Fuel My Friday: Nick Pyle’s Pork and Chickpea curry

30 Aug 2019

Sometimes after a packed training day it’s great to have a nutritious meal already made up, ready to pull from the freezer and get on to your plate in no time at all…

And this week’s ‘Fuel My Friday’ recipe is perfect for batch cooking and saving for those days where motivation is lacking to cook from scratch! A favourite of double European gold medallist Nick Pyle, this rustic Indian one pot dish tastes great and keeps you feeling full for ages.

Over to you Nick…

I’m a big fan of a curry that full of flavour and whilst you can’t initially turn this dish around from cupboard to plate in five minutes, the investment in time is well worth it when you can later reap the rewards of a batched homemade meal.

Ingredients:

  • 1½ tsp black peppercorn
  • 2 tsp fennel seed
  • 1 tsp coriander seed
  • 2 tsp cumin seed 
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 2 garlic bulbs, peeled, cloves separated
  • 100ml red wine vinegar
  • 1½ kg pork shoulder, cut into 2½ cm pieces
  • 50ml vegetable oil
  • 3 large red onions, finely chopped
  • 2 red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
  • 400g can chopped tomato
  • 2 tsp dark muscovado sugar
  • 2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 450ml chicken stock
  • Rice (to serve)    

Method:

  1. Firstly to start making the curry paste; heat a small pan over a medium heat and add the peppercorns, fennel, coriander and cumin seeds. Dry-fry for about 1 min, stirring constantly until fragrant, then tip into a small food processor with the chilli powder and turmeric. Put the garlic in the pan and fry for 1-2 mins until flecked golden. Add the garlic and vinegar to the spices and process to a coarse paste.
  2. Put the pork in a bowl, add the paste and mix together your hands to combine (turmeric can stain so consider using disposable gloves). Leave to marinate for 15 mins.
  3. Heat oven to 150C/130C fan. Heat oil in a flameproof dish and fry the onions until beginning to colour. Increase heat to high, add the pork and fry, stirring often, for about 10 mins until darkened. Add the peppers, tomatoes and sugar, and cook for 10 mins more until the tomatoes have reduced and the paste clings to the meat. Next stir in the chickpeas and stock. 
  4. Put on the lid, bring to a simmer, then put in the oven for about 1½ hrs until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened. It’s then ready to eat immediately with rice, whilst you let the additional servings cool before dividing into batches and placing in the freezer (for up to 3 months).