Thread: Barcelona Style Pork

I wonder if it would surprise you to learn that Spanish food from Spain bears little to no resemblance to that which is served in most Latino restaurants. Ooh! Did you catch that? I said Latino. In the US most Spanish food comes from Latin American recipes, not Spain. Spain’s food is actually Mediterranean, like Greek or Italian. The same can be said of Portuguese food.

Barcelona-Style Pork

Serves 8; 1 hour total time

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
10 ounces vermicelli (or spaghettini broken into 2-inch lengths)
1 1/2 pounds pork, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 ounces chorizo sausage, casings removed
2 14-ounce cans fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 2/3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet and lightly toast the vermicelli over medium high heat. Remove from skillet and put in a large bowl.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet and brown the pork well. This will take about ten minutes. Put the pork in the bowl with the vermicelli. Cover to keep warm.

Add the onions and garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes to soften the onions. Add in the chorizo and stir to break up. The chorizo will be cooked through after about 5 minutes more. Stir in the tomatoes and season with paprika, salt, and the red pepper.

Once the mixture comes to a boil, stir the vermicelli and pork back in. Cover and cook until the pork and vermicelli are tender, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.