Potted pork with root vegetables in avgolemono sauce

One more "comfort food" recipe to enjoy with the family before Winter waves us goodbye for this year! Tender pork cooked with various root vegetables and smothered in the famous Greek egg & lemon sauce, the avgolemono! This version is slightly different than the traditional one where only celery or celery and leeks are involved. Here we have more vegetables and the beautiful and delicate flavour of fennel seeds. As usually happens with this kind of Greek recipes, don't neglect to serve the food along with good quality feta cheese and plenty of fresh country-style bread to mop up the creamy sauce!

Cooked by Kostas Tsigas,

from "Cook Book" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper

Ingredients (for 6 people):
1.300 gr. of pork (front leg), de-boned and cut in large pieces

1 bunch of celery, leaves on

1 large celeriac

3 small fennel bulbs, with their green fronds

3-4 white cabbage leaves, roughly chopped

½ cup of extra virgin olive oil

1 large white onion, grated

½ cup of white sweet wine

1 large egg

1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice

1 tsp of fennel seeds, crushed

salt
pepper

Method:

Peel the celery stalks and cut each in pieces of 6-8 cm. Roughly chop their leaves.

Finely snip the fennel fronds and keep aside for later. Peel the bulbs and cut in large cubes. Then peel the celeriac and again cut in large cubes.

Transfer the celeriac in a pot filled with water, add salt and boil in medium heat for 4 minutes. Then add in the pot the celery, the cabbage and the fennel bulb and continue boiling for another 4 minutes. Transfer the vegetables in a colander to drain (keep the water aside in a bowl) and then on a platter and cover it.

In the same pot, warm the oil in medium heat and sauté the onion for 5 minutes, often stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the fennel seeds, the pork, season with salt and pepper and sauté for another 2-3 minutes until the meat gets lightly coloured. Pour over with the wine and when the alcohol evaporates, turn the heat to medium-low and cover with the lid.

Leave the food to slowly cook for 2 hours, until the meat is really tender. *** If needed, add some of the stock you kept aside from the boiled vegetables.

Add in the pot the vegetables, 2 cups of their stock and cook for 15-20 minutes, avoiding to stir so the vegetables won't break up.

In the meantime, beat the egg along with the lemon juice in a bowl and, while beating, gradually add hot liquid from the pot until you end up with a slightly thick mixture.

Take the pot off the heat and pour over with the avgolemono sauce, shaking the pot for a few times so the food is coated by the sauce.

Sprinkle the food with the chopped fennel fronds and simmer in low heat for another 5 minutes and then serve immediately while it is still hot.