Braised Pork with Thyme

This is a the very fabulous recipe that I made for dinner Sunday evening. Its an adaptation of a recipe found in an old issue of Saveur (Oct 2005). I served it alongside a salad of spinach greens topped with tomato,cucumber, cornbread croutons and rasberry dressing.

Modifications to the recipe- I didn't discard the veggies after straining. I kept half to serve alongside the meat and the other half i pureed into the gravy.

4 T olive oil

1 3lb shoulder of pork

Salt and pepper

3 onions, sliced

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 ribs of celery, diced

1 T thyme

2 bay leaves

1 bottle of white wine

1/3 cup cream

Heat oil in dutch oven. Sear meat 10 minutes. Transfer meat to dish and season with salt and pepper and set aside. Add onions to pot and cook over medium-high heat, scraping browned bits stuck to the bottom of pot until they are lightly browned, 6-8 minutes. Stir in carrots and celery and cook until lightly browned, 4-6 minutes. Return pork and juices to pot and then add thyme, bay leaves, and wine.

Cover pot, reduce heat to medium-low and braise meet until tender about 2-2.5 hours, turning in pot every half hour. Transfer meat to large sheet of foil and wrap completely and set aside to let meat rest for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, strain broth from pot into a saucepan then discard solids. Skim off and discard fat. Boil broth until reduced to 1 cup, about 30 minutes. Whisk in cream and season with salt and pepper.

Unwrap meat and transfer to cutting board. Thinly slice meat, arrange on platter and garnish with parsley. Pour sauce into gravy boat and serve with pork.