Recipe: Riojan Pork, Chorizo & Potato Pot
Rioja doesn’t just produce good plonk, says Monika Linto
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Looking for a warming hot pot recipe for the new season? This ‘Rancho Riojano: Riojan pork, chorizo and potato pot’ recipe by Monika Linto is just the ticket…
Rancho Riojano 017
On one occasion when I visited the Alejandro brothers, suppliers of our Riojan chorizo, they cooked this up outdoors on an open fire in a big pot- and generously gave me their recipe. It expands the famous Riojan potato and chorizo dish patatas ala riojana further into a bigger one-pot stew that includes pork chops, peppers, wine and mushrooms – in spring in Rioja, you find perrechicos (St George’s mushrooms), which are excellent. It makes a great weekend lunch with crusty bread and a good Riojan wine.
Riojan Pork, Chorizo & Potato Pot Recipe
Serves four to six
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 500g single pork ribs
- 300g cooking chorizo, roughly chopped
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 1 leek, finely chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed with the back of a knife
- 1 green pepper, finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes, grated
- 100ml white wine
- 800g potatoes, cut into uneven chunks
- 2tsp teaspoons pimentón dulce (sweet paprika)
- 2 choricero peppers, halved with stems and seeds removed
- 100g St George’s or chestnut mushrooms
- A few sprigs of thyme to garnish
Method
- Heat the oil in a large, wide, deep pan or casserole. Put in the ribs and chorizo until browned, then lift out and keep to one side.
- Put the onions and leek into the pan and cook gently for about five minutes, until softened and golden, then add the crushed garlic and the green pepper and continue to cook gently for another five minutes. Add the grated tomatoes and simmer for another ten minutes.
- Pour in the wine and bubble up to burn off the alcohol. Then turn down the heat and simmer for another five minutes.
- Add the potatoes and stir to ensure they are well coated, then return the ribs and chorizo to the pan, stir briefly, and add the paprika, 800ml of water and the choricero peppers. Lower the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes. Once the potatoes are tender, add the mushrooms and continue to cook for another 15 minutes.
- Serve each plate with a half of choricero pepper on top – the idea is to scoop out the flesh and mix it into the stew – and garnish with thyme.
