Barbara-jo MacIntosh makes Molly Stevens’ Braised Pork with Cardamom and Apricots

For 20 years, Barbara-jo MacIntosh owned the iconic Vancouver-based cookbook store Books To Cooks. She opened it after selling her popular restaurant, and was a passionate supporter of chefs and publishers, and an inspiration to anyone who liked to cook.

For Sunday Night Dinner, Barbara-jo made one of her favourite dishes, from one of her all-time favourite cook books, ALL ABOUT BRAISING: THE ART OF UNCOMPLICATED COOKING, by Molly Stevens. If you’re excited by the thought of winter stews and braises this winter, I highly recommend this book. To buy the book, head to Molly Stevens’ website: http://MollyStevensCooks.com

The braised pork with cardamom and apricots that Barbara-jo made is elegant, classic, and simple. It’s a one-pot meal that’s perfect for Sunday night.

Braising is moist-heat cooking, where the food is cooked for a long period of time at a low temperature in a small amount of liquid. You can buy inexpensive cuts of meat and make them into mouthwatering dishes by braising them. And don’t forget vegetables! They are delicious braised, as well.

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Braised Pork with Cardamom and Apricots

One 4 1/2 to 5-pound boneless pork shoulder roast, preferably Boston butt

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium leek, white and pale green part only, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)

2 carrots, coarsely chopped

1 medium yellow onion (about 6 ounces), coarsely chopped

6 cardamom pods, husks split and discarded, seeds lightly crushed

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and bruised

3 strips orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler (each about 3 inches by 3/4 inch)

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup dried apricots (about 6 1/2 ounces)

Method

**Molly Stevens calls for apricot brandy and white wine in her recipe, but Barbara-jo only used white wine**

Heat the oven to 325 degrees

Trim any especially thick bits of fat from the pork, but do be sure to leave some. Roll and tie the pork (or have your butcher do it for you).

Pat the pork dry with paper towels. Season all over with salt and pepper. Pour the oil into a Dutch oven that will hold the pork snugly (4 to 5 quart works well), and heat over medium heat. Sear the pork on all sides, until deeply browned but not at all burnt, 15 to 20 minutes total. Transfer the pork to a plate.

Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat, and return the pot to medium heat. Add the leek, carrots, and onions, stir in the crushed cardamom, turmeric, and cayenne, and cook, stirring once or twice, until the vegetables begin to soften but do not take on much color, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, orange zest, and bay leaf and cook until the spices are quite fragrant, another 2 minutes.

Add the wine and let it boil for 4 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the pot. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Add the apricots and boil for another 2 minutes.

Place the pork on top of the vegetables and fruit. Add any accumulated juices from the plate. bring the liquid to a simmer and spoon some over the pork. Cover the meat with sheet of parchment paper, pressing down so that it almost touches the meat and the edges extend over the sides of the pot about an inch. Cover and slide the pot onto a shelf in the lower third of the oven to braise. Check that the liquid is simmering gently, every 30 minutes and give the pork a turn. If the liquid is simmering too aggressively, lower the oven heat 10 or 15 degrees. Continue to braise gently until the pork is fork-tender, about 2 hours in all.

Remove the pork from the pot and set it on a carving board or platter to catch the juices. Cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Return the pot to the top of the stove and skim off as much surface fat as you can with a wide spoon. If the sauce is very thin reduce it by boiling over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. It should be the consistency of a thick vinaigrette. Taste for salt and pepper. Pour any juices that have accumulated under the pork into the sauce, and stir.

Remove the strings from the pork, and carve into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Serve with sauce and apricots.

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