Thank you, Ubeda

Two years ago, I went on a long weekend break to Barcelona with my friend Lucy. By day two we were confident enough with the metro system and our maps to explore the backstreets and find something authentically Spanish and truly Barcelonian. We walked past many plazas filled with groomed holiday makers paying over the odds for drinks and tapas, but after an hour or so we came to a place called Ubeda. By this time we were starving and tired, and despite the fact that the place looked quite small and empty we were charmed by the decor and won over by the menu.

By the time our food arrived in tiny, dented little pans we thought we were going to hoover it up. When we tasted how good the food was, we made sure every mouthful was savoured. The staff looked at us strangely as we made appreciative noises and at one point, held hands upon tasting the Iberian pork stew. I don't blame them for looking, it must've been an odd sight. We had other dishes like goats cheese with honey and figs, mushrooms with garlic in olive oil and lots of bread to soak it up with. But the winner was definitely the Iberian pork stew, and although you can only get thinly sliced Iberian pork (similar to Parma ham) in this country, when this is cooked slowly it really is amazing. If you have a slow cooker, even better.

Ingredients
4-5 pork chops, diced
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves
1-2 celery sticks
2 carrots
1 red pepper
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato purée
paprika
salt and pepper

Fry the pork chops in a little oil until nicely coloured, remove and put aside. In the same oil, fry the diced onion, celery and carrots until the onions are transparent. Add the garlic and red pepper, stir and add the tinned tomatoes, purée and paprika to taste. Add the pork back into the sauce once it has reduced a little to cook the pork through. If you have more time on your hands, you can put it all in one pot or slow cooker and cook slowly for a few hours. Serve with crusty bread, rice or mashed potato. I find that mashed sweet potato goes well with the paprika and red pepper.