use of the leftover stew. Photograph: Kristin Perers for the Guardian
Serves 4
For the cornbread
- 250g self-raising flour
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 110g polenta/cornmeal
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 250ml buttermilk
- 80ml rapeseed oil
For the pie
- 1.5kg pork belly and blackbean stew
- 100g cheddar, grated
- 10 sprigs thyme, leaves only
1 First, prepare the topping. Sieve the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Add the polenta. Mix the eggs, buttermilk and rapeseed oil into the dry mix thoroughly.
2 To assemble the pie, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. In a pie dish, spread out the stew. Pour over the cornbread mix and sprinkle with the grated cheese and thyme leaves. Put in the oven and bake for 50 minutes until the filling is piping hot and the dough cooked through.
The easy midweek lunch: Chipotle pork burrito with avocado and spicy rice
Using the leftover stew as the base for this burrito means you can skip the lengthy cooking times of traditional pork fillings and go directly to a delicious midweek meal.
Midweek meal: chipotle pork burrito with avocado and spicy rice. Photograph: Kristin Perers for the Guardian
Serves 2
- 2 heaped tbsp sour cream
- 1 tbsp chipotle paste
- 2 tortilla wraps
- 12 slices pickled jalepeno
- 50g grated cheddar
- A handful of cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 200g pork belly and black bean stew
For the rice
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 200g rice
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 500ml chicken stock
- Salt and black pepper
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. In a heavy-based pan, fry the onion and garlic in the oil. Add the rice and toast it for a while. Add the spices and fry for another couple of minutes. Add the chicken stock and continue to cook the rice, constantly stirring until it has absorbed most of the liquid.
2 Place a lid on to the pan and transfer to the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully fork through the rice to fluff it up.
3 To build the burrito, mix the sour cream and chipotle paste together and spread on to each of the tortilla wraps. Share out the jalepenos, cheddar, cherry tomatoes and avocado. Place some rice on each tortilla wrap and top with the pork stew. Make sure you tightly wrap before serving.
The sumptuous sarnie: Pork belly in a bun with simple red cabbage slaw
Finally, "The Sloppy Joe". The red cabbage slaw recipe makes too much for two buns, but that's a good thing: it's delicious with almost anything from a cheese sandwich to a fillet of smoked mackerel.
The 'Sloppy Joe' ... Pork belly in a bun with simple red cabbage slaw. Photograph: Kristin Perers for the Guardian
Makes 2
- 300g pork belly and blackbean stew
- 2 burger buns
For the slaw
- 1 medium red cabbage
- 1 medium red onion
- 150g mayonnaise
- 1 heap tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 heap tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 To make the slaw, cut the cabbage in half and remove any older leaves. Slice the cabbage and red onion either by hand or by using a mandolin. Sprinkle with a little salt and allow to soften for 15-20 minutes. Squeeze out any moisture from the cabbage and onion and mix with the mayonnaise, mustards and parsley.
2 To assemble the buns, reheat the stew and toast the buns. Heap on the stew and top with as much slaw as you can handle. Close the bun, make sure you're not wearing any fancy clothes and tuck in.
• Alex Bluett is the head of food at Friska in Bristol. Twitter: @alexbluett