It’s the middle of winter, and what more can you ask for than smoked pork flesh, cabbage, and beans. As I set the organic Purgatorio beans from Ayers Creek Farm to soaking, I added my smoked pork hock from The Swinery to a pot with half an onion, six garlic cloves, two bay leaves, two cloves, and ten black peppercorns, covered everything with water and started the pot to simmer. After about 4-1/2 hours, the meat started to fall off the bone and I let the pot cool. I pulled all of the remaining solids out of the pot and poured the liquid through a fine mesh sieve – because of all of the skin and connective tissue the stock was unctuous. Later that evening, I defatted the stock and after removing the remaining skin and fat, shredded the meat.
The next day, I quartered and sliced three medium leeks and chopped two medium carrots and four cloves of garlic. I added these to a pot with the drained the Purgatorio beans, the shredded ham hock, and the ham stock. I added a bouquet garni containing a bay leaf, black peppercorns, parsley stems, and a clove. I also added enough water to make sure all of the solids were submerged, covered the pot and brought it to a simmer. After about 75 minutes of simmering, I added the shredded Savoy cabbage, - more than one half of a medium head - and then simmered for an additional 45 minutes more. I finished the dish with walnut oil and Aleppo pepper flakes. Talk about rib sticking and satisfying - the sweetness of the cabbage, the creaminess of the beans and the smoky ham hock, and day two should be even better.
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