Cooking with Bruce: Vege (or Pork) Chipotle and Pinto beans

Been awhile between drinks eh? Today's recipe was a total win for dinner last night. The recipe was for a pulled pork thing, but it works well with vege (courgettes, etc). I've adapted it to use chipotle chilli rather than the paste they'd suggested (dicks!).

0.8kg pork shoulder steaks, cut into 3cm pieces or equivalent in vegetables

Salt and black pepper

4 tbsp olive oil

2 large onions, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tbsp smoked sweet paprika

2 tbsp ground cumin

1.5 finely chopped smoked chipotle chilli soaked in boiling water

800ml tomato passata

60ml cider vinegar

45g soft brown sugar

2 x 400g tins pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed

To serve

1 red onion, chopped

2 avocados, sliced

A large handful of fresh coriander

A handful of cheese, grated

1 Season the pork with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan with a lid, over a medium-high heat. Brown the pork, in batches, for 1–2 minutes each side or until browned all over. Remove and set aside.

2 Reduce the heat to low, add remaining olive oil, onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until softened.

3 Add the spices and chipotle and cook for a few minutes. Add the passata, vinegar, sugar and pork. Add a good sprinkling of salt, cover with a lid and cook for 1 hour or until the pork is tender. Keep the heat low so the bottom doesn’t burn and stir every 15 minutes or so.

4 When the pork is fall-apart tender, add the drained beans and warm through. Serve in small bowls topped with the onion, avocado, coriander and cheese. If you want it to stretch to 8-10 people, serve it with rice.