Pork and Mushroom Ragout

Serves 6

This is a delicious pork stew recipe. One day, I got some pork cubes out of the freezer that needed to be used and got creative. As with most stews and ragouts, it takes a while to cook, but preparation is easy and most of the time is hands-off. Serve with buttered noodles, as in the similar and related recipes, or rice.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2-1/2 pounds lean pork cubes
• 1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 large celery stalk, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 pound button mushrooms, quartered
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon juniper berries
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup dry vermouth (can use dry white wine or additional chicken broth)
• 1/2 cup cream (see notes below)

Season the pork with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a stew pot over high heat. Add the pork in batches, browning all sides. Remove from pan. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add the carrot, celery and onion. Sauté until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté another 2 minutes. Return the pork to the pot. Add the flour, juniper, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, additional salt and pepper. Heat and stir until flour is well combined with the vegetables and meat. Add the chicken broth and vermouth. Stir well until thickened. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until the pork is very tender, about 1-1/2 hours, adding some water if the broth appears too thick. Taste for seasoning. Add the cream and cook an additional 5 minutes or until hot. Serve with buttered noodles or rice

Notes: The cream adds richness to the sauce, as well as helping to bring the flavors together. However, it can be omitted for a lighter, lower fat version that is equally delicious. This ragout is also very good reheated.