Pot-au-feu -with Pork

Pot-au-feu or pot on the fire is a typical world dish regardless of whether you are in Europe or Africa or Asia. Each country naturally has its own local cuisine and in Brittany famous for its pork as well as its seafood, you are more likely to see a pot-au-feu with ham or bacon or prosciutto (or even sausages called anduille) inside than anything else. In Ireland we have Irish Stew which was traditionally just potatoes and onions and a tiny bit of lamb if you were lucky enough to afford any. Mixing meats and vegetables in the past was a popular way to cook because you could combine lots of local ingredients into the one pot, it was easy to cook, serve and keep warm all day. One of the other great advantages was that you got two courses from the pot, the first - a soup if strained and the second the main course! Nothing was ever wasted! Today we are not so limited in our cooking modes but pot au feu is still a very popular dish. This is because of its versatility. One can add all sorts of vegetables to beef, pork, lamb, rabbit, pigeon, fish or seafoods. The options are only limited by resources and imagination! Here we will stick with pork because it is simply delicious and so easily available in Brittany. Also it's a dish where you can add both pommes and pommes de terre together with wonderful results! I normally ensure it is prepared (slowly) before going out on a five hour walk around the wonderful hills of the Mene!! I suggest you invite all your family and friends along for this dish serves up to 10 hungry guests

Ingredients

• 45 g butter or oil
• 1.1 kg boneless pork, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3-1/4 cloves garlic, minced
• 185 g onion, chopped
• 1 lt chicken broth
• 5 g salt (gurande) sea salt
  
• 5 g black pepper corns
  
• 0.5 g rosemary, crushed
• 0.3 g rubbed sage
• 1 small chili
  
• 1-2/3 bay leaf
• 3-1/4 cooking apples, cored and cubed
• 3-1/4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
  
• 425 g carrots, peeled and diced
• 425 g parsnips, peeled and diced.
  

Method

1. Melt the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until lightly browned on all sides. Stir in the garlic, black peppercorns, chili and onion, and continue to cook until the onion has softened, and the pork is firm, and no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
2. Place the pork and onions into a large saucepan. Pour in the chicken broth, and season with sea salt, rosemary, sage, and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Stir in the apples, potatoes,parsnips and carrots. Return to a simmer, then cook, uncovered until the parsnips and apples are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and serve with traditional home made local St Goueno cider!