Normandy pork casserole with cider and smoked bacon lardons Recipe

Pork casserole is comfort food at its best. But some pork casserole recipes can be a little heavy. If you want something that’s just as warming, but a bit lighter, try this refreshing Normandy pork casserole recipe. It’s delightfully tasty thanks to the aromatic combination of shallots, lardons and tarragon, and it doesn’t take long to prep either. It's a fabulous slow cooker recipe too.

HOW TO MAKE NORMANDY PORK CASSEROLE

Ingredients

• 50g (2oz) butter
• 1kg (2lb 4oz) shoulder of free-range British pork, cubed
• 200g (7oz) lardons or chunky streaky bacon, chopped
• 16 shallots, peeled and left whole
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 300ml (½pt) dry cider
• 300ml (½pt) chicken stock
• 6tbsp half-fat crème fraîche
• 2tbsp cornflour mixed with 2tbsp water
• 2tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2tbsp fresh tarragon leaves, finely chopped

You will need:

• large, flameproof casserole dish

Method

1. Heat the oven to 170 C, 150 C fan, 325 F, gas 3. Heat half the butter in the casserole dish, add half the pork, season and fry for about 10 minutes until thoroughly browned. Remove the meat from the casserole with a slotted spoon and reserve. Add the rest of the butter to the casserole and fry the rest of the pork for 10 minutes until evenly browned.
2. Meanwhile, in another pan, dry-fry the lardons until crispy. Remove, set aside, then fry the shallots, onion and celery for a few minutes, to soften slightly.
3. Combine all the pork, the lardons, shallots, onion and celery in the casserole. Pour over the cider and chicken stock to cover. Cover the dish and cook in the oven for 2 hours until the pork is tender.
4. Add the crème fraîche, cornflour mix, mustard and tarragon to the casserole. Heat on the hob and stir until the sauce has thickened slightly.