CRAVEN College’s Jamie Fletcher provides another of his favourite recipes. He has more than 10 years’ experience working in bars and restaurants, including a 15-month stint as a sous-chef in the south of France

PORK and bean combinations appear everywhere – think of a Cassoulet rich with duck and pork from the south of France, a Spanish Fabada with chorizo and morcilla or Boston Baked Beans – and the combination of slow cooked pork and beans, with extra flavour from herbs and other vegetables, is a common one all over the world.

This recipe for Pork, Chorizo and White Bean Braise, isn’t as time-consuming as cassoulet or as adventurous as a fabada but is just as delicious and won’t take you two days to make. You can use dried beans which have been soaked according to the packet instructions or cheat and open a tin. I usually cheat.

This serves two to three people, with leftovers.

INGREDIENTS

500g diced pork shoulder

1 small chorizo sausage

1 onion

3 sticks celery

1 tin cannellini beans

500ml hot stock or water

50 ml freshly-squeezed orange juice

glass white wine

2 tbsp olive oil

METHOD

Preheat the oven to Gas 4 180 degrees C

Peel and dice the onion finely chop the garlic and slice the chorizo into thick circles or half-moons – about 1cm.

Get a good ovenproof frying pan hot and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Fry the diced pork until nicely brown. Remove and tip onto a plate.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and fry the chorizo gently until the red fat starts to run. Now add the chopped celery, onion and garlic and continue to cook until the veg has started to soften and turn translucent – about five minutes.

Once the veg has started to colour, return the seared pork to the pan, whack the heat up and add the glass of wine and the orange juice and let everything bubble away for a minute or so. Pour in the stock (or water if using), bring back to the boil and then put into the oven for about 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, if you’re using dried beans, cook according to the instructions until tender, drain and set aside.

After about an hour, remove the braise from the oven and check to see if the pork is tender. If not, put it back into the oven for another 15 minutes or so.

Just before serving, add the drained beans to the braise, stir through and return to the oven for a few minutes until the beans are warmed through. Season with salt if required.

Serve in deep bowls with good crusty bread to mop up the sauce and some steamed greens such as shredded savoy cabbage.