Pork Roast with Hard Cider

I have found this recipe on an old edition of BonAppetit ( pretty much my food bible these days, I know..) and it turned out very good. I followed the recipe exactly, but I do think that there might have been a simpler way to achieve the same result, so for those of you who don't want to dirty a million different bowls and plates to do one single recipe and that don't want to spend 1 hour just doing prep work, here is my shortened and simplified version of it! The result is really worth it, if you want a slightly leaner version don't use the bacon and just cook the vegetables in a tablespoon of olive oil instead. Also choose a lean cut of pork. I used pork shoulder ribs and it was way too greasy, I think I would have preferred something leaner, like a pork loin diced into 1 inch cubes. I used Woodchuck regular Hard Apple Cider but I would like to try it also with their Granny Smith Cider, which should be more tangy.

INGREDIENTS

30 frozen pearl onions,  slightly thawed

5 slices of bacon cut crosswise into 1/4 inch thick strips

3 and 1/2 pound of pork stew meat (pre-diced)

1 medium onion

1 medium parsnip

1 box of fresh sage

2 cups of low salt chicken broth

1 12oz bottle of hard apple cider

1 and 1/2 pound of baby red potatoes

2 large Granny Smith Apples

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of flour

1 tablespoon of Dijon Mustard

PREPARATION

Take the pearl onions out of the freezer, put them under running  cold water to thaw.

Put the bacon in a large pot and cook until slightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and put on some paper towels to dry.

In the bacon grease, pour the onion and the parsnip and cook covered for about 15 minutes ( until the vegetables are softened)

Add the meat and stir until the meat is browned.

Add the broth and the hard cider and return the bacon to the pot, then cook covered for about 1 hour, until the meat is soft.

While the meat is cooking, wash and brush the potatoes and cut them in half.

Add the pearl onions and the potatoes. Cook covered for another 30 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, wash the apples, peel them, core them and dice them.

Add the apples to the mix and cook another 20 minutes, until the potatoes are completely cooked.

In a small bowl mix the butter and the flour creating a paste.

Add the flour paste and the mustard to the pot and simmer uncovered until thickened.

Serve with your favorite hard cider!