Carcamusas Toledanas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy casserole or braising pan with lid, 28 to 30cm
• •Wooden spoon
• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Sharp knife and chopping board

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the pork

   Pat the pork dry so it browns instead of shedding water into the pan. Toss it with 4g of the salt and all the black pepper, then leave it for ten minutes while you prepare the onion, garlic, chorizo and jamón.

   Pésalo, no lo adivines, weigh it, don't guess. Chorizo and jamón bring plenty of salt later, so keeping back that final gram prevents an over-salted stew.
2. 2

   Brown in batches

   Heat 30ml of the olive oil in a wide, heavy casserole over medium-high heat. Brown the pork in two batches, leaving space between the pieces, for 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Turn each piece only when the first side has taken on a deep brown crust. Transfer the pork and its juices to a plate; it should still be raw inside.

3. 3

   Build the sofrito

   Lower the heat to medium-low and add the remaining 15ml oil, the onion and the reserved 1g salt. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is dark gold, soft and almost jammy. Add the garlic and crushed guindilla and cook for 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

4. 4

   Add chorizo and wine

   Add the chorizo and cook for 2 minutes, until its red oil begins to stain the onion. Pour in the white wine and scrape the browned pork residue from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Let the wine bubble for 3 to 4 minutes, until reduced by about half and no longer smells raw.

5. 5

   Reduce the tomato

   Stir in the crushed tomatoes and bay leaf. Cook uncovered over medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the tomato turns dark brick-red, loses its raw acidity and becomes thick enough for a spoon to leave a brief trail across the bottom. A few beads of red oil should appear at the edge. This reduction is what gives carcamusas a sauce that clings rather than a thin tomato broth.

6. 6

   Braise until tender

   Return the pork and its juices to the casserole and stir in 200ml water. Bring it to a gentle simmer, then cover with the lid slightly ajar and lower the heat. Cook for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring every ten minutes, until the pork yields easily to a fork but still holds its shape. Add 30ml water if the sauce begins catching before the meat is tender.

7. 7

   Finish with peas

   Add the frozen peas and jamón serrano. Simmer uncovered for 7 to 10 minutes, until the peas are tender and the sauce is glossy and thick enough to coat every piece of pork. Remove the bay leaf. Taste before adding any more salt; the cured meats will have done most of that work.

8. 8

   Rest and serve

   Take the casserole off the heat and leave it uncovered for 10 minutes. The sauce will settle and thicken around the meat. Spoon the carcamusas into a cazuela or deep plates, making sure each serving gets pork, chorizo, jamón and peas. Serve with plenty of bread. As a tapa, offer a smaller portion beside a cold caña.

Chef Tips

• •Use pork shoulder or collar, not tenderloin. The modestly fatty cut stays succulent during the braise and costs less. Cut it evenly so every piece becomes tender at the same time.
• •Buy Spanish cooking chorizo, which is softer than the hard sausage sliced for eating. Mexican fresh chorizo has a different seasoning and texture. If Spanish chorizo is unavailable, Portuguese chouriço is the closest useful substitute; use the same weight and expect a smokier sauce.
• •Good canned tomato is the sensible choice outside tomato season. Fresh tomatoes are worth using only when fully ripe: peel and crush 650g, then allow another 10 minutes for their extra water to cook away.
• •The guindilla should warm the sauce, not bully it. Use one small dried chile the first time. You can put more on your own plate, but you can't pull it back out of the casserole.
• •Jamón serrano goes in near the end so it seasons the sauce without becoming leathery. If using prosciutto, keep the same weight and expect a slightly sweeter, gentler cured-pork flavor.
• •Serve with a young red from Castilla-La Mancha, a light Tempranillo, or a cold lager poured as a caña. The bread isn't decorative. Toledo expects you to use it on the sauce.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and keep them covered for up to three days. Reheat gently until the sauce bubbles throughout, adding a tablespoon or two of water if it has tightened.

Advance Preparation

• •Cook the dish through the pork-braising stage up to one day ahead. Cool it promptly, cover and refrigerate, then reheat gently and add the peas and jamón for the final 10 minutes.
• •The complete stew keeps for up to three days in the refrigerator and tastes fuller the next day. Loosen it with a little water during reheating rather than adding more wine or stock.
• •For freezing, stop before adding the peas and jamón. Freeze the cooled pork and tomato base for up to two months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then finish with the cured ham and peas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 450g)