Puchero de matanza

The first snow fall brings a cold chill, and although the sun's rays entice you to enjoy the autumn scenery of La Alpujarra, your body just wants to get warm. And what better than a bowl of hearty food: a good pork casserole.

This wholesome dish with chickpeas, pork, ribs, ear, tail, cheek and trotters is prepared according to an old family recipe passed down by grandmother Marina. The trick is to cook it slowly to preserve all the flavour of this traditional Alpujarra dish.

Ingredientes

400 g. of chickpeas
2 carrots
1/2 white cabbage
1 medium onion
4 medium potatoes
1/4 rack of fresh pork rib
1 pig's tail
1 bone
200 g. of pig's ear
300 g. of trotters
200 g. of bacon
Coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 laurel leaf
2 garlic cloves

Preparation

Soak the chickpeas overnight in warm water.

In warm water, start to cook the chickpeas, bone, ribs, tail, a clove of garlic, onion and carrot.

In a pressure cooker, to speed things up, put the rest of the ingredients consisting of the ear, trotters and bacon. Cook for 40 minutes with a clove of garlic, salt, laurel and black pepper.

Next, dice the ears, ribs and bacon; cut each trotter into 4 parts.

When the chickpeas are cooked, add the remaining vegetables: chopped cabbage, carrots and potatoes. Continue boiling for 15 minutes.

Combine the ingredients of the two pots and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes to release all the flavour.

Let it stand for at least half an hour to allow all the ingredients to settle. And it's ready to serve.

Where to try it: at Ruta del Mulhacén restaurant, in Pampaneira.