A recipe by Omar Allibhoy, Head Chef at El Pirata de Tapas and protégé of El Bulli’s Ferran Adria. This dish takes a fair amount of preparation and a long, slow cooking time. But it’s absolutely worth it for the delicate softness of the cheeks and really brings out the flavours.
Ingredients
- 12 pork cheeks (between 600-800g in total)
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stick
- 1 leek
- 1 tomato
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 sprigs tarragon
- 1 bottle red wine, whatever style you have to hand
- 2 litres chicken stock
- 100ml extra virgin olive oil
- 12 new potatoes
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Method
- 1. Marinate the pork cheeks in the red wine for 24 hours. Less is fine, but the longer the better.
- 2. Drain the pork cheeks and reserve the red wine. Gently sear the cheeks in the olive oil then set aside.
- 3. Combine the onion, carrot, celery, leek and tomato in a hot pan and caramelise on full heat. When caramelised, add the pork cheeks and red wine. Reduce the volume by about half.
- 4. Add the chicken stock, herbs and sugar. Slowly braise for three to four hours on a low heat. Once the meat is tender, remove the pork cheeks and set them aside.
- 5. Further reduce the sauce until it is very thick and with an almost firm texture.
- 6. Now confit the new potatoes in duck fat with herbs and crushed garlic for one hour over a very low heat. Do not allow it to bubble as this will ruin the texture.
- 7. To serve, pour the sauce over the cheeks, add the potatoes and enjoy.