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Iberico pork cheeks

Prepare: less than 30 mins
Cook: over 2 hours
Serve: Serves 4
Dietary: Egg-free Nut-free

Treat yourself to melt-in-the-mouth pork cheeks with cheesy, creamy polenta and a fresh radicchio salad.

From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the pork cheeks

2 tbsp olive oil
12 (1kg/2lb 4oz) Iberico pork cheeks
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 banana shallot, peeled and chopped
200ml/7fl oz port
2 star anise
500ml/18fl oz chicken stock

For the polenta

1 garlic clove, halved
1 thyme sprig
300-400ml/10-14fl oz full-fat milk
50g/1¾oz quick-cook polenta
50g/1¾oz Parmesan, grated

To serve

½ head radicchio, leaves separated and roughly chopped
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley

Method

To cook the pork cheeks, heat the oil in a large casserole and add the cheeks. Cook until they are caramelised and golden brown all over. Add the garlic and shallot, then deglaze the pan with the port. Add the star anise and stock, bring to the boil, cover with a lid and simmer for 2–3 hours, until the meat is very tender and soft.
To make the polenta, put the garlic, thyme and milk in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Whisk in the polenta and cook for 5–8 minutes, until the polenta is creamy. Stir in the Parmesan. Remove the garlic before serving.
To serve, dress the radicchio leaves in the vinegar and oil. Serve the pork cheeks and polenta on warmed plates and top with the dressed radicchio. Garnish with the parsley.