Smothered Pork Roast and Maquechoux

To go with the previous post on Bread Pudding - here's the rest of the New Orlean's-style meal we had. The roast generously served six, and there were leftovers for another six individual meals, so this is a great recipe if you want to make sure everyone leaves stuffed. While it isn't the quickest of preparations, it is well worth the effort for the depth of flavor and the noisy appreciation of your guests!

Smothered Pork Roast over Rice
Adapted from the Amateur Gourmet, who cited Donald Link’s “Real Cajun.”

Ingredients

3.5kg boneless pork shoulder
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
2 large onions, thinly sliced
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crumbled
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
115g butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Steamed rice (for serving)
Chopped parsley (for garnish)

Method

Preheat the oven to 275 F / 135 C.

Season the pork very generously with salt and pepper, rubbing the seasonings into the fat and flesh of the meat. Set the roast aside for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour at room temperature.

Combine the onions, garlic, thyme, and rosemary in a medium mixing bowl and toss to combine.

Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, sear the meat on all sides until deeply browned and crusty, 10 to 12 minutes total.

Transfer the meat to a plate, reduce the heat to medium, and then stir in the butter. When the butter has melted, stir in the flour to make a roux and continue to cook, stirring, until the roux turns a dark peanut butter color, about 10 minutes.

Add the onion mixture and cook, stirring, until all the ingredients are well-coated and the mixture is thick. Whisk (or stir; with all those onions, it’s hard to whisk) in the chicken broth and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Return the pork to the Dutch oven, spoon some of the onion mixture over the meat, cover, and roast for about 3 hours, turning and basting the pork every 30 minutes or so, until the meat will break apart when pressed gently with a fork.

At this point, you can serve the roast right out of the pan, or transfer it to a plate, then simmer the pan drippings, skimming off excess fat, until reduced by about one-third, or until it coasts the back of a spoon. Add the lemon juice and taste for seasonings.

To serve, spoon some rice on to to each plate, top with pieces of fork-tender pork, ladle on the sauce and garnish with the parsley. Serves about 6 people, with generous leftovers for tomorrow’s sandwich.

Maquechoux
Adapted from Gumbo Pages
Pronounced "MOCK SHOE", this is a dish that the Cajuns got from the Native American tribes that populated southwest Louisiana

Ingredients

1 kg frozen sweet corn
115g unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups onions, finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
3 ribs celery, finely chopped
3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 can evaporated milk

Method

Melt the butter in a large saucepan or pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery and tomatoes and saute until the onions are transparent, about 10 minutes. Stir in the salt and peppers, then add the corn and evaporated milk and stir well. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the corn is tender, about 10-15 more minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Serves 8-10.