Pork and Agen prunes
Smoked Tofu with Agen Prunes (v)
The prunes used in this recipe are widely available here and are grown around Agen, a commune in Aquitaine, South West France. Here I use any beer that is labelled brun or ambre. This is a spicy dish with all the heat coming from the black pepper – you may want to adjust how much you add to the marinade, the more finely crushed the peppercorns, the hotter the final dish.
This dish made with smoked Tofu gives a complementary vegetarian version - same peppery taste but no meat.
Serves 4
Marinade:
Follow the above recipe substituting cubed smoked tofu for the pork, marinade in the same way. No need to brown the tofu or cook for as long in the oven. The flavour is still good and you should still get the rich sauce - the prunes are the magic ingredient
This dish made with smoked Tofu gives a complementary vegetarian version - same peppery taste but no meat.
Serves 4
Marinade:
- 2 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 garlic cloves – crushed
- 1 tbsp cane sugar
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 600g pork, cut into cubes ( ~400g of Smoked Tofu - available here at Bio Shops)
- 1tbsp oil (olive or rapeseed)
- 2 onions, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp corn flour
- 200ml strong beer
- 200ml vegetable stock
- 15 stoned prunes, halved (to save time by the prunes already stoned - dénoyautées
- For the marinade, combine the crushed peppercorns, herbs, garlic, suga r and vinegar in a shallow dish
- Add the pork cubes to the dish, rub the marinade into the meat, cover and leave to marinate overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 180 ̊ C
- Heat the oil in an ovenproof casserole and cook the onion overa gentle heat until soft, add the pork and cook until lightly brown on all sides.
- Mix the corn flour with a little of the beer and add to the pan, cook for a short time then add the rest of the beer and the stock, bring to a simmer. Add the prunes.
- Cover and transfer to the oven and cook for about 2 hours until the meat is tender and the colour of the sauce is a deep brown. If the sauce is too thin remove the lid of the casserole and cook for a further 30 mins until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
- Serve with rice and/or green beans
Follow the above recipe substituting cubed smoked tofu for the pork, marinade in the same way. No need to brown the tofu or cook for as long in the oven. The flavour is still good and you should still get the rich sauce - the prunes are the magic ingredient