Braised Shoulder of Pork with Farro

Cut the pork into four or five thick slices around 1 inch/2.5 cm thick. Then trim off the fat and rind to leave around a quarter inch/8 mm of fat  Picture  , don't get tempted to remove all the fat as good braising requires some fat.

Peel a couple of big shallots or equivalent and peel the garlic cloves, chop into small pieces, and soften in a saucepan in a couple of tablespoonfuls of olive oil over a medium heat for a few minutes. Trim and take off the outer leaves from the leeks, and cut into thin slices. Add the leeks to the saucepan and cook until soft stirring from time to time  Picture  .

Season the pork slices with salt and pepper, brown on both sides in a little olive oil in a frying pan and transfer to a large braising pan. Add the onion/leeks mixture and add a few stalks of rosemary  Picture  . Pour over almost all of a bottle of good red wine until the meat is almost covered. Cook over a high heat until simmering and transfer to the oven at 325°F/170°C/Reg3 and cook for two hours turning the meat half way through.

Take the braise out of the oven, allow to cool a bit, remove the rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Ideally allow to cool and put in the fridge over night. The following morning, use a couple of spoons to remove any excess fat. Reheat the braise, sprinkle over and stir in a couple of tablespoonfuls of cornflour, cover and put in the oven at a low heat.

Meanwhile, chop another couple of shallots into fine dice and soften in a saucepan in a tablespoonful of olive oil. When soft, add the farro and most of the chicken stock and simmer over a medium heat for about 20 minutes adding more stock as required.

Put the farro on to serving dishes using a slotted spoon, and then spoon over the braised pork  Zoom   - this is good!