Italian Pork & Olives
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- More effort
- Serves 2
A wonderfully easy and light dish, heady with garlic & using seasonal British spinach.
Ingredients
For the Pork dish:
- 300g pork fillet, sliced
- 1 tbsp harissa paste
- 30g salted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 stick celery, finely chopped
- 1 large white onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and microplaned
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 50g bag baby spinach leaves
- 1/2 tsp caster sugar
- 1 cup pitted black olives
- 1/2 tsp maldon salt
- Good grinding black pepper
- Small handful fresh basil, finely chopped
- Small handful fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 anchovy fillet, rinsed
To serve:
- 300g pork fillet, sliced
- 1 tbsp harissa paste
- 30g salted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 stick celery, finely chopped
- 1 large white onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and microplaned
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 50g bag baby spinach leaves
- 1/2 tsp caster sugar
- 1 cup pitted black olives
- 1/2 tsp maldon salt
- Good grinding black pepper
- Small handful fresh basil, finely chopped
- Small handful fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 anchovy fillet, rinsed
- Zest and juice of 1/3 a lemon
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- Extra fresh basil and parsley, chopped
Method
- STEP 1Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan, and add the harissa paste and pork. Brown well on both sides: this should take a total of 5 minutes on a relatively high heat. Remove the pork with tongs, and set the pork aside.
- STEP 2Using the same pan, add the onion, celery, garlic and carrot, and a little more olive oil if you think necessary. Saute this for a good ten minutes: please ensure this is done properly, as you want the mix well softened.
- STEP 3Turn the heat up quite high after the ten minutes, and add the tinned tomatoes, olives, anchovy fillet and tomato paste and sugar. Allow to bubble furiously for at least a minute, as you keep stirring.
- STEP 4Turn the heat down after a minute, add the pork back to the pan, along with the herbs and seasoning, and simmer for an hour, on a low heat. Keep stirring every now and then to ensure it doesn’t stick to the pan. Half way through the cooking though, stir through the spinach leaves.
- STEP 5Just before serving add the lemon zest and juice, taste again for seasoning and adjust if necessary, and serve sprinkled with parmesan.
