This was perfect meal for a wet and not-at-all warm half term supper. Adapted from Jamie at Home.

Serves 4 hungry young hippos.

• 1kg pork shoulder, skin-on, seasoned with salt & pepper
• 1 or 2 onions, thinly sliced
• some fresh chillies
• 2 heaped tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
• 2 tsp dried oregano and/or marjoram
• 2 red, orange or yellow peppers
• 1 x 400g tin tomatoes
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• rice, soured cream, wraps to serve

Heat the oven to 180C. Fry the pork, fat-side down, in some olive oil in an 0ven-proof casserole for about 15 minutes. When the fat has rendered a bit, put the pork to one side and fry the onions, chilli, paprika, fennel seeds, herbs and peppers for about 10 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, red wine vinegar and pop the pork back in. Top up with water and put in the oven for an hour or two, until the pork is cooked and pulls apart in tender strands.

Serve with rice and / or wraps and soured cream. Delicious.

• Small whole chicken – small enough to fit in a casserole with a lid
• Enough new potatoes, carrots and parsnips to feed your family
• 1 or 2 onions
• stick of celery
• glass of white vermouth or wine (Noilly Prat for preference. The French must be on to something. The smell of Noilly Prat and the sound of Fauré’s Requiem are by far the best arguments I’ve ever found for the existence of God.)
• clove of garlic
• sprig of thyme
• bay leaf

Heat a small amount of olive oil in the casserole and brown the chicken whole on all sides. Remove the chicken and rest on a plate.

Then slice the onions finely and fry in the casserole. Add the garlic, sliced celery, thyme and roughly chopped carrots and parsnips and halved new potatoes. When they’ve fried for a bit and started to stick, chuck in the vermouth or wine. Inhale deeply. Put the bay leaf and chicken back in the pot and top up with some water. Season with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil on the hob then put in a coolish oven for up to a couple of hours – I think I started at 180C and turned it down to 140C after about half an hour.

The chicken should just fall apart – I put all the veg in a warmed serving dish with a slotted spoon, and sat the chicken on top.

Skim as much fat off the juices as you can, and simmer to reduce and serve the gravy with the veg and chicken. Delicious!

Post script: I had the left-over dark meat the following day on some soda bread with a bit of mayonnaise and pepper – the best chicken sandwich ever! The meat was suffused with the divine taste of the herbs from the Noilly Prat.