Pork neck with Basque vegetables (lepoa et légumes à la basquaise)

You may be used to slow-cooking pork neck fillets, but this recipe takes just 20 minutes on the cooktop. Be sure to spoon over all the buttery juices as the pork cooks through. Partnered with seasonal vegies, it’s a sensational spring dish.

• serves

  2

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 300 g pork neck fillet, rolled and tied with kitchen string
• salt
• ground espelette or hot paprika
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 50 g butter
• 240 g small potatoes, unpeeled and halved
• 1 garlic clove, diced
• 12 asparagus spears, halved
• 50 g smoked bacon, diced
• 2 long red capsicum, roasted and julienned

Instructions

Season the pork with salt and espelette.

Heat a flameproof cocotte or shallow baking pan over high heat. Add oil. Cook pork, turning, for 2 minutes or until sealed on all sides. Add 2 thyme sprigs, 1 bay leaf and half of butter, and cook until foaming. Cook, spooning butter mixture over all sides of pork to baste, for 8 minutes or until browned. Transfer pork to a plate and allow to rest.

Meanwhile, add potatoes and garlic to pan, and season with another pinch of salt. Cook for 10 minutes.

Add remaining 25 g butter, thyme and bay leaf and cook for 1 minute. Add asparagus and bacon and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add roasted peppers and return pork back to the pan. Cover and cook for a further 4 minutes.

Remove the pork and slice into 2 cm-thick pieces. Transfer to a serving platter with the vegetables.

Serve with more salt and espelette on the side.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.