Tangy Stove Top Pork and chicken

Some of you will notice a slight resemblance to adobo with this dish with the pork and chicken steeped in soy and vinegar. There’s also a slight nod to cassoulet here with the bacon and beans. This all came about by accident - as some of the nicest dishes do – trying as I have to use up some of our store cupboard staples and frozen meats in anticipation of moving out of our flat in a few days.
Good quality bacon makes all the difference, a decent piece of pancetta is also a lovely addition, but try and get some butcher’s best bacon, or even a piece of smoked ham hock which you can cut into pieces and also cook with the bone. For the chicken I chose thighs and drumsticks because they are on the bone and are generally more tender. You can cook them with the skin on and then remove the skin after cooking.
Serves 2
- 2 tbl spns of olive oil
- 2 chicken thighs or drumsticks
- 2 pork steaks or chops
- Either 3 rashers of smoked back bacon or 250g of smoked pancetta or ham hock which you cut into pieces yourself
- 1 sliced onion
- 2 chopped cloves of garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsps of peppercorns
- 100 mls each of soy sauce and vinegar (balsamic or malt or a mixture of both)
- 1 tsp on smoked paprika
- 200 mls of chicken stock
- 1 450g can of missed beans
- 1 level tsp of brown sugar

Fry the onion in the oil until soft over a medium heat
Add the bacon pieces and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes
Add the bayleaves and meat and brown the meat a little
Add the soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorns and paprika and cook for a couple of minutes
Add the chicken stock, mixed beans and brown sugar
Simmer for about 30 minutes until the meat is cooked through and tender and the sauce is thickened

If there is sauce left after you’ve eaten it can be made into soup for the next day.