CARRILLADAS
Slow Cooked Iberico Pork Cheeks
Serves 4-6 people, Ready in 3+ hours
Tender, slow-cooked iberico pork cheeks with mashed potatoes
Growing up, there was one Spanish restaurant that became my favourite for one dish, carrilladas! Tender, slow-cooked iberico pork cheeks in a rich, smoky sauce. It got taken off the menu at some point and I never managed to find them in a restaurant again but for about 10 years, they’ve been on my mind.
A recent trip to Spain sparked the memory of this incredible dish so as soon as I got back to London I had one mission, re-create the recipe and satiate this craving I’ve been carrying around with me for over 10 years!
So here it is. My Tavoli take on the classic Spanish carrilladas. These can be served alone with the juice drizzled on top tapas style or I’ve served mine with mashed potatoes. You could also try mashed butter beans for a Spanish twist on the mash.
Before we get started, we need to talk about the importance of sourcing good quality iberico pork cheeks for this recipe. Iberico pork meat has a really distinctive flavour and quality that I’m certain you can’t replicate with just any pork meat out there so be sure to treat yourself and source the good stuff for this recipe. It’s worth it I promise!
I bought mine from the brilliant site Meat Me At Home and was so impressed by the service and quality, I wanted to give them a shout out. This isn’t an ad, just a genuine recommendation of where I’ve bought my carrilladas from and where I’ll be going from now on.
INGREDIENTS
Around 1kg of Iberico pork cheeks (carrilladas)
2 large banana shallots, finely chopped
2 carrots, cut into small batons
2 celery sticks, cut into small batons
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons of tomato puree
200ml of red wine (I use Rioja)
Up to 300ml beef stock (use less if it feels like too much compared to the size of cheeks you’re cooking)
1 tablespoon paprika
3 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
METHOD
Heat a little oil in a casserole dish and fry the pork cheeks in batches to brown them on all sides. Then set them aside for later.
In the same pan, cook the shallots, carrots and celery to soften, then add and cook the garlic.
Season well with salt and pepper.
Add the pork cheeks back into the pan and gently combine them together with the veggies.
Then add the paprika, tomato puree and bay leaves. Cook for 1 minute or so to coat the ingredients in the seasonings.
Add the wine and beef stock, adding just enough stock to cover the cheeks.
Tuck the thyme into the mixture before covering the pan with its lid.
Cook on a low heat for at least 3 hours until the meat is ready and super tender.
When they are ready, serve them straight away when they’re hot. You can enjoy these tapas style on their own with a little bit of the sauce drizzled on top, or serve them with mashed potatoes or butter beans to make a meal out of them.
Enjoy!
METHOD- PREP
Heat a little olive oil in your paella pan before adding in your onion and cooking until soft.
Add the green beans and garlic, season with salt and pepper and continue frying until these soften too.
Add the rice and cook for 1 minute or so to lightly toast it.
Add the chopped tomatoes, chilli flakes and paprika and combine well.
Then add your stock, ensure it is well combined and leave the paella to gently simmer, topping up the water where necessary.
You want to cook your seafood according to the instructions on the packaging so keep an eye on the time of your paella and continue with steps 7 onward at the time your seafood will need to start cooking. If it’s useful, I cooked my paella for around 1 hour before adding my seafood in about half an hour before it was due to be cooked. As I was cooking this on a lower heat, the seafood may take a bit longer to cook than what’s on the packaging.
When it’s time, add the mixed seafood and stir it through the paella. Leave on a low simmer and add the shell-on prawns on top of the paella when it’s their time.
Carry on cooking until the seafood and rice is completely cooked. Keep an eye on the water levels of the paella throughout the cooking process too. You don’t want it to dry out or be too wet.
When it’s almost ready, squeeze over a little lemon juice.
Then when it’s ready to serve, scatter over some freshly chopped parsley and serve with a lemon wedge. I like to keep the prawns in their shells to serve too because it looks so beautiful when it’s served and is a total crowd-pleaser.
Enjoy!