1850. PORK CHEEKS with WHITE BEANS and BACON

makes four servings


300 grams white dry beans
4 pork cheeks
100 grams fresh bacon
1 onion
4 ripe tomatoes
2 green peppers
1 garlic head
2 thyme springs
1 bay leaf
1 carrot
1 leek
some parsley
olive oil
salt

The night before, have the beans in cold water (double their height). Have a big casserole with some olive oil in its bottom and fry the bacon and cheeks (salted) until they get golden. Once they are golden take away from the casserole and reserve in a plate. Cut the onion and convert the ripe tomatoes into a sauce (no peels) and start a sofrito. In the same oil you cooked the cheeks and bacon, throw the onion and once it’s transparent add the tomatoes sauce. Have the heat medium/low and keep on stirring until you get the perfect sofrito: Tomato seems to disappear and it gets oily again. Take the cheeks and bacon back to the casserole and stir so that all flavors mix (1 minute). Then add cold mineral water till you cover the cheeks and then add the strained beans, the peppers, carrot, garlic head, leek, thyme and bay leaf (all cleaned). Don’t add salt!!!! The beans could become too hard and not soft at all. We want them to be very soft. It’s no good for the beans to boil, so we we'll keep the casserole hot, nearly boiling for 3 hours, if anytime, you see it boiling, add some cold water to stop the process. When beans are new and not from last years’ maybe they will be cooked in 2 hours, just keep an eye on them.It's always better to use the latest harvest beans. 2 Minutes before turning off the heat, add salt to your taste.
Prepare the dish with the green pepper, beans, cheek without the bone and some sauce.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, Berkeley, California, January 23, 2008 | Nuria, Spanish Recipes, Barcelona, Spain, nuriafarregut@gmail.com