* Pork, Chorizo & Chickpea Casserole

I love, love, LOVE one pot cooking. Not because it means less washing up - I have a dishwasher - but because it's just so bloody easy to keep an eye on ONE POT... not two pots, or three pots... ONE POT.

Less stuff to go wrong. Higher chance of success.... and I can usually wander off and leave it cooking for a bit.

Although I like pork and LOVE chorizo, I'm not a huge fan of chickpeas. However - Neil absolutely loves them and I had a tin of them sitting in the cupboard, looking like the last kid to get picked to a football team.

Happily, they added a touch of gnarly nommy nubbiness to the casserole, and stopped it from being too rich or too... porky.

We ate it with the Courgette and Cheddar Loaf (what was left of it *rolls eyes*).

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Serves 4 sedate appetites or 3 greedy buggers.

Prep time - 10 - 15 minutes
Cooking time - 2hrs 10 minutes

You will need
A medium to large pan with lid

Ingredients
1tbsp olive oil
500g pork loin - cut into bite sized chunks (boneless belly pork works as well)
100g chorizo - sliced thinly
1 large onion - chopped
2 large carrots - finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
small pinch chilli flakes
2 garlic cloves - crushed
4 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
Large pinch golden caster sugar
1 tbsp tomato puree (concentrate)
250ml red wine
200ml water
400g tin chopped tomatoes
400g tin chickpeas - drained and rinsed
fresh chopped parsley

Method
Heat the oil in the pan and brown the pork cubes until golden all over . About 5 - 10 minutes. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add the chorizo to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Add the onion, carrots, cumin seeds, chilli flakes, garlic, bay leaves and thyme and cook for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are beginning to soften and have just started to colour.


Sprinkle over the sugar and stir in the tomato puree. Then add the wine and allow to simmer for a minute. Add the tomatoes, water (swish out the tomato tin) and the browned pork. Season with salt and pepper. Put the lid on and bring to a gentle simmer.


Simmer for 1hr 30 minutes  - giving the occasional stir. If the liquid reduces too much, add a splash of water.  Then add the chickpeas and cook for another 15 - 20 minutes (or longer if you prefer softer chickpeas).

Once cooked, stir through the parsley and serve with a cheese flavoured bread.

EAT!