Hoegaarden Pork Belly Stew with Garden Veg

…aaand I’m back. Can’t believe it’s been nearly two years since I’ve posted something here! Since then I’ve moved into a new place with a kickass kitchen, and I’ve been cooking more than ever. Here’s hoping I find the time to post more of my recipes here.

This is a stew I came up with today, by combining leftover ingredients in my fridge. It’s adapted from various pork stew recipes I researched, and it’s a nod towards traditional Irish stews that use beer. The Hoegaarden really adds a lot of complexity to the flavour: sweet, slightly malty, and faint fruit accents.

The stew is perfect when it’s a cold and rainy day and you just want something tasty and hearty. The best part is that it’s really simple to make too! Feel free to make a huge pot of it and freeze individual portions, so when you come home after work and can’t be arsed to cook, you can just quickly defrost it in the microwave and eat it with some rice or a lovely crusty baguette.

Hoegaarden Pork Belly Stew with Garden Veg (makes for 3 portions)

500gm pork belly, trimmed of fat and cut into half-inch cubes/rectangles
2 large potatoes, cut into eighths
2 carrots, chopped into inch-wide slices
1 large stalk of celery, chopped into inch-wide slices
2 cups of chicken stock
1 bottle of Hoegaarden (330cl)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
3 tablespoons cooking sherry/Shaoxing/dry Martini
1/3 cup of chopped herbs

1. Fry the onion and garlic with a generous glug of olive oil, in a large saucepan. After a few minutes, when the onion starts to turn translucent, add the pork belly and sear the meat. While it’s cooking, sprinkle in about 2 tsp salt.

2. When the meat is fully browned, add in the cooking sherry. You can use shaoxing wine or any other dry alcohol (I used martini in this case). Stir the liquid around the bottom of the saucepan, scraping up any brown bits.

3. Add the chopped carrot, potato and celery. Add in the herbs too – I used thyme here. Toss the ingredients well with another 2 tsp of salt.

4. Pour in the chicken stock and half the bottle of Hoegaarden. There should be enough liquid to just cover the ingredients (if there isn’t, add more chicken stock or beer).

5. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat to low-medium. Let the mixture simmer away, uncovered, for about 30mins. Stir every five minutes or so.

6. When the mixture is reduced by a third, and the vegetables are nice and soft, it’s time to thicken it. In a separate bowl, mix the leftover Hoegaarden with the flour. Pour it into the saucepan and stir well. Taste and season further if needed.

7. Serve the stew with a dusting of cracked black pepper, and eat with a crusty, warm baguette. Enjoy!

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