Moroccan Pork & Squash with Lentils

This week we did a bit of bargain shopping, picking up stuff that was reduced or on offer. We ended up with a load of pork shoulder steaks, fresh coriander & red lentils.
From this we decided that some kind of Tagine style meal would be nice although not having a Tagine pot (please, Le Creuset or anyone else, I would be happy to 'test' a free one ;-) ) it would have to work in my cauldron.
After a rummage through my recipe books I've mixed & matched to end up with this recipe.




Ingredients
Meat.
I used 450g of the pork, diced small but I could see this recipe working with lamb too




1 Butternut Squash, diced.
You could use any squash or pumpkin




1 onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 (ish) cloves garlic, crushed with sea salt
Small piece of ginger, peeled & finely chopped
1 Chilli, chopped




2 Allspice (Seeds, cloves? What do you call them?)
3 Cloves
Bit of Cinnamon bark
Dried Orange Peel
You can get this from a Christmas spice set. Don't worry too much if not available.
Grind all these spices together in a coffee grinder or pestle & mortar




Half a cup of Sullytanas or other dried fruit
Tin of toms, blended. Or just use a tin of chopped toms if you like
Fresh Coriander
Sprigs Fresh Thyme
1 Sweet Apple
1 1/2 pints stock.
Chicken or veg will do
Red Lentils
I use 3 espresso cups as a general measure & I generally aim to feed 2 adults & 2 children for 2 meals. Again you could use other lentils or beans. For a softer finish, soak the lentils for a few hours or overnight. Always wash before use.

Method
In a big pan, fry the onion, celery, garlic & ginger in some olive oil until opaque.
Now add the stock. Also use some stock to swill out the tomatoes tin & add. Add the meat to the liquid & bring to boil.




When boiling add the toms, squash, sullys, spices & lentils.
Bring back to boil then turn heat right down and cover. Simmer for at least two hours, I prefer longer cooking.
If a bit liquidy, take the lid off so it can reduce, but only do this after at least 40 mins, so the meat, squash & lentils are well cooked.




Just before serving, grate the apple in & pick a good tbsp of thyme leaves off their stalks. Garnish with fresh coriander, a squirt of lemon juice & some chopped cherry toms.




Serve with nice warm crusty bread & a Greek yoghurt/cucumber mix
Enjoy!
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