Serve the pork and green beans with a medium-bodied red wine, like a luscious Italian Ripasso di Valpolicella by Tommasi, Masi or St. Stefano, or a Chianti Classico. Make dynamite sandwiches by thin-slicing any leftover tenderloin.
Ingredients
A stew of pork spiked with tart cornichon pickles and vinegar, Carbonnades is not a dish, but rather a method of cutting stewing meat into good sized flat, thin squares. Like all stews, this one benefits from being made well ahead. Do add the last quantity of cornichon just before serving so their tang comes through loud and clear. Pour a full-bodied abbey beer or ale.
Over the years, I've made mental notes of interesting recipes I've read for pork shoulder rubbed with various combinations of garlic and chiles and slowly roasted in a covered casserole until the meat was falling off the bone. The spoon-soft meat was then rolled in tortillas, Mexican style, with cilantro and avocado. An organic pork shoulder at my local market inspired me to finally experiment with the idea. I rubbed the pork in an improvised seasoning mix with the flavors of mole sauce—ancho chile, cinnamon, and clove—and roasted it slowly in a sealed pot. The pork was delectable: succulent, tender, utterly satisfying, a practically effortless way to serve a crowd. If affirmed my love of slow roasting as a great technique for cooking meat.