Pork and Lentils

A great, big, porky casserole for a freezing winter's night. Few recipes will warm you like this one - the unctuousness of the pork fat will probably mean you might like a frisee and watercress salad afterwards.

Serves 2 - 3

50g Italian lardons or pancetta, diced
500g boned pork belly, cut into large cubes
6 spicy butcher's sausages
2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
a few herbs, such as thyme, bay etc.
150g brown or green lentils, rinsed
300ml stock or water
a squeeze of lemon, if necessary
a handful of chopped parsley leaves

Cook the cubes of lardons or pancetta in a large casserole over a moderate to high heat until they give off enough melted fat to fry the pork. When the fat is hot, add the cubed pork, leaving it to colour lightlly and stirring occasionally. Remove each batch as it turns golden.

Add the sausages and brown them lightly, then remove. Cook the onions and the garlic, together with a couple of bay leaves, and some sprigs of thyme, if you have them, in the fat until they are soft and golden,a matter of ten or fifteen minutes on a moderate heat.

Put the pork and sausages back in the pan with the onions and herbs, season with a little salt and pepper, then cover tightly with a lid and put in an oven preheated to 180 C / Gas 4 for half an hour.

Add the lentils to the pot with the stock or water. Return to the oven, covered, and cook for forty minutes or so, until tender. Remove, stir, and taste for seasoning; it will need salt, pepper and possibly lemon. For once, a heavy scattering of parsley would not go amiss.