PORK WITH PARSNIPS & CELERY IN CIDER   (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

2 tbsp olive oil

500g diced lean pork

a pinch of sea salt

a pinch or two of ground black pepper

1 onion, diced finely

2 celery sticks, chopped small

half a tsp dried thyme

half a tsp dried rosemary

half a tsp dried sage

1 large parsnip, peeled and sliced evenly

2 tbsp plain flour

500ml medium or dry cider

200ml stock (I used ham stock, but chicken, pork or veggie would do fine).

Method :

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan until very hot.  Add the pork (cooking in batches if needs be, so as not to overcrowd the pan), season with salt and pepper and fry until golden on at least two sides.  Remove the pork from the pan using a slotted spoon and decant into a casserole dish with a lid.

Replace the remains of the oil onto the heat and reduce the heat to moderate.

Add the onion, celery and herbs and fry until the onion is softened, but without colouring.

Add the parsnip pieces and fry to get some heat into them.

In a small bowl, mix the plain flour with a little of the cider - just enough to create a free running mixture.

Pour the remaining cider into the pan and add the stock.  Increase the heat under the pan and, while the liquid is heating, drizzle in the flour/cider mix.  Stir well to prevent lumps forming.

Continue to stir until the sauce thickens.  Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Decant into the casserole dish, stir to distribute the pork evenly then cover and place into a pre-heated oven at 180degC/350degF/Gas 4 for 1 hour.

At the end of the hour, give the contents of the casserole a stir and replace into the oven with the lid off.  The casserole can now continue to cook for a minimum of another half an hour, or as long as until the meat is tender and the parsnips cooked through.

Serve with mashed potato and steamed vegetables of your choice.

From http://jennyeatwellsrhubarbginger.blogspot.co.uk