A Very Simple Pork Stew

This is likely the last time I will make stew until the fall. We found a good buy on pork sirloin steaks on our weekly shopping trip. Since the package contained enough for 2 meals my wife decided I should make stew out of half of them. So supper tonight is like a lot of the things I cook, something my wife wanted. Because I like to have fun with what I cook, and stew is something that just about anything in the pot work. I just went with what I thought would taste good. Garlic had to be part of it because just about everything I cook has garlic. Stew is an easy thing to make, meat, vegetables, stock, and spices, brown the meat and throw stuff in a pot. Stew is a meal that makes you feel good when you have it. It doesn’t matter what kind of stew it is, all stews are just great meals. Nice part is you get to increase the amount of vegetables your having with your meal. Some stews I don’t change what I put in the pot, pork stew I often make a little different each time. Trick is to remember that you only use things that you would normally have with pork. This is a very simple recipe and was quick to make. Maybe the best part of having stew is I get to use the little crusts of bread. There to small to toast but they work great buttered to eat with stew. The crusts of bread are for me the best part of a loaf of bread.

1 pound of pork stew meat or cubed pork sirloin steak

1 large onion cut in 6 pieces

1 large rib celery chopped

2 carrots chopped

1 small turnip cut in pieces

1 large potato cut in pieces

12 cherry tomatoes

1/2 litre beef broth

6 cloves garlic smashed

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon mustard

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

Cornstarch slurry to thicken the stew before serving

Mix pork, flour, salt and pepper together. Preheat a pot with butter and olive oil on medium high heat. Brown the pork well, add everything else to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 2 hours stir occasionally. Thicken the stew with the cornstarch slurry before serving.