Tavas

Tavas

Cypriot pork and potato bake, one pot, 1.5 hr, serves 4

Ingredients

Meat and veg
pork shoulder    500g, diced
potatoes         4, peeled and cubed
carrots          4, peeled and sliced
onions           4, roughly chopped

The rice
long grain rice  200g
chopped tomatoes 1 x 400g tin
water            400ml, one tin
tomato puree     1 tbsp

To season
dried oregano    4 tsp
salt             1 tsp
olive oil        to drizzle

Pork shoulder over loin. It stays tender through the long bake, where loin can dry out.
The rice cooks in the middle of the pot in the tomato and pork juices, so give it a stir halfway so it cooks evenly and does not catch.
Good hot, and Cypriots happily eat the leftovers cold the next day.

Recipe

1. Heat the oven to 180°C. Tumble into the Dutch oven, drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat:

[pork shoulder 500g diced, potatoes 4 cubed, carrots 4 sliced, onions 4 chopped, dried oregano 4 tsp, salt 1 tsp, olive oil to drizzle]

2. Push the veg out to the sides to leave a well in the middle. Tip the rice into the well and pour the chopped tomatoes over it.

3. Fill the empty tomato tin with water, stir in the tomato puree, and pour it over the rice. Mix the rice gently so it settles into the liquid, keeping the meat and veg round the edge.

4. Drizzle with a little more oil, lid on, and bake for 45 minutes.

5. Stir the rice through, turn the meat and veg, and add a splash of water if it looks dry. Lid back on for 15 minutes.

The rice should be plump and just tender. A little liquid left is fine, it keeps cooking off the heat.

6. Lid off, back in for a final 15 minutes to brown the top.

7. Stir everything together and serve from the pot.

Source: The Purple Pumpkin Blog.