Pork with Wild Garlic and Fennel
This pork dish is wonderful in its simplicity. The sauce with the sweetness of onions is light, completely delicious and the addition of wild garlic gives colour, distinctive mellow flavour and a little kiss of Spring.
Ingredients
1tbsp. olive oil
4 pork shoulder steaks
3 medium onions, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground coriander
2 fennel bulbs, fairly thinly sliced
280ml Vermouth Bianco
Handful wild garlic
Method
Heat a drop of olive oil in a sauté pan or deep frying pan with a lid on a moderate heat, add the pork steaks, brown them on both sides and set aside.
Put a little more oil to the same unwashed pan, lower the heat, add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook gently until they are beginning to soften.
Stir in the ground coriander and then the sliced fennel. Put the lid on the pan and continue to cook for two minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Return the pork to the pan and add the vermouth.
Bring the sauce up to simmering point, then turn the heat right down. Clamp the lid on and leave the pork simmering very gently for an hour and a quarter, or until the pork is meltingly soft
Stir the wild garlic into the sauce and serve.
Helpful Hints
I like to use quite a lot of onion because I love the sweetness it brings to the dish.
When adding the vermouth, the pork doesn't need to be submerged, but the liquid should reach at least halfway up the steaks. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to add (or subtract) a little liquid
For the best result, the pork should barely simmer when cooking on the hob. If you have the heat too high the meat will lose moisture and become less succulent.
Cook in the oven 160c if you prefer
