Braised Pork Neck with Pearl Barley

Ingredients
2 pork necks, on the bone, cut into
thick chops like osso bucco (ask your butcher to do this)
3 medium onions, peeled and cut into 2cm thick chunks
Olive oil (preferably light)
Plain flour
Dry white wine
4 ripe Roma tomatoes, pureed
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup Italian parsley (flat-leaf), roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Dust the pork neck chops lightly with plain flour, heat some olive oil in a skillet and brown the meat lightly.
In a pot large enough to hold everything, sauté the onions in a little olive oil making sure they become transparent, but don’t colour.
Arrange the chops on top of the onions, season a little with salt and pepper, add the tomatoes and wine so that the meat is just covered.
Bring this to the boil, lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.
After that time, turn the chops, add the parsley and garlic, and simmer for another 30 minutes or until the meat is tender and comes off the bone easily.
Season and serve, either as is or with the meat stripped from the bone, accompanied by the pearl barley.

Pearl Barley
Serves 6-8 (as an accompaniment to the braised pork neck)

250g pearled barley
Extra virgin olive oil
50g pancetta, cut into small dice
1 carrot, peeled and cut into small rounds
1 onion, peeled and cut into small rounds
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1.5 litres chicken stock
A handful chopped Italian parsley

Preparation:
Heat a little olive oil in a pot and gently fry the pancetta and the vegetables for 2-3 minutes until they soften.
Add the barley and stir.
Add the bay leaf and the chicken stock.
Bring it to the boil, then turn down and simmer very gently, covered, until the barley is cooked.

Compliments of your friendly Independent Butcher shop